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Judgy Christians (Matthew 7:1-6) | Pastor Rod Gomez
Judging Rightly: Lessons from the Sermon on the Mount
In this sermon, Pastor Rod tackles the common criticism of being 'judgy' Christians. Emphasizing insights from Matthew 7 and the Sermon on the Mount, he explains the biblical approach to judgment. Pastor Rod stresses the importance of judging ourselves before others and doing so fairly and lovingly. He narrates personal anecdotes to highlight the need for humility, clarity, and purity in judgment. Additionally, he discusses when it might be appropriate to stop sharing the gospel with those antagonistic or unresponsive to it. The sermon culminates in a call to love God and others through appropriate and thoughtful judgment.
00:00 Introduction: Addressing Judgement in Youth Ministry
00:22 The TikTok Trend: "We Listen and We Don't Judge"
00:47 The Importance of Judging Rightly
01:04 Jesus' Teaching on Judgement
02:24 A Personal Story: Confronting with Care
04:21 Understanding Fair Judgement
08:11 Assuming the Best in Others
10:09 Considering Multiple Perspectives
12:45 Judging Yourself Before Others
14:24 Understanding LASIK and Vision Correction
14:56 The Importance of Self-Judgment
15:16 The Role of Friends in Judging
16:04 Judging Yourself to Help Others
16:38 The Dangers of Loving Sin
17:29 Judging Others with Humility and Clarity
18:40 Engaging with Different Beliefs
19:48 Identifying and Avoiding False Teachings
23:34 When to Stop Sharing the Gospel
29:21 Concluding Thoughts on Judging Rightly
Transcript
One of the most often things that I heard at the last
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:church in the youth ministry
is that True North was judgy.
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:We had Christian clubs on different
campuses and all the campuses that
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:knew about us would say, oh you're
from the Compass Bible Church,
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:you're one of those judgy Christians.
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:We don't like going to your clubs
because you guys always make people
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:feel bad about the things that you
say or things that you believe.
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:I saw this trend on TikTok, which
is we, hold on, it goes like this.
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:We listen and we don't judge.
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:Yeah, that's how it works.
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:Exactly.
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:So we're going to do this at some
point as a group, we're going to do
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:the, we listen and we don't judge.
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:But I find it amusing because one
of the things that people love to
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:encourage is, Hey, don't judge me.
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:Don't judge me.
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:In fact, there was a song back in
the nineties, maybe the early:
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:No, it's definitely in the nineties.
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:Or this guy sang this song that
said, only God can judge me.
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:Lots of people are concerned
about judging and you should be.
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:You don't want people judging you wrongly.
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:You don't want people thinking
the wrong things about you,
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:but judging is a way of life.
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:This is how we get through life period.
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:You should judge.
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:The question is, how should you judge?
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:What should you be judging and
what way should you be judging?
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:And that's what this sermon
is going to be about.
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:And in fact, I can boil all of this down
for you in just one and one sentence.
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:In fact, let's put it like this.
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:Take notes, this is going to be your
way of phrasing this whole conversation.
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:I want you to learn to judge, and
the way that you're going to judge
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:well is by judging yourself first.
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:So I put it like this, judge others
rightly by judging yourself firstly.
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:I don't think firstly is technically
grammatically correct, it doesn't sound
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:good, but you get the idea, right?
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:Judge yourself, or judge others
rightly by judging yourself firstly.
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:That's kind of Jesus point as we make our
way into The Gospel of Matthew once more.
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:In fact, we're getting close to
the end of the Sermon on the Mount.
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:And so we're getting down to the
final verses here, and Jesus is
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:concerned that the way you approach
people is not the wrong way.
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:He wants you to love them.
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:He wants you to care about people.
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:He wants it to be salt and light.
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:He cares that you make a
difference in the world around you.
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:He cares that you value what's
valuable, that you acquire spiritual
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:resources and spiritual rewards.
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:But here, Jesus is going to give you some
really important information about how
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:to interact with the world around you.
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:In fact, one of the most important
questions you can ask is how do
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:I interact with people and judge
appropriately without alienating them?
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:How do I love people well?
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:In fact, it's going to take a lot of
effort on your part if you're going to be
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:a good friend to the people that you love.
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:For instance, one student I had always
the kind of student that just never
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:came to youth ministry, put together.
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:He always had something going on.
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:And so one day he came
and, this is embarrassing.
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:You're never going to
find out who it is anyway.
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:So it's perfectly safe.
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:He came to youth ministry and he reeked,
just had the armpit thing going on.
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:So I walked by him and it's like one
of those things where he's passing me.
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:I'm passing in the, Whoa, I, the
cloud of bodily odor went with him.
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:And I thought, okay, What's my play here?
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:How do I help this kid?
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:Cause he, he smells really badly.
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:I'm sure everybody notices it.
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:And he's a young man.
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:He cares about girls and
what they think about him.
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:And so I said, Hey man,
I put my arm around him.
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:I said, come with me.
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:And I walked him over to,
this is in one 20 West.
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:If Compass Bible Church of Liso
Viejo, it's this big square building
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:like this kind of, but there's a
closet right next to the entrance.
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:So I took him to the closet
and I said, Hey man, I just got
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:to tell you, you really smell.
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:You just, you're really bad today.
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:You need to do something about it.
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:Do you have any deodorant on your
person or in your bag or in your socks?
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:Anywhere at all?
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:Do you have deodorant?
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:And his answer of course was no.
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:What's deodorant?
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:If he was a junior higher, I might give
him that, but he was in high school.
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:He should have known better.
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:So I graciously loaned, this is gross.
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:This is man code.
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:You typically don't want to
share these kinds of things.
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:But I loaned him my deodorant.
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:I always carry some in my bag
for just such an occasion,
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:either if I stink or he stinks.
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:And I gave it to him, and I said,
man, don't let this happen again.
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:Let this be a lesson.
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:Go and sin no more.
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:And he walked away.
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:I don't know if his life was ever
changed, but it took someone confronting
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:another person to really impact him.
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:And I trust that he remembers this.
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:If I were to ask him about it, I'm
sure he would remember the time that
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:Pastor Rod told him that he smelled.
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:I had to judge him to do
that, though, didn't I?
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:I had to smell his person and
realize he does not smell good.
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:I ought to do something about that.
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:Jesus wants you to know
how to judge people.
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:And in fact, he wants you to know how
to judge friends, how to judge brothers.
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:The context of this is that he
wants you to know how to judge
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:people that you care about.
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:And the answer is not,
don't judge me at all.
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:The answer is not, judge
not lest you be judged.
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:People use this all the time,
but they use it wrongly.
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:Jesus doesn't want you
to not judge, period.
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:He wants you to judge the right way.
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:So with that said, follow along with me.
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:Matthew chapter seven.
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:Let's take a look at what Jesus says
and let's first of all, read the
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:verse that everybody gets wrong.
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:In fact, one verse that people
like to throw out Christians all
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:the time is, Hey, don't judge me.
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:Doesn't your Bible say, doesn't
Jesus say, judge not well,
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:let's read this in context.
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:Matthew chapter seven,
starting at verse one.
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:Here's what Jesus says.
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:Judge not that you be not judged.
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:Now if we were just reading that
verse alone, we would understand how
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:people get this wrong all the time.
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:But he says more.
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:He says, for with the judgment you
pronounce, that is the judgment that
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:you use against others, you will
be judged by that same standard.
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:And with the measure you use with
people, that same measurement
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:will be used against you.
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:Really simple what Jesus is saying here.
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:He wants you to know that you should not
never judge, even though it sounds like
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:that, but that you should judge correctly.
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:He wants you to not be a hypocritical,
self righteous, unfair, harsh judge.
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:He wants you to look at people and
afford them the same kind of benefit of
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:a doubt that you would give yourself.
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:He's saying don't judge hypocritically.
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:This is a kind of a superiority complex.
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:You might be tempted to feel this
kind of judgment when you hear
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:about the other churches in town.
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:Oh, you go to that church?
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:Oh, they don't really teach the Bible.
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:All they're doing is just doing this other
stuff over here, this entertainment show.
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:Our church, we will
really teach the Bible.
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:You guys, good luck to you.
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:Superiority complex.
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:This posture that Jesus is warning
us against keeps us from the kind of
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:righteousness that God wants to create
within us, and it's not a proud arrogance.
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:It's not a In fact, let's put it like
this, point number one, when Jesus tells
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:you to judge somebody, he's going to
say you need to judge others fairly.
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:He doesn't want you to judge somebody
based on your own presupposition.
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:Sometimes today people are judged
because of what they look like
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:or their race or their creed.
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:They're a certain
religious type of person.
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:You can quickly make assessments
about somebody and sometimes they're
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:somewhat right, but often we're wrong.
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:Jesus doesn't want us to judge harshly.
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:Imagine a football player playing in a
key game and in somehow or another the
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:people start accusing this guy of cheating
and so now everyone in the school says
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:oh the quarterback cheated deflate gate
he was deflating the footballs and they
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:start calling people against him and they
ask him not to play anymore he steps down
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:only to find out in the video footage
he was never cheating after all but the
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:damage had been done people are already
saying things about him they're already
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:ruining his reputation A lot of this can
happen when you're talking to somebody.
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:Let's say you're having a tussle
between you and your friend.
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:Oh Sean looked at me the wrong way today.
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:I don't like that.
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:We're not friends anymore.
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:I think Sean's doing drugs.
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:That's what I think.
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:You start telling people, Sean's doing
drugs and oh, Sean's doing drugs.
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:I don't think he's doing
drugs, it's just, he's here.
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:You talk to Sean and you realize,
oh, he's not doing drugs and
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:he wasn't looking at me funny.
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:It was really just a misunderstanding.
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:He was getting ready to sneeze and I
misunderstood that face as being mad.
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:Oh, that's what happened.
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:What happened?
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:All the people that you talked
to and said, Sean's doing drugs.
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:That's why he's mad at me.
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:Now, they're infected with
your cynicism about that person
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:because you judged unfairly.
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:You need to realize that Jesus
doesn't want you to judge unfairly.
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:He doesn't want you to judge wrongly.
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:In fact, let's do it this way.
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:Judging others fairly looks like this.
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:First, it looks like assuming
the best about somebody.
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:Judging others fairly
means assuming the best.
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:You might know 1 Corinthians chapter 13.
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:This is often called the love chapter,
and in this chapter, verse 7 is one
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:of, one of everybody's favorites,
because here's what it says.
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:If you're a truly loving
person, love bears all things.
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:That means you endure.
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:You put up with a lot of relational
junk because you love the person.
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:It doesn't mean that you never address it.
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:We'll get to that in a second.
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:Love bears all things.
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:Love believes all things.
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:That's where I'm pointing here.
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:Believes all things, hopes all
things, endures all things.
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:This is the posture that says, even
though I could assume the worst about
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:you, I'm going to assume the best.
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:In fact, this is something a pastor
has to do when I look at you and it
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:looks like you're not paying attention.
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:Often you're not paying attention.
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:You're one thing or another.
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:You're distracted by something
else, partly because you're trained
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:by our technology to do that.
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:Hat tip to Revival Winter Edition.
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:But often I just think,
okay, maybe they're thinking.
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:Maybe they're writing down notes.
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:Maybe they're trying to figure things out.
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:Maybe they're working
it out on their paper.
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:You looking at anyone else in the
world, it's easy for you to judge
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:them, for one reason or another.
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:Think about the kind of people
that you're quick to judge.
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:I don't know about you but I
notice different people groups.
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:In fact, in my neighborhood, there's
a lot of different people groups.
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:And one subset of people group
that I see all the time is Indians.
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:I don't know a lot about Indians.
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:I'm getting to know my Indian neighbors
sometimes they're called Southeast Asians.
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:I I make assumptions about what
is true about them, because I
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:don't know a whole lot of them.
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:And maybe you do the same thing, or
maybe you do that with black people, and
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:maybe you do that with Mexican people.
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:Maybe you do that with all sorts
of people, and you make assumptions
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:because you don't know a lot about them.
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:The idea here is that love
believes the best about people.
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:Doesn't always mean you're going
to be right, that's for sure.
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:But Jesus wants us to start
with the posture scene.
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:I want to choose to believe the
best about the people that God
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:puts in my life, whoever they are,
especially if they're Christians.
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:Okay, assume the best.
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:Judging others fairly will also mean this.
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:Oops, there we go.
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:Considering multiple sides.
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:Someone offends you.
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:They say something to
you that you don't like.
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:Again, someone makes a, someone gives
you a look and you think that look is
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:disappointment, disapproval, your dad
looks at you with a certain look, your
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:mom says something to you in a certain
tone of voice, and you start making
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:assumptions about what that means.
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:Here's how scripture tells us to
think about those kinds of situations.
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:It says this, proverbs 18 17 says the
one who states his case first seems right
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:until the other comes and examines him.
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:You might have heard people say it this
way, there are two sides to every story.
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:And get this is really cool.
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:This week I got glasses and
these glasses actually magnify.
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:Oh wow, what a difference.
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:Okay, these glasses actually magnify.
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:I can see your faces much more clearly.
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:Two.
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:Yes, One of the things that
I noticed when I put them on.
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:Is that I realized that my vision
was not everyone else's vision.
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:That's not rocket science.
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:I know that you know that, but
here's what was amazing to me.
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:I was looking at the world and
thinking, this is what everybody
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:sees until I realized, Oh no,
this is what everybody sees.
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:If you have 20, 20 vision, things
clearly and sharply, even in the dark.
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:I got used to seeing things a certain
way, but what it took me having to
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:do was putting on a different set of
glasses to see the world differently,
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:to put on different lenses for you.
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:One of the challenges.
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:is that you're going to see
things from your own perspective.
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:That's your easiest access point.
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:But God says, look, if you want to,
if you want to judge others fairly,
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:you really have to give them the
benefit of doubt and also consider
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:the issue from multiple angles.
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:Maybe there was something else
going on in that person's life.
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:Maybe Sean was just preparing this knees
and he wasn't looking at you funny.
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:Maybe your mom was thinking about
something else when she talked
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:to you the way that she did.
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:Maybe your teacher isn't picking on you.
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:Maybe they're just having
a bad Tuesday or Wednesday.
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:Maybe things aren't the way
that you think that they are.
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:And often, they're not.
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:You're working with this much knowledge.
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:Okay, this is how much knowledge you have.
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:Now, out of curiosity, how much
knowledge is there in the world?
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:How would you quantify that?
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:If this is you, what's
the world's knowledge?
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:Beyond the world, like beyond
the room, beyond the school, the
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:knowledge available to us is infinite.
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:Your knowledge is this much.
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:So what you should do with your
imagination when you're trying to judge
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:the world around you is to say, okay,
I'm going to assume the best and I'm
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:going to think about multiple angles
and think about the multiple sides here.
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:That's how you judge someone fairly.
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:Consider multiple sides.
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:Don't rush to conclusions.
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:Give people the benefit of the doubt.
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:That's where Jesus starts.
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:He continues on and he
builds his point here.
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:Remember, if we're going to
judge others rightly, we have
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:to judge ourselves firstly.
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:Here's how Jesus develops his point,
Matthew chapter seven, starting at
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:verse two into verse three, I think.
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:No, actually I'm going
to start at verse three.
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:I have verse two there, but
let's go to verse three.
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:He says, why do you see the speck?
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:That is like a speck of sawdust.
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:Why do you see the speck of
sawdust in your brother's eye?
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:And when he says brother, he's not
talking about your biological brother.
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:He's talking about your Christian brother.
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:Why do you see the speck, the itty bitty
speck in your brother's eye, but do not
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:notice the log, this big wooden beam that
they would use as pillars in their houses.
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:Why do you not notice this
big plank in your own eye?
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:Or how can you say to your brother,
let me take the little itty bitty speck
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:out of your eye when there is a log,
a plank, a pillar in your own eye.
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:And notice how Jesus talks to this person.
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:He says, you hypocrite.
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:First, take the log out of your own eye.
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:Take that big pillar out of your
eye, and then you'll be able to
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:see clearly enough to take the
speck out of your brother's eye.
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:Notice here, he doesn't
say don't ever judge.
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:He's saying when you judge, make
sure that you judge yourself first.
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:Point number two, when you're trying
to judge and judge right, Jesus says,
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:judge your own sin before judging theirs.
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:Make sure that when you attempt
to help somebody with some area
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:of sin in their lives, that you
first and foremost deal with yours.
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:Okay.
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:That's good.
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:We're almost there.
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:Oh, I told you there was a lot to learn.
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:All right.
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:I'm going to try this.
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:I've been studying this for a long time.
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:I'm going to try it for the first time.
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:And I'm going to wear it.
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:And I expect it's going
to be the most amazing.
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:And I'm going to do it,
and I'm going to do it.
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:somewhere around the
time that Jacob was born.
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:I got LASIK.
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:LASIK is when they take a laser and put
it in your eye and correct your vision.
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:I don't know how it works, but I
just know the basics as what they do.
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:They correct your vision by
putting a laser in your eye.
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:They say it lasts about 10 years,
and I'm a little beyond that now, so
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:here we go again, putting on glasses.
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:Now that I can see, I can point
to you guys and say, look at that.
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:I can see, so I can tell you to see.
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:I can tell you, oh look at that star over
there, because I can see it more clearly.
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:If I just had my normal vision, it
would be a lot fuzzier, and I'd be
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:able to say, I think it's over there,
and next to that thing over there.
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:It'd be much harder for me to
help you see if I can't see.
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:That's what Jesus is saying here.
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:You're not gonna be able to see
people's sin as easily if you're
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:clouded with your own sin in your life.
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:If you're living with sin in
such a way that sin is clouding
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:your spiritual perception, you're
not gonna be helpful to people.
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:In fact, let me put it like this.
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:You should judge.
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:You should judge.
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:There's a helpfulness to judging rightly.
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:One of the best things about having
a good friend is that a good friend
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:can tell you when you smell like BO.
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:A good friend can tell you when
you got a booger hanging out.
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:A good friend can tell you when
you got something on your face.
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:Have you ever had some food on your face,
and you don't find out for like minutes,
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:and you wonder, why did anybody tell me?
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:You go to the bathroom, food on
your face, and you're wondering
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:why no one said anything to you.
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:A good friend's gonna
point those things out.
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:A good friend cares about you enough
to say, hey man, your fly is down.
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:I've done that to countless people and
I love when people say hey man But I
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:should let you know in a private way
not like where everyone can hear you.
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:I think it's that's a bro move Jesus
wants you to judge appropriately The
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:way that you judge appropriately is
by being willing to first and foremost
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:look at yourself This allows you to
see others more clearly One of the
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:things you ought to notice here.
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:There you go.
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:There's my two points I
didn't mean to do that.
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:There you go One of things you ought to
notice that judging yourself helps you see
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:the blinding effects of Sin has a way of
clouding your vision When you're living in
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:a life of sin, when you're doing something
that violates God's law, that sin hardens
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:your heart and clouds your vision.
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:It makes it hard for you
to see what's valuable.
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:Remember, I think two weeks ago in my
sermon, I said, value what's valuable.
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:Jesus wants you to
value spiritual rewards.
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:You should aspire for those.
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:If you're living in a life of
sin, what's really valuable
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:doesn't look valuable to you.
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:You start saying I really
value these other things.
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:I value frittering away my time
with things that are less important.
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:If you have a hard time seeing what
the Bible says is important, it might
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:be because you have sin that you love.
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:When you love sin, it's hard to love God.
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:You can't have sin in your heart, loving
that and love God at the same time.
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:One, one thing is going to have to win.
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:You get to choose that.
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:And therefore, if you want to help judge
others rightly, you need to be able
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:to look at yourself in the mirror, And
realize that sin blinds your attention.
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:Again, when you have a good friend,
they're willing to call sin out.
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:When you have a good friend,
they're willing to say, hey
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:man you're really critical.
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:Or, hey sis, you're really vain.
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:It looks like you're really
into your looks right now.
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:Or some other thing like that.
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:It doesn't have to be those two things.
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:But obviously, a friend that
cares about you is a friend
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:that's going to call you out.
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:And so you want to be able to
cultivate good judging skills.
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:And you're not going to do
that if you're loving sin.
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:If you want to judge rightly, you
have to look at yourself first and
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:say, am I harboring sin in my heart?
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:Secondly, judging yourself makes it
possible for you to judge others.
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:Just because you're judging
your own sin doesn't mean you're
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:guaranteed to judge others well.
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:It makes it possible, but you still
have to know that you're going to
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:have to be careful and humble about
the way that you approach people.
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:In fact, one of the things that you should
be aware of is that Judging others is
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:something that you should do very slowly.
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:Jesus doesn't want you
to do this all the time.
413
:You're not the, you're
not the Holy Spirit.
414
:You're not the sanctification police.
415
:But if you do love
people, you will do this.
416
:You will do this.
417
:One of the things that make
you able to see is your own
418
:repentance and your own faith.
419
:If you don't do that, you're the blind
leading the blind, and that's not going
420
:to be helpful for you or for them.
421
:If you're going to help someone,
By judging them well, you need
422
:to have three ingredients.
423
:Humility, clarity, and purity.
424
:That's going to allow
you to love people well.
425
:And I want you to do this.
426
:I don't want us to be known as judgy.
427
:I don't want you guys to be
known as judgy Christians.
428
:But I do want you to judge.
429
:And I want you to be clear and
discerning in the right way.
430
:For instance, when you get approached
by a Mormon, or a Jehovah's
431
:Witness, but I love Mormons.
432
:Mormons are so nice.
433
:They're some of the nicest people I know.
434
:I would love to have them as neighbors.
435
:I would love to have many
more Mormon friends, because
436
:they're just so nice to know.
437
:They're great people.
438
:I want you to imagine that your best
friend is a Mormon, and they start
439
:telling you the gospel of Mormonism.
440
:Joseph Smith restored the gospel.
441
:He gave us this New Testament
that Jesus came to the Americas.
442
:This is the Book of Mormon.
443
:I want you to read it, and when you read
the Book of Mormon, you're going to feel
444
:the burning bosom in your heart, and
you're going to know that Joseph Smith
445
:is a prophet of God, And the Church
of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints
446
:is His restored church on this planet.
447
:Your love for that person will make
it really hard for you to say, I
448
:don't know if I should do this.
449
:It's gonna tell you now.
450
:Your love for people is gonna cause
you to want to think what they believe
451
:and say, Okay, maybe that's not so bad.
452
:But, If you're judging yourself rightly
and you're letting the Word of God
453
:do its work on you, you'll be able
to judge better, clearly, discern,
454
:judging what's right and wrong.
455
:You need a pure heart for this.
456
:You need to be reliant on God's Word
so that you can see what's truly there.
457
:And Mormonism, as much as I love them,
as much as I love Mormon people, I
458
:know that their doctrine is damnable.
459
:And that's an appropriate use of the term.
460
:I'm not cussing up here.
461
:It is an appropriate use of saying,
Mormon doctrine is damnable,
462
:and I could tell them that with
love, and I've done that before.
463
:We've done that on mission trips in our
prior church, but that requires judging.
464
:I want you to judge, not
hypocritically, not harshly, not
465
:unfairly, but to judge righteously.
466
:Jesus continues on in this last part.
467
:This is gonna sound really harsh,
and we read these last words of
468
:Jesus, but just notice here how
he clearly wants you to judge.
469
:Here's what Jesus says, Matthew
chapter seven, starting at verse six.
470
:Here's what he says.
471
:Do not give dogs what is holy.
472
:That's harsh, Jesus.
473
:Do not throw your pearls before pigs.
474
:Okay, Jesus, really harsh.
475
:Why?
476
:Lest they trample them underfoot,
the pearls, and turn and attack you.
477
:And so he says, dogs and pigs
are, they're not good things.
478
:In fact, we'll get to that in a second.
479
:But notice here, he says, don't
give to dogs what is holy,
480
:because they will attack you.
481
:Don't give to, don't give pearls
to pigs, lest they trample them.
482
:There's a pattern there.
483
:If you see it, A, B, B, A.
484
:Don't give the dogs what is holy
because they may attack you don't give
485
:the pigs What is don't give the pigs
pearls because they'll trample them.
486
:They don't care what they are Pigs can't
appreciate a pearl and in fact pearls
487
:in that day were more valuable than
diamonds So we're talking about today.
488
:It would be like saying hey, don't give
the wolf your finest clothes They don't
489
:want they know what to do with that If you
have a coach handbag, don't give them your
490
:coach handbag if you have a louis vuitton
belt don't let them play with your louis
491
:vuitton belt That's what Jesus is saying.
492
:Now clearly Jesus wants you to judge
because who are the dogs and the pigs?
493
:You have to figure that out.
494
:Who is he talking about?
495
:When the Bible uses the terms dogs
and pigs, these are not good things.
496
:In fact, the only other place
where you get both of them together
497
:is 2nd Peter chapter 2 verse 22.
498
:He says this, what the true
proverb says has happened to them.
499
:He's talking about false teachers.
500
:He says this, the dog
returns to its own vomit.
501
:And the sow, that is the pig,
the swine, after washing herself
502
:returns to wallow in the mire.
503
:She gets clean and she
goes and plays in the mud.
504
:The dog eats its own vomit.
505
:If you have a dog,
you've seen them do this.
506
:That's a real thing.
507
:Pretty gross.
508
:My dog Chica did that several times.
509
:She vomited up.
510
:She was a cockapoo Cocker Spaniel poodle.
511
:For those of you who don't know,
she would vomit all over the place.
512
:And I'm like, that's gross, Chica.
513
:And then she'd just be like,
514
:I guess waste not want not.
515
:You're never going to lack for food.
516
:Willing to eat that's gross.
517
:Okay.
518
:Dogs and swine, not good.
519
:Furthermore here's another one about dogs.
520
:In the book of Revelation, dogs are
talked about in the same breath as
521
:sorcerers, witchcraft, which of course,
if you know your Bible, this is not
522
:something that God looks upon favorably.
523
:It says this, Outside the city gates,
outside the blessing of God, are
524
:the dogs, the false teachers, the
sorcerers, and the sexually immoral, and
525
:murderers, and idolaters, and everyone
who loves and practices falsehood.
526
:Clearly, this is not the kind of
crew that you want to run with.
527
:Furthermore, here's a,
here's one about pigs.
528
:The demons came out of the man
that was possessed by demons.
529
:Jesus sends them out into a herd of
pigs, and the herd rushed down the steep
530
:bank into the lake, and they drowned.
531
:All that to show you here that dogs
and pigs are not looked upon favorably.
532
:Jesus wants you to be able to
identify the dogs and the pigs.
533
:Now, what do we do with
this harsh language?
534
:What we do with it is recognize that there
are a, there's a kind of person who is so
535
:antagonistic and against your Christianity
and your gospel that it doesn't make sense
536
:to cast pearls before people that are
going to trample it or to give it to dogs.
537
:It is people that are going to
attack you for it, persecute you.
538
:I put it like this.
539
:Point number three.
540
:Judge when it's time to
stop sharing the gospel.
541
:There is a time, and this is the thing,
it's not the first time probably, but
542
:there is a time to say it's no longer
wise for me to share the gospel with you.
543
:Judging, Rightly means first of
all looking at yourself and saying
544
:I'm probably the issue here.
545
:I want to judge myself
first before I judge others.
546
:Then as you think about others you
want to judge in such a way that you
547
:give them the benefit of the doubt.
548
:You're not harsh, you're not critical,
but then when it comes to how you present
549
:the gospel to people you ought to be
wise enough to say there's probably a
550
:time when it's not really helpful for
me to share the gospel with people.
551
:And you ought to be sensitive to that.
552
:I think Jesus is saying that right here.
553
:There are times When Jesus does
this, and I'll show it to you, but
554
:if people are disrespecting God,
and they're dishonoring God, they're
555
:mocking Him, mocking you, mocking your
Christianity, that's a time when it's
556
:probably not good to share the gospel.
557
:Here's what Jesus does in front of Herod.
558
:Luke chapter 23 verses 9 and 11,
Herod questions Jesus at some length,
559
:but Jesus, get this, just did quiet.
560
:Now, if Jesus were a scrupulous
man, he might look at King Herod
561
:and say this is a great opportunity.
562
:I could, I, this is basically the
Joe Rogan of the first century.
563
:I can get on his podcast.
564
:I can talk to all of Jerusalem
because Herod likes me.
565
:And maybe he'll give me a platform
and people will listen to me.
566
:And then I'll be able to get
the gospel all over the world.
567
:Jesus says nothing to him.
568
:Why?
569
:Because Jesus knew, just a verse
later, Herod with his soldiers treated
570
:Jesus with contempt and mocked Him.
571
:Jesus followed His own teaching and He
was not going to cast pearls before swine.
572
:I know this is a derogatory term
and you know I'm not expecting
573
:you to call your friends or your
frenemies dogs and pigs, but you
574
:understand what Jesus is saying here.
575
:Judge well enough to know
there's a time not to say things.
576
:And probably say more generally,
there's a time to keep your mouth shut.
577
:And you'd be wise, probably more often
than not, to not say what you're thinking.
578
:It goes on here.
579
:When people mock and disrespect
God, that's probably a time
580
:to stop sharing the gospel.
581
:But also when they threaten bodily harm.
582
:That's verse 6.
583
:He says, don't give your, don't give
the dogs the gospel, don't give the
584
:pigs the gospel, because they'll
trample you, they'll attack you.
585
:That's essentially what persecution is.
586
:In Matthew chapter 13, 10
rather, verses 14 through 15.
587
:Here's what Jesus says to his
disciples as he sends them
588
:off to share the early gospel.
589
:He says, if anyone will not receive
you or listen to your words, shake
590
:off the dust from your feet when
you leave that house or town.
591
:In other words, don't let it bother you.
592
:Let that roll off your back.
593
:If they're not going to give
you a hearing, they don't
594
:want to hear the gospel.
595
:Don't force it.
596
:Don't stay there.
597
:Don't build a mountain and say, I'm
going to, I'm going to destroy you.
598
:Don't build a fortress.
599
:Don't acquire an army.
600
:Don't call down fire on the town.
601
:He says, look, shake off
the dust from your feet.
602
:Let it go and go on to the next town.
603
:Go to someone who's willing
to give you a hearing.
604
:Verse 15 is the clincher because he says
this, truly I say to you, it will be more
605
:bearable on the day of judgment for the
land of Sodom and Gomorrah than that town.
606
:Now, Sodom and Gomorrah should
ring some bells for you.
607
:This is the land that
Abraham had to save Lot from.
608
:Remember, there's angels that go to
retrieve Lot and his family, and then
609
:God rains down fire and sulfur upon
this city, these cities, this collection
610
:of cities, burns them to pieces.
611
:Part of their sin was that
they were sexually promiscuous.
612
:Jesus says they're going to be more safe.
613
:They're going to have a better judgment.
614
:in hell than the person who
doesn't respond to the gospel.
615
:Think about that.
616
:Sodom and Gomorrah is going to have
a better time in hell than the person
617
:who doesn't respond to the gospel.
618
:You ever think about that?
619
:That's remarkable because you would
think Sodom and Gomorrah are really
620
:big sinners and indeed they were, but
Jesus is saying the more light you
621
:have, the more judgment you acquire.
622
:The more light you're exposed to,
the more the gospel the more judgment
623
:you're racking up if you reject it.
624
:Because it is essentially
trampling the blood of Jesus.
625
:It would be like someone, okay,
let's just say for yucks, one of my
626
:daughters runs into the street, she
gets hit by a car terrible story.
627
:But you go outside and you dance in my
daughter's blood, stepping on her blood
628
:and kicking her corpse all over the place.
629
:Now, just out of curiosity.
630
:How do you think I might feel about that?
631
:If you would say furious beyond
all reason, you would be right.
632
:How do you think God the Father
feels when sinners trample on the
633
:blood of his son who died for them?
634
:I guess if you take the analogy further,
trying to build the illustration here,
635
:my daughter isn't only hit by the car and
her blood is on the floor, she's out there
636
:because she was trying to save your life.
637
:She pushed you out of the way of
the car, she gets hit by the car,
638
:she's run over, she's up dead on the
floor, and you dance in her blood.
639
:Talk about offensive, right?
640
:I know this is a gruesome
illustration, but this is the point.
641
:Jesus is saying, there's more judgment
for those who reject the gospel.
642
:because they're trampling
on the blood of his son.
643
:Then for those who lived in the
time of Sodom and Gomorrah, all this
644
:to showcase the fact that Jesus is
saying there's a time not to engage.
645
:There's a time to let it go.
646
:And there's a time to, when they threaten
bodily harm, Hey, don't sweat it.
647
:Probably a time to leave.
648
:Now there's qualifications here, because
the apostle Paul sometimes leaned into
649
:it and he allowed that to take place.
650
:There is a time and place to
say, I'm willing to suffer bodily
651
:harm for the sake of the gospel.
652
:There's a time and place for that.
653
:But by and large, Jesus is saying
here, you don't need to do that.
654
:Don't cast your pearls before pigs.
655
:Don't give the dogs what is holy.
656
:Okay.
657
:Judging others rightly
starts with judging yourself.
658
:Firstly, Jesus wants you to learn
how to judge, to do it the right way.
659
:Judging is appropriate and wise and
good if you apply it the right way.
660
:There's a kind of judgment
that Jesus warns you against.
661
:It's a hypocritical judgment.
662
:It is harsh.
663
:It is self serving.
664
:It's a superiority complex.
665
:It looks down at others and
says, I'm better than you.
666
:And I'm going to judge you
with a different standard
667
:than I judge myself with.
668
:You might see adults do this all the time.
669
:If you've ever sat with an adult
in the car and they get angry at
670
:cars around them, it's because
they judge themselves to be morally
671
:superior than the cars around them.
672
:And that might be the case.
673
:Now this is just another one of
those things that you don't know.
674
:Cars that cut off or are driving too
fast or driving too slow, there's a
675
:quick judgment on the part of adults that
say, Man, that person is you know, if
676
:they're going too fast, they're a moron.
677
:If they're going too
slow, they're a moron.
678
:If they're making decisions that
you wouldn't make, they're a moron.
679
:We probably ought to be much
more careful about that.
680
:It's good for you to learn how
to judge and to judge well.
681
:It's bad for you to judge with
hypocrisy, with superiority,
682
:and with loveless criticism.
683
:And really, that's the end of it, folks.
684
:Learning to judge well starts
with loving God and loving people.
685
:If you care about people,
you will judge appropriately.
686
:If you care about your neighbor, your
friends, your parents, you will judge.
687
:You should judge, but
be careful with that.
688
:Jesus wants you to learn to judge others
rightly by judging yourself firstly.
689
:Let's pray.
690
:God, help us to now put this to
work, to apply some of these lessons
691
:into our lives, to think about ways
that we could use this even tonight.
692
:Not that we want to become
hypercritical, but or overly critical,
693
:but we want to be appropriately
critical, so please teach us how to
694
:do that tonight in our small groups.
695
:We ask this all in Jesus name, Amen.
