1 00:00:00,050 --> 00:00:03,699 Speaker 3: One of the most often things that I heard at the last 2 00:00:03,699 --> 00:00:07,389 church in the youth ministry is that True North was judgy. 3 00:00:07,579 --> 00:00:11,250 We had Christian clubs on different campuses and all the campuses that 4 00:00:11,250 --> 00:00:13,839 knew about us would say, oh you're from the Compass Bible Church, 5 00:00:13,849 --> 00:00:15,329 you're one of those judgy Christians. 6 00:00:15,734 --> 00:00:18,904 We don't like going to your clubs because you guys always make people 7 00:00:18,914 --> 00:00:21,714 feel bad about the things that you say or things that you believe. 8 00:00:22,245 --> 00:00:26,204 I saw this trend on TikTok, which is we, hold on, it goes like this. 9 00:00:26,224 --> 00:00:28,594 We listen and we don't judge. 10 00:00:28,594 --> 00:00:29,524 Yeah, that's how it works. 11 00:00:29,524 --> 00:00:30,084 Exactly. 12 00:00:30,514 --> 00:00:33,504 So we're going to do this at some point as a group, we're going to do 13 00:00:33,504 --> 00:00:34,504 the, we listen and we don't judge. 14 00:00:35,274 --> 00:00:38,794 But I find it amusing because one of the things that people love to 15 00:00:38,794 --> 00:00:40,114 encourage is, Hey, don't judge me. 16 00:00:40,114 --> 00:00:40,584 Don't judge me. 17 00:00:40,584 --> 00:00:42,914 In fact, there was a song back in the nineties, maybe the early 2000s. 18 00:00:43,125 --> 00:00:43,924 No, it's definitely in the nineties. 19 00:00:44,489 --> 00:00:47,339 Or this guy sang this song that said, only God can judge me. 20 00:00:47,679 --> 00:00:50,269 Lots of people are concerned about judging and you should be. 21 00:00:50,319 --> 00:00:52,209 You don't want people judging you wrongly. 22 00:00:52,209 --> 00:00:54,009 You don't want people thinking the wrong things about you, 23 00:00:54,009 --> 00:00:56,129 but judging is a way of life. 24 00:00:56,139 --> 00:00:58,149 This is how we get through life period. 25 00:00:58,589 --> 00:00:59,669 You should judge. 26 00:00:59,839 --> 00:01:01,599 The question is, how should you judge? 27 00:01:01,619 --> 00:01:04,619 What should you be judging and what way should you be judging? 28 00:01:04,839 --> 00:01:06,629 And that's what this sermon is going to be about. 29 00:01:06,849 --> 00:01:10,839 And in fact, I can boil all of this down for you in just one and one sentence. 30 00:01:10,839 --> 00:01:12,089 In fact, let's put it like this. 31 00:01:12,624 --> 00:01:15,934 Take notes, this is going to be your way of phrasing this whole conversation. 32 00:01:16,254 --> 00:01:18,854 I want you to learn to judge, and the way that you're going to judge 33 00:01:18,854 --> 00:01:22,024 well is by judging yourself first. 34 00:01:22,033 --> 00:01:27,464 So I put it like this, judge others rightly by judging yourself firstly. 35 00:01:27,884 --> 00:01:31,084 I don't think firstly is technically grammatically correct, it doesn't sound 36 00:01:31,094 --> 00:01:32,374 good, but you get the idea, right? 37 00:01:32,694 --> 00:01:36,834 Judge yourself, or judge others rightly by judging yourself firstly. 38 00:01:37,054 --> 00:01:42,064 That's kind of Jesus point as we make our way into The Gospel of Matthew once more. 39 00:01:42,334 --> 00:01:45,644 In fact, we're getting close to the end of the Sermon on the Mount. 40 00:01:45,924 --> 00:01:48,484 And so we're getting down to the final verses here, and Jesus is 41 00:01:48,484 --> 00:01:52,334 concerned that the way you approach people is not the wrong way. 42 00:01:52,344 --> 00:01:53,503 He wants you to love them. 43 00:01:53,524 --> 00:01:54,753 He wants you to care about people. 44 00:01:54,753 --> 00:01:56,003 He wants it to be salt and light. 45 00:01:56,294 --> 00:01:58,604 He cares that you make a difference in the world around you. 46 00:01:58,674 --> 00:02:02,234 He cares that you value what's valuable, that you acquire spiritual 47 00:02:02,294 --> 00:02:04,114 resources and spiritual rewards. 48 00:02:04,414 --> 00:02:08,314 But here, Jesus is going to give you some really important information about how 49 00:02:08,314 --> 00:02:09,804 to interact with the world around you. 50 00:02:10,124 --> 00:02:13,394 In fact, one of the most important questions you can ask is how do 51 00:02:13,394 --> 00:02:17,414 I interact with people and judge appropriately without alienating them? 52 00:02:17,684 --> 00:02:18,974 How do I love people well? 53 00:02:18,974 --> 00:02:22,164 In fact, it's going to take a lot of effort on your part if you're going to be 54 00:02:22,164 --> 00:02:24,084 a good friend to the people that you love. 55 00:02:24,164 --> 00:02:28,603 For instance, one student I had always the kind of student that just never 56 00:02:28,603 --> 00:02:30,584 came to youth ministry, put together. 57 00:02:30,884 --> 00:02:32,353 He always had something going on. 58 00:02:32,355 --> 00:02:36,353 And so one day he came and, this is embarrassing. 59 00:02:36,353 --> 00:02:37,644 You're never going to find out who it is anyway. 60 00:02:37,684 --> 00:02:38,614 So it's perfectly safe. 61 00:02:39,144 --> 00:02:43,754 He came to youth ministry and he reeked, just had the armpit thing going on. 62 00:02:44,154 --> 00:02:47,134 So I walked by him and it's like one of those things where he's passing me. 63 00:02:47,134 --> 00:02:52,064 I'm passing in the, Whoa, I, the cloud of bodily odor went with him. 64 00:02:52,704 --> 00:02:54,954 And I thought, okay, What's my play here? 65 00:02:55,134 --> 00:02:56,274 How do I help this kid? 66 00:02:56,284 --> 00:02:57,824 Cause he, he smells really badly. 67 00:02:57,824 --> 00:02:59,254 I'm sure everybody notices it. 68 00:02:59,594 --> 00:03:00,344 And he's a young man. 69 00:03:00,344 --> 00:03:02,594 He cares about girls and what they think about him. 70 00:03:02,834 --> 00:03:05,194 And so I said, Hey man, I put my arm around him. 71 00:03:05,204 --> 00:03:06,154 I said, come with me. 72 00:03:06,384 --> 00:03:08,984 And I walked him over to, this is in one 20 West. 73 00:03:08,984 --> 00:03:12,624 If Compass Bible Church of Liso Viejo, it's this big square building 74 00:03:12,625 --> 00:03:15,654 like this kind of, but there's a closet right next to the entrance. 75 00:03:15,675 --> 00:03:17,964 So I took him to the closet and I said, Hey man, I just got 76 00:03:17,964 --> 00:03:19,724 to tell you, you really smell. 77 00:03:20,314 --> 00:03:22,214 You just, you're really bad today. 78 00:03:22,685 --> 00:03:23,914 You need to do something about it. 79 00:03:23,925 --> 00:03:28,825 Do you have any deodorant on your person or in your bag or in your socks? 80 00:03:28,844 --> 00:03:29,615 Anywhere at all? 81 00:03:29,625 --> 00:03:30,675 Do you have deodorant? 82 00:03:31,005 --> 00:03:33,724 And his answer of course was no. 83 00:03:34,454 --> 00:03:35,185 What's deodorant? 84 00:03:36,164 --> 00:03:39,224 If he was a junior higher, I might give him that, but he was in high school. 85 00:03:39,224 --> 00:03:40,175 He should have known better. 86 00:03:41,054 --> 00:03:45,185 So I graciously loaned, this is gross. 87 00:03:45,415 --> 00:03:46,295 This is man code. 88 00:03:46,335 --> 00:03:48,235 You typically don't want to share these kinds of things. 89 00:03:48,590 --> 00:03:50,560 But I loaned him my deodorant. 90 00:03:50,560 --> 00:03:52,750 I always carry some in my bag for just such an occasion, 91 00:03:53,029 --> 00:03:54,170 either if I stink or he stinks. 92 00:03:54,170 --> 00:03:56,279 And I gave it to him, and I said, man, don't let this happen again. 93 00:03:56,290 --> 00:03:57,220 Let this be a lesson. 94 00:03:57,809 --> 00:03:58,990 Go and sin no more. 95 00:03:58,990 --> 00:04:01,200 And he walked away. 96 00:04:01,719 --> 00:04:04,909 I don't know if his life was ever changed, but it took someone confronting 97 00:04:04,910 --> 00:04:07,000 another person to really impact him. 98 00:04:07,000 --> 00:04:08,149 And I trust that he remembers this. 99 00:04:08,149 --> 00:04:10,850 If I were to ask him about it, I'm sure he would remember the time that 100 00:04:10,850 --> 00:04:12,769 Pastor Rod told him that he smelled. 101 00:04:13,750 --> 00:04:15,320 I had to judge him to do that, though, didn't I? 102 00:04:15,899 --> 00:04:19,510 I had to smell his person and realize he does not smell good. 103 00:04:19,539 --> 00:04:20,959 I ought to do something about that. 104 00:04:21,320 --> 00:04:24,090 Jesus wants you to know how to judge people. 105 00:04:24,240 --> 00:04:27,140 And in fact, he wants you to know how to judge friends, how to judge brothers. 106 00:04:27,409 --> 00:04:29,539 The context of this is that he wants you to know how to judge 107 00:04:29,539 --> 00:04:30,570 people that you care about. 108 00:04:31,120 --> 00:04:33,580 And the answer is not, don't judge me at all. 109 00:04:33,849 --> 00:04:36,520 The answer is not, judge not lest you be judged. 110 00:04:36,539 --> 00:04:38,220 People use this all the time, but they use it wrongly. 111 00:04:38,220 --> 00:04:40,150 Jesus doesn't want you to not judge, period. 112 00:04:40,315 --> 00:04:41,815 He wants you to judge the right way. 113 00:04:42,255 --> 00:04:43,555 So with that said, follow along with me. 114 00:04:43,555 --> 00:04:44,455 Matthew chapter seven. 115 00:04:44,465 --> 00:04:47,085 Let's take a look at what Jesus says and let's first of all, read the 116 00:04:47,085 --> 00:04:48,585 verse that everybody gets wrong. 117 00:04:48,585 --> 00:04:51,355 In fact, one verse that people like to throw out Christians all 118 00:04:51,355 --> 00:04:53,095 the time is, Hey, don't judge me. 119 00:04:53,125 --> 00:04:56,394 Doesn't your Bible say, doesn't Jesus say, judge not well, 120 00:04:56,395 --> 00:04:57,494 let's read this in context. 121 00:04:57,964 --> 00:05:00,325 Matthew chapter seven, starting at verse one. 122 00:05:00,945 --> 00:05:02,115 Here's what Jesus says. 123 00:05:03,400 --> 00:05:06,150 Judge not that you be not judged. 124 00:05:06,180 --> 00:05:08,980 Now if we were just reading that verse alone, we would understand how 125 00:05:08,980 --> 00:05:10,330 people get this wrong all the time. 126 00:05:10,840 --> 00:05:11,570 But he says more. 127 00:05:12,659 --> 00:05:16,799 He says, for with the judgment you pronounce, that is the judgment that 128 00:05:16,810 --> 00:05:21,410 you use against others, you will be judged by that same standard. 129 00:05:21,850 --> 00:05:26,310 And with the measure you use with people, that same measurement 130 00:05:26,320 --> 00:05:27,840 will be used against you. 131 00:05:28,615 --> 00:05:30,455 Really simple what Jesus is saying here. 132 00:05:30,945 --> 00:05:34,735 He wants you to know that you should not never judge, even though it sounds like 133 00:05:34,735 --> 00:05:36,534 that, but that you should judge correctly. 134 00:05:36,875 --> 00:05:42,045 He wants you to not be a hypocritical, self righteous, unfair, harsh judge. 135 00:05:42,454 --> 00:05:47,784 He wants you to look at people and afford them the same kind of benefit of 136 00:05:47,784 --> 00:05:49,624 a doubt that you would give yourself. 137 00:05:50,034 --> 00:05:52,045 He's saying don't judge hypocritically. 138 00:05:52,860 --> 00:05:55,040 This is a kind of a superiority complex. 139 00:05:55,350 --> 00:05:57,740 You might be tempted to feel this kind of judgment when you hear 140 00:05:57,740 --> 00:05:59,000 about the other churches in town. 141 00:05:59,340 --> 00:06:00,490 Oh, you go to that church? 142 00:06:00,540 --> 00:06:02,260 Oh, they don't really teach the Bible. 143 00:06:02,570 --> 00:06:05,660 All they're doing is just doing this other stuff over here, this entertainment show. 144 00:06:05,670 --> 00:06:07,869 Our church, we will really teach the Bible. 145 00:06:08,270 --> 00:06:09,630 You guys, good luck to you. 146 00:06:10,180 --> 00:06:11,370 Superiority complex. 147 00:06:11,740 --> 00:06:15,960 This posture that Jesus is warning us against keeps us from the kind of 148 00:06:15,960 --> 00:06:20,190 righteousness that God wants to create within us, and it's not a proud arrogance. 149 00:06:20,190 --> 00:06:24,885 It's not a In fact, let's put it like this, point number one, when Jesus tells 150 00:06:24,885 --> 00:06:28,825 you to judge somebody, he's going to say you need to judge others fairly. 151 00:06:29,445 --> 00:06:33,295 He doesn't want you to judge somebody based on your own presupposition. 152 00:06:33,305 --> 00:06:36,375 Sometimes today people are judged because of what they look like 153 00:06:36,435 --> 00:06:38,115 or their race or their creed. 154 00:06:38,175 --> 00:06:39,795 They're a certain religious type of person. 155 00:06:40,155 --> 00:06:43,045 You can quickly make assessments about somebody and sometimes they're 156 00:06:43,045 --> 00:06:45,195 somewhat right, but often we're wrong. 157 00:06:45,845 --> 00:06:48,945 Jesus doesn't want us to judge harshly. 158 00:06:49,750 --> 00:06:55,290 Imagine a football player playing in a key game and in somehow or another the 159 00:06:55,510 --> 00:06:59,870 people start accusing this guy of cheating and so now everyone in the school says 160 00:06:59,870 --> 00:07:04,130 oh the quarterback cheated deflate gate he was deflating the footballs and they 161 00:07:04,130 --> 00:07:08,110 start calling people against him and they ask him not to play anymore he steps down 162 00:07:08,550 --> 00:07:12,480 only to find out in the video footage he was never cheating after all but the 163 00:07:12,480 --> 00:07:15,980 damage had been done people are already saying things about him they're already 164 00:07:16,060 --> 00:07:20,135 ruining his reputation A lot of this can happen when you're talking to somebody. 165 00:07:20,435 --> 00:07:22,605 Let's say you're having a tussle between you and your friend. 166 00:07:23,075 --> 00:07:25,065 Oh Sean looked at me the wrong way today. 167 00:07:25,295 --> 00:07:26,115 I don't like that. 168 00:07:26,125 --> 00:07:27,275 We're not friends anymore. 169 00:07:27,495 --> 00:07:28,855 I think Sean's doing drugs. 170 00:07:28,955 --> 00:07:29,695 That's what I think. 171 00:07:29,944 --> 00:07:34,105 You start telling people, Sean's doing drugs and oh, Sean's doing drugs. 172 00:07:35,885 --> 00:07:37,945 I don't think he's doing drugs, it's just, he's here. 173 00:07:39,645 --> 00:07:43,445 You talk to Sean and you realize, oh, he's not doing drugs and 174 00:07:43,445 --> 00:07:44,795 he wasn't looking at me funny. 175 00:07:45,085 --> 00:07:46,455 It was really just a misunderstanding. 176 00:07:46,455 --> 00:07:50,265 He was getting ready to sneeze and I misunderstood that face as being mad. 177 00:07:50,395 --> 00:07:51,485 Oh, that's what happened. 178 00:07:51,885 --> 00:07:52,445 What happened? 179 00:07:52,675 --> 00:07:55,505 All the people that you talked to and said, Sean's doing drugs. 180 00:07:55,515 --> 00:07:56,885 That's why he's mad at me. 181 00:07:57,345 --> 00:08:00,245 Now, they're infected with your cynicism about that person 182 00:08:00,255 --> 00:08:01,895 because you judged unfairly. 183 00:08:02,785 --> 00:08:05,755 You need to realize that Jesus doesn't want you to judge unfairly. 184 00:08:05,755 --> 00:08:07,315 He doesn't want you to judge wrongly. 185 00:08:08,140 --> 00:08:09,770 In fact, let's do it this way. 186 00:08:09,770 --> 00:08:11,680 Judging others fairly looks like this. 187 00:08:11,730 --> 00:08:14,410 First, it looks like assuming the best about somebody. 188 00:08:14,900 --> 00:08:16,980 Judging others fairly means assuming the best. 189 00:08:17,270 --> 00:08:19,330 You might know 1 Corinthians chapter 13. 190 00:08:19,349 --> 00:08:23,060 This is often called the love chapter, and in this chapter, verse 7 is one 191 00:08:23,060 --> 00:08:25,460 of, one of everybody's favorites, because here's what it says. 192 00:08:25,950 --> 00:08:29,570 If you're a truly loving person, love bears all things. 193 00:08:29,570 --> 00:08:30,630 That means you endure. 194 00:08:30,910 --> 00:08:34,500 You put up with a lot of relational junk because you love the person. 195 00:08:34,500 --> 00:08:35,919 It doesn't mean that you never address it. 196 00:08:35,919 --> 00:08:36,909 We'll get to that in a second. 197 00:08:37,605 --> 00:08:38,705 Love bears all things. 198 00:08:38,705 --> 00:08:40,525 Love believes all things. 199 00:08:41,034 --> 00:08:41,934 That's where I'm pointing here. 200 00:08:41,955 --> 00:08:45,835 Believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 201 00:08:46,255 --> 00:08:50,835 This is the posture that says, even though I could assume the worst about 202 00:08:50,835 --> 00:08:52,435 you, I'm going to assume the best. 203 00:08:53,005 --> 00:08:55,725 In fact, this is something a pastor has to do when I look at you and it 204 00:08:55,725 --> 00:08:56,975 looks like you're not paying attention. 205 00:08:57,575 --> 00:08:58,995 Often you're not paying attention. 206 00:08:59,245 --> 00:09:00,105 You're one thing or another. 207 00:09:00,105 --> 00:09:02,585 You're distracted by something else, partly because you're trained 208 00:09:02,585 --> 00:09:03,625 by our technology to do that. 209 00:09:03,680 --> 00:09:05,160 Hat tip to Revival Winter Edition. 210 00:09:06,030 --> 00:09:07,890 But often I just think, okay, maybe they're thinking. 211 00:09:07,910 --> 00:09:09,010 Maybe they're writing down notes. 212 00:09:09,010 --> 00:09:10,280 Maybe they're trying to figure things out. 213 00:09:10,290 --> 00:09:11,610 Maybe they're working it out on their paper. 214 00:09:12,660 --> 00:09:16,650 You looking at anyone else in the world, it's easy for you to judge 215 00:09:16,650 --> 00:09:17,950 them, for one reason or another. 216 00:09:18,000 --> 00:09:20,120 Think about the kind of people that you're quick to judge. 217 00:09:21,000 --> 00:09:24,130 I don't know about you but I notice different people groups. 218 00:09:24,530 --> 00:09:26,850 In fact, in my neighborhood, there's a lot of different people groups. 219 00:09:26,850 --> 00:09:29,230 And one subset of people group that I see all the time is Indians. 220 00:09:30,015 --> 00:09:31,005 I don't know a lot about Indians. 221 00:09:31,035 --> 00:09:34,335 I'm getting to know my Indian neighbors sometimes they're called Southeast Asians. 222 00:09:35,435 --> 00:09:37,745 I I make assumptions about what is true about them, because I 223 00:09:37,745 --> 00:09:38,675 don't know a whole lot of them. 224 00:09:38,885 --> 00:09:41,384 And maybe you do the same thing, or maybe you do that with black people, and 225 00:09:41,385 --> 00:09:42,745 maybe you do that with Mexican people. 226 00:09:42,975 --> 00:09:45,265 Maybe you do that with all sorts of people, and you make assumptions 227 00:09:45,305 --> 00:09:46,585 because you don't know a lot about them. 228 00:09:47,185 --> 00:09:50,125 The idea here is that love believes the best about people. 229 00:09:50,705 --> 00:09:52,899 Doesn't always mean you're going to be right, that's for sure. 230 00:09:53,540 --> 00:09:55,340 But Jesus wants us to start with the posture scene. 231 00:09:55,490 --> 00:09:58,440 I want to choose to believe the best about the people that God 232 00:09:58,440 --> 00:10:01,420 puts in my life, whoever they are, especially if they're Christians. 233 00:10:03,570 --> 00:10:05,240 Okay, assume the best. 234 00:10:05,670 --> 00:10:07,730 Judging others fairly will also mean this. 235 00:10:07,810 --> 00:10:08,750 Oops, there we go. 236 00:10:09,400 --> 00:10:11,090 Considering multiple sides. 237 00:10:11,850 --> 00:10:12,540 Someone offends you. 238 00:10:12,710 --> 00:10:14,120 They say something to you that you don't like. 239 00:10:15,175 --> 00:10:19,805 Again, someone makes a, someone gives you a look and you think that look is 240 00:10:19,985 --> 00:10:23,345 disappointment, disapproval, your dad looks at you with a certain look, your 241 00:10:23,345 --> 00:10:26,475 mom says something to you in a certain tone of voice, and you start making 242 00:10:26,475 --> 00:10:27,855 assumptions about what that means. 243 00:10:28,255 --> 00:10:30,745 Here's how scripture tells us to think about those kinds of situations. 244 00:10:30,745 --> 00:10:37,165 It says this, proverbs 18 17 says the one who states his case first seems right 245 00:10:37,195 --> 00:10:39,305 until the other comes and examines him. 246 00:10:39,905 --> 00:10:44,065 You might have heard people say it this way, there are two sides to every story. 247 00:10:44,735 --> 00:10:45,955 And get this is really cool. 248 00:10:46,045 --> 00:10:49,415 This week I got glasses and these glasses actually magnify. 249 00:10:49,845 --> 00:10:51,115 Oh wow, what a difference. 250 00:10:52,005 --> 00:10:53,805 Okay, these glasses actually magnify. 251 00:10:53,815 --> 00:10:55,435 I can see your faces much more clearly. 252 00:10:55,475 --> 00:10:55,815 Two. 253 00:10:56,365 --> 00:11:00,705 Yes, One of the things that I noticed when I put them on. 254 00:11:01,255 --> 00:11:05,555 Is that I realized that my vision was not everyone else's vision. 255 00:11:06,135 --> 00:11:07,185 That's not rocket science. 256 00:11:07,185 --> 00:11:09,025 I know that you know that, but here's what was amazing to me. 257 00:11:09,455 --> 00:11:11,995 I was looking at the world and thinking, this is what everybody 258 00:11:11,995 --> 00:11:14,545 sees until I realized, Oh no, this is what everybody sees. 259 00:11:14,545 --> 00:11:17,895 If you have 20, 20 vision, things clearly and sharply, even in the dark. 260 00:11:18,305 --> 00:11:21,675 I got used to seeing things a certain way, but what it took me having to 261 00:11:21,675 --> 00:11:24,505 do was putting on a different set of glasses to see the world differently, 262 00:11:25,165 --> 00:11:27,135 to put on different lenses for you. 263 00:11:27,145 --> 00:11:27,945 One of the challenges. 264 00:11:29,110 --> 00:11:31,260 is that you're going to see things from your own perspective. 265 00:11:31,260 --> 00:11:32,640 That's your easiest access point. 266 00:11:32,940 --> 00:11:36,430 But God says, look, if you want to, if you want to judge others fairly, 267 00:11:36,560 --> 00:11:39,430 you really have to give them the benefit of doubt and also consider 268 00:11:39,430 --> 00:11:41,160 the issue from multiple angles. 269 00:11:41,640 --> 00:11:44,350 Maybe there was something else going on in that person's life. 270 00:11:44,430 --> 00:11:48,029 Maybe Sean was just preparing this knees and he wasn't looking at you funny. 271 00:11:48,310 --> 00:11:50,940 Maybe your mom was thinking about something else when she talked 272 00:11:50,940 --> 00:11:52,010 to you the way that she did. 273 00:11:52,340 --> 00:11:54,290 Maybe your teacher isn't picking on you. 274 00:11:54,490 --> 00:11:56,880 Maybe they're just having a bad Tuesday or Wednesday. 275 00:11:57,120 --> 00:11:59,260 Maybe things aren't the way that you think that they are. 276 00:11:59,260 --> 00:12:00,930 And often, they're not. 277 00:12:01,610 --> 00:12:04,140 You're working with this much knowledge. 278 00:12:04,980 --> 00:12:06,810 Okay, this is how much knowledge you have. 279 00:12:07,280 --> 00:12:10,659 Now, out of curiosity, how much knowledge is there in the world? 280 00:12:10,660 --> 00:12:11,600 How would you quantify that? 281 00:12:11,630 --> 00:12:13,290 If this is you, what's the world's knowledge? 282 00:12:13,840 --> 00:12:17,620 Beyond the world, like beyond the room, beyond the school, the 283 00:12:17,620 --> 00:12:19,390 knowledge available to us is infinite. 284 00:12:19,750 --> 00:12:21,100 Your knowledge is this much. 285 00:12:21,420 --> 00:12:24,290 So what you should do with your imagination when you're trying to judge 286 00:12:24,290 --> 00:12:27,270 the world around you is to say, okay, I'm going to assume the best and I'm 287 00:12:27,270 --> 00:12:30,190 going to think about multiple angles and think about the multiple sides here. 288 00:12:30,860 --> 00:12:32,310 That's how you judge someone fairly. 289 00:12:32,480 --> 00:12:33,670 Consider multiple sides. 290 00:12:34,010 --> 00:12:35,470 Don't rush to conclusions. 291 00:12:35,720 --> 00:12:37,400 Give people the benefit of the doubt. 292 00:12:37,610 --> 00:12:38,680 That's where Jesus starts. 293 00:12:39,355 --> 00:12:41,215 He continues on and he builds his point here. 294 00:12:41,215 --> 00:12:43,985 Remember, if we're going to judge others rightly, we have 295 00:12:43,985 --> 00:12:45,715 to judge ourselves firstly. 296 00:12:45,925 --> 00:12:48,955 Here's how Jesus develops his point, Matthew chapter seven, starting at 297 00:12:48,955 --> 00:12:51,735 verse two into verse three, I think. 298 00:12:52,185 --> 00:12:53,555 No, actually I'm going to start at verse three. 299 00:12:53,625 --> 00:12:55,325 I have verse two there, but let's go to verse three. 300 00:12:56,675 --> 00:12:58,635 He says, why do you see the speck? 301 00:12:58,785 --> 00:13:00,115 That is like a speck of sawdust. 302 00:13:00,115 --> 00:13:02,365 Why do you see the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye? 303 00:13:02,765 --> 00:13:05,465 And when he says brother, he's not talking about your biological brother. 304 00:13:05,465 --> 00:13:07,005 He's talking about your Christian brother. 305 00:13:08,580 --> 00:13:11,630 Why do you see the speck, the itty bitty speck in your brother's eye, but do not 306 00:13:11,640 --> 00:13:16,960 notice the log, this big wooden beam that they would use as pillars in their houses. 307 00:13:17,310 --> 00:13:20,550 Why do you not notice this big plank in your own eye? 308 00:13:21,780 --> 00:13:25,480 Or how can you say to your brother, let me take the little itty bitty speck 309 00:13:25,480 --> 00:13:30,305 out of your eye when there is a log, a plank, a pillar in your own eye. 310 00:13:30,305 --> 00:13:31,980 And notice how Jesus talks to this person. 311 00:13:31,980 --> 00:13:33,090 He says, you hypocrite. 312 00:13:33,975 --> 00:13:36,415 First, take the log out of your own eye. 313 00:13:36,445 --> 00:13:38,955 Take that big pillar out of your eye, and then you'll be able to 314 00:13:38,955 --> 00:13:41,455 see clearly enough to take the speck out of your brother's eye. 315 00:13:41,795 --> 00:13:44,255 Notice here, he doesn't say don't ever judge. 316 00:13:44,255 --> 00:13:47,085 He's saying when you judge, make sure that you judge yourself first. 317 00:13:47,865 --> 00:13:52,015 Point number two, when you're trying to judge and judge right, Jesus says, 318 00:13:52,055 --> 00:13:54,455 judge your own sin before judging theirs. 319 00:13:54,885 --> 00:13:58,965 Make sure that when you attempt to help somebody with some area 320 00:13:58,965 --> 00:14:02,795 of sin in their lives, that you first and foremost deal with yours. 321 00:14:02,875 --> 00:14:03,120 Okay. 322 00:14:03,120 --> 00:14:03,611 That's good. 323 00:14:03,611 --> 00:14:04,348 We're almost there. 324 00:14:04,348 --> 00:14:06,803 Oh, I told you there was a lot to learn. 325 00:14:06,803 --> 00:14:07,294 All right. 326 00:14:07,294 --> 00:14:08,521 I'm going to try this. 327 00:14:08,521 --> 00:14:10,486 I've been studying this for a long time. 328 00:14:10,486 --> 00:14:12,695 I'm going to try it for the first time. 329 00:14:12,695 --> 00:14:14,168 And I'm going to wear it. 330 00:14:14,168 --> 00:14:16,623 And I expect it's going to be the most amazing. 331 00:14:16,623 --> 00:14:19,569 And I'm going to do it, and I'm going to do it. 332 00:14:21,980 --> 00:14:23,730 somewhere around the time that Jacob was born. 333 00:14:23,730 --> 00:14:24,340 I got LASIK. 334 00:14:24,560 --> 00:14:28,730 LASIK is when they take a laser and put it in your eye and correct your vision. 335 00:14:28,810 --> 00:14:31,000 I don't know how it works, but I just know the basics as what they do. 336 00:14:31,480 --> 00:14:33,260 They correct your vision by putting a laser in your eye. 337 00:14:33,510 --> 00:14:36,340 They say it lasts about 10 years, and I'm a little beyond that now, so 338 00:14:36,340 --> 00:14:38,060 here we go again, putting on glasses. 339 00:14:39,520 --> 00:14:42,820 Now that I can see, I can point to you guys and say, look at that. 340 00:14:42,940 --> 00:14:44,460 I can see, so I can tell you to see. 341 00:14:44,510 --> 00:14:47,940 I can tell you, oh look at that star over there, because I can see it more clearly. 342 00:14:48,390 --> 00:14:51,070 If I just had my normal vision, it would be a lot fuzzier, and I'd be 343 00:14:51,070 --> 00:14:53,250 able to say, I think it's over there, and next to that thing over there. 344 00:14:53,460 --> 00:14:55,640 It'd be much harder for me to help you see if I can't see. 345 00:14:56,030 --> 00:14:57,250 That's what Jesus is saying here. 346 00:14:57,580 --> 00:15:00,450 You're not gonna be able to see people's sin as easily if you're 347 00:15:00,480 --> 00:15:02,710 clouded with your own sin in your life. 348 00:15:03,160 --> 00:15:06,380 If you're living with sin in such a way that sin is clouding 349 00:15:06,390 --> 00:15:09,400 your spiritual perception, you're not gonna be helpful to people. 350 00:15:10,130 --> 00:15:11,030 In fact, let me put it like this. 351 00:15:11,030 --> 00:15:11,990 You should judge. 352 00:15:12,310 --> 00:15:13,160 You should judge. 353 00:15:13,160 --> 00:15:14,900 There's a helpfulness to judging rightly. 354 00:15:16,495 --> 00:15:20,025 One of the best things about having a good friend is that a good friend 355 00:15:20,035 --> 00:15:21,515 can tell you when you smell like BO. 356 00:15:22,595 --> 00:15:25,285 A good friend can tell you when you got a booger hanging out. 357 00:15:25,795 --> 00:15:28,755 A good friend can tell you when you got something on your face. 358 00:15:28,755 --> 00:15:32,565 Have you ever had some food on your face, and you don't find out for like minutes, 359 00:15:33,235 --> 00:15:34,801 and you wonder, why did anybody tell me? 360 00:15:34,801 --> 00:15:36,584 You go to the bathroom, food on your face, and you're wondering 361 00:15:36,585 --> 00:15:37,645 why no one said anything to you. 362 00:15:38,185 --> 00:15:39,805 A good friend's gonna point those things out. 363 00:15:40,345 --> 00:15:42,795 A good friend cares about you enough to say, hey man, your fly is down. 364 00:15:43,250 --> 00:15:46,530 I've done that to countless people and I love when people say hey man But I 365 00:15:46,530 --> 00:15:49,400 should let you know in a private way not like where everyone can hear you. 366 00:15:49,810 --> 00:15:54,270 I think it's that's a bro move Jesus wants you to judge appropriately The 367 00:15:54,280 --> 00:15:56,810 way that you judge appropriately is by being willing to first and foremost 368 00:15:56,810 --> 00:16:00,990 look at yourself This allows you to see others more clearly One of the 369 00:16:00,990 --> 00:16:01,970 things you ought to notice here. 370 00:16:02,280 --> 00:16:02,670 There you go. 371 00:16:02,690 --> 00:16:04,290 There's my two points I didn't mean to do that. 372 00:16:04,660 --> 00:16:07,730 There you go One of things you ought to notice that judging yourself helps you see 373 00:16:07,730 --> 00:16:12,250 the blinding effects of Sin has a way of clouding your vision When you're living in 374 00:16:12,250 --> 00:16:16,870 a life of sin, when you're doing something that violates God's law, that sin hardens 375 00:16:16,870 --> 00:16:19,430 your heart and clouds your vision. 376 00:16:19,440 --> 00:16:22,130 It makes it hard for you to see what's valuable. 377 00:16:22,340 --> 00:16:25,310 Remember, I think two weeks ago in my sermon, I said, value what's valuable. 378 00:16:25,320 --> 00:16:27,180 Jesus wants you to value spiritual rewards. 379 00:16:27,370 --> 00:16:28,350 You should aspire for those. 380 00:16:28,630 --> 00:16:31,430 If you're living in a life of sin, what's really valuable 381 00:16:31,430 --> 00:16:32,550 doesn't look valuable to you. 382 00:16:32,920 --> 00:16:34,840 You start saying I really value these other things. 383 00:16:34,840 --> 00:16:38,520 I value frittering away my time with things that are less important. 384 00:16:38,520 --> 00:16:42,420 If you have a hard time seeing what the Bible says is important, it might 385 00:16:42,420 --> 00:16:44,900 be because you have sin that you love. 386 00:16:45,330 --> 00:16:47,810 When you love sin, it's hard to love God. 387 00:16:48,210 --> 00:16:52,250 You can't have sin in your heart, loving that and love God at the same time. 388 00:16:52,300 --> 00:16:53,930 One, one thing is going to have to win. 389 00:16:54,680 --> 00:16:55,600 You get to choose that. 390 00:16:56,240 --> 00:17:00,970 And therefore, if you want to help judge others rightly, you need to be able 391 00:17:00,970 --> 00:17:04,890 to look at yourself in the mirror, And realize that sin blinds your attention. 392 00:17:04,890 --> 00:17:07,640 Again, when you have a good friend, they're willing to call sin out. 393 00:17:08,099 --> 00:17:10,200 When you have a good friend, they're willing to say, hey 394 00:17:10,200 --> 00:17:11,359 man you're really critical. 395 00:17:12,060 --> 00:17:13,650 Or, hey sis, you're really vain. 396 00:17:13,660 --> 00:17:15,520 It looks like you're really into your looks right now. 397 00:17:16,079 --> 00:17:17,430 Or some other thing like that. 398 00:17:17,440 --> 00:17:18,690 It doesn't have to be those two things. 399 00:17:18,690 --> 00:17:20,670 But obviously, a friend that cares about you is a friend 400 00:17:20,670 --> 00:17:21,619 that's going to call you out. 401 00:17:22,480 --> 00:17:25,599 And so you want to be able to cultivate good judging skills. 402 00:17:25,609 --> 00:17:28,099 And you're not going to do that if you're loving sin. 403 00:17:29,070 --> 00:17:31,900 If you want to judge rightly, you have to look at yourself first and 404 00:17:31,900 --> 00:17:33,870 say, am I harboring sin in my heart? 405 00:17:33,870 --> 00:17:40,760 Secondly, judging yourself makes it possible for you to judge others. 406 00:17:41,460 --> 00:17:43,580 Just because you're judging your own sin doesn't mean you're 407 00:17:43,590 --> 00:17:45,000 guaranteed to judge others well. 408 00:17:45,670 --> 00:17:49,220 It makes it possible, but you still have to know that you're going to 409 00:17:49,230 --> 00:17:52,750 have to be careful and humble about the way that you approach people. 410 00:17:53,490 --> 00:17:58,205 In fact, one of the things that you should be aware of is that Judging others is 411 00:17:58,215 --> 00:17:59,945 something that you should do very slowly. 412 00:17:59,975 --> 00:18:01,745 Jesus doesn't want you to do this all the time. 413 00:18:01,745 --> 00:18:03,075 You're not the, you're not the Holy Spirit. 414 00:18:03,525 --> 00:18:05,045 You're not the sanctification police. 415 00:18:05,465 --> 00:18:08,155 But if you do love people, you will do this. 416 00:18:08,575 --> 00:18:09,485 You will do this. 417 00:18:12,585 --> 00:18:14,785 One of the things that make you able to see is your own 418 00:18:14,805 --> 00:18:16,445 repentance and your own faith. 419 00:18:17,345 --> 00:18:19,935 If you don't do that, you're the blind leading the blind, and that's not going 420 00:18:19,935 --> 00:18:21,195 to be helpful for you or for them. 421 00:18:22,325 --> 00:18:25,400 If you're going to help someone, By judging them well, you need 422 00:18:25,400 --> 00:18:26,250 to have three ingredients. 423 00:18:26,250 --> 00:18:27,980 Humility, clarity, and purity. 424 00:18:28,550 --> 00:18:29,950 That's going to allow you to love people well. 425 00:18:30,020 --> 00:18:31,070 And I want you to do this. 426 00:18:31,690 --> 00:18:33,170 I don't want us to be known as judgy. 427 00:18:33,200 --> 00:18:35,490 I don't want you guys to be known as judgy Christians. 428 00:18:35,970 --> 00:18:37,400 But I do want you to judge. 429 00:18:37,410 --> 00:18:40,030 And I want you to be clear and discerning in the right way. 430 00:18:40,660 --> 00:18:44,870 For instance, when you get approached by a Mormon, or a Jehovah's 431 00:18:44,870 --> 00:18:46,020 Witness, but I love Mormons. 432 00:18:46,030 --> 00:18:47,060 Mormons are so nice. 433 00:18:47,450 --> 00:18:48,810 They're some of the nicest people I know. 434 00:18:49,560 --> 00:18:51,070 I would love to have them as neighbors. 435 00:18:51,270 --> 00:18:53,360 I would love to have many more Mormon friends, because 436 00:18:53,360 --> 00:18:55,040 they're just so nice to know. 437 00:18:55,050 --> 00:18:55,850 They're great people. 438 00:18:56,840 --> 00:19:00,160 I want you to imagine that your best friend is a Mormon, and they start 439 00:19:00,160 --> 00:19:01,750 telling you the gospel of Mormonism. 440 00:19:02,220 --> 00:19:03,970 Joseph Smith restored the gospel. 441 00:19:03,990 --> 00:19:06,920 He gave us this New Testament that Jesus came to the Americas. 442 00:19:06,920 --> 00:19:07,920 This is the Book of Mormon. 443 00:19:08,210 --> 00:19:10,560 I want you to read it, and when you read the Book of Mormon, you're going to feel 444 00:19:10,560 --> 00:19:15,140 the burning bosom in your heart, and you're going to know that Joseph Smith 445 00:19:15,200 --> 00:19:18,915 is a prophet of God, And the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints 446 00:19:19,015 --> 00:19:21,215 is His restored church on this planet. 447 00:19:22,235 --> 00:19:25,125 Your love for that person will make it really hard for you to say, I 448 00:19:25,125 --> 00:19:26,195 don't know if I should do this. 449 00:19:27,585 --> 00:19:28,285 It's gonna tell you now. 450 00:19:28,295 --> 00:19:30,905 Your love for people is gonna cause you to want to think what they believe 451 00:19:30,905 --> 00:19:32,175 and say, Okay, maybe that's not so bad. 452 00:19:32,495 --> 00:19:36,535 But, If you're judging yourself rightly and you're letting the Word of God 453 00:19:36,535 --> 00:19:40,555 do its work on you, you'll be able to judge better, clearly, discern, 454 00:19:40,965 --> 00:19:42,475 judging what's right and wrong. 455 00:19:42,705 --> 00:19:43,955 You need a pure heart for this. 456 00:19:43,955 --> 00:19:47,755 You need to be reliant on God's Word so that you can see what's truly there. 457 00:19:48,595 --> 00:19:52,515 And Mormonism, as much as I love them, as much as I love Mormon people, I 458 00:19:52,625 --> 00:19:55,535 know that their doctrine is damnable. 459 00:19:56,705 --> 00:19:58,305 And that's an appropriate use of the term. 460 00:19:58,355 --> 00:19:59,275 I'm not cussing up here. 461 00:19:59,705 --> 00:20:03,085 It is an appropriate use of saying, Mormon doctrine is damnable, 462 00:20:03,925 --> 00:20:05,875 and I could tell them that with love, and I've done that before. 463 00:20:05,905 --> 00:20:09,265 We've done that on mission trips in our prior church, but that requires judging. 464 00:20:09,505 --> 00:20:12,745 I want you to judge, not hypocritically, not harshly, not 465 00:20:12,745 --> 00:20:15,235 unfairly, but to judge righteously. 466 00:20:16,315 --> 00:20:17,785 Jesus continues on in this last part. 467 00:20:17,785 --> 00:20:19,885 This is gonna sound really harsh, and we read these last words of 468 00:20:19,885 --> 00:20:23,575 Jesus, but just notice here how he clearly wants you to judge. 469 00:20:23,875 --> 00:20:27,025 Here's what Jesus says, Matthew chapter seven, starting at verse six. 470 00:20:27,055 --> 00:20:27,835 Here's what he says. 471 00:20:27,835 --> 00:20:30,175 Do not give dogs what is holy. 472 00:20:30,985 --> 00:20:32,085 That's harsh, Jesus. 473 00:20:32,525 --> 00:20:35,655 Do not throw your pearls before pigs. 474 00:20:36,035 --> 00:20:37,375 Okay, Jesus, really harsh. 475 00:20:37,885 --> 00:20:38,385 Why? 476 00:20:38,405 --> 00:20:42,585 Lest they trample them underfoot, the pearls, and turn and attack you. 477 00:20:43,365 --> 00:20:47,395 And so he says, dogs and pigs are, they're not good things. 478 00:20:47,595 --> 00:20:48,725 In fact, we'll get to that in a second. 479 00:20:48,725 --> 00:20:51,875 But notice here, he says, don't give to dogs what is holy, 480 00:20:52,315 --> 00:20:53,475 because they will attack you. 481 00:20:53,475 --> 00:20:57,015 Don't give to, don't give pearls to pigs, lest they trample them. 482 00:20:57,075 --> 00:20:57,905 There's a pattern there. 483 00:20:57,905 --> 00:20:59,495 If you see it, A, B, B, A. 484 00:21:00,010 --> 00:21:02,340 Don't give the dogs what is holy because they may attack you don't give 485 00:21:02,340 --> 00:21:05,330 the pigs What is don't give the pigs pearls because they'll trample them. 486 00:21:05,340 --> 00:21:09,340 They don't care what they are Pigs can't appreciate a pearl and in fact pearls 487 00:21:09,340 --> 00:21:12,970 in that day were more valuable than diamonds So we're talking about today. 488 00:21:13,190 --> 00:21:17,340 It would be like saying hey, don't give the wolf your finest clothes They don't 489 00:21:17,340 --> 00:21:19,660 want they know what to do with that If you have a coach handbag, don't give them your 490 00:21:19,660 --> 00:21:23,550 coach handbag if you have a louis vuitton belt don't let them play with your louis 491 00:21:23,630 --> 00:21:25,955 vuitton belt That's what Jesus is saying. 492 00:21:26,085 --> 00:21:28,815 Now clearly Jesus wants you to judge because who are the dogs and the pigs? 493 00:21:28,865 --> 00:21:29,925 You have to figure that out. 494 00:21:30,585 --> 00:21:31,395 Who is he talking about? 495 00:21:31,475 --> 00:21:34,725 When the Bible uses the terms dogs and pigs, these are not good things. 496 00:21:34,975 --> 00:21:37,325 In fact, the only other place where you get both of them together 497 00:21:37,325 --> 00:21:39,035 is 2nd Peter chapter 2 verse 22. 498 00:21:39,045 --> 00:21:42,385 He says this, what the true proverb says has happened to them. 499 00:21:42,385 --> 00:21:43,685 He's talking about false teachers. 500 00:21:43,685 --> 00:21:47,465 He says this, the dog returns to its own vomit. 501 00:21:48,745 --> 00:21:52,615 And the sow, that is the pig, the swine, after washing herself 502 00:21:52,625 --> 00:21:54,275 returns to wallow in the mire. 503 00:21:54,285 --> 00:21:56,185 She gets clean and she goes and plays in the mud. 504 00:21:56,195 --> 00:21:58,665 The dog eats its own vomit. 505 00:21:59,705 --> 00:22:01,125 If you have a dog, you've seen them do this. 506 00:22:01,555 --> 00:22:02,275 That's a real thing. 507 00:22:02,325 --> 00:22:02,905 Pretty gross. 508 00:22:04,505 --> 00:22:06,365 My dog Chica did that several times. 509 00:22:06,365 --> 00:22:07,875 She vomited up. 510 00:22:08,195 --> 00:22:09,965 She was a cockapoo Cocker Spaniel poodle. 511 00:22:10,165 --> 00:22:13,115 For those of you who don't know, she would vomit all over the place. 512 00:22:13,445 --> 00:22:14,415 And I'm like, that's gross, Chica. 513 00:22:15,725 --> 00:22:16,385 And then she'd just be like, 514 00:22:18,685 --> 00:22:20,205 I guess waste not want not. 515 00:22:21,095 --> 00:22:22,395 You're never going to lack for food. 516 00:22:22,865 --> 00:22:24,135 Willing to eat that's gross. 517 00:22:24,555 --> 00:22:24,795 Okay. 518 00:22:26,135 --> 00:22:28,345 Dogs and swine, not good. 519 00:22:28,565 --> 00:22:30,345 Furthermore here's another one about dogs. 520 00:22:30,545 --> 00:22:33,564 In the book of Revelation, dogs are talked about in the same breath as 521 00:22:33,565 --> 00:22:36,875 sorcerers, witchcraft, which of course, if you know your Bible, this is not 522 00:22:36,875 --> 00:22:38,325 something that God looks upon favorably. 523 00:22:38,325 --> 00:22:42,545 It says this, Outside the city gates, outside the blessing of God, are 524 00:22:42,545 --> 00:22:46,725 the dogs, the false teachers, the sorcerers, and the sexually immoral, and 525 00:22:46,725 --> 00:22:50,045 murderers, and idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood. 526 00:22:50,335 --> 00:22:52,775 Clearly, this is not the kind of crew that you want to run with. 527 00:22:53,045 --> 00:22:55,285 Furthermore, here's a, here's one about pigs. 528 00:22:55,485 --> 00:22:59,265 The demons came out of the man that was possessed by demons. 529 00:22:59,775 --> 00:23:03,715 Jesus sends them out into a herd of pigs, and the herd rushed down the steep 530 00:23:03,725 --> 00:23:05,685 bank into the lake, and they drowned. 531 00:23:06,510 --> 00:23:10,010 All that to show you here that dogs and pigs are not looked upon favorably. 532 00:23:10,020 --> 00:23:12,700 Jesus wants you to be able to identify the dogs and the pigs. 533 00:23:12,720 --> 00:23:14,160 Now, what do we do with this harsh language? 534 00:23:14,400 --> 00:23:19,170 What we do with it is recognize that there are a, there's a kind of person who is so 535 00:23:19,170 --> 00:23:24,600 antagonistic and against your Christianity and your gospel that it doesn't make sense 536 00:23:24,690 --> 00:23:29,100 to cast pearls before people that are going to trample it or to give it to dogs. 537 00:23:29,100 --> 00:23:31,650 It is people that are going to attack you for it, persecute you. 538 00:23:31,940 --> 00:23:32,500 I put it like this. 539 00:23:32,500 --> 00:23:33,220 Point number three. 540 00:23:34,260 --> 00:23:36,370 Judge when it's time to stop sharing the gospel. 541 00:23:36,660 --> 00:23:41,860 There is a time, and this is the thing, it's not the first time probably, but 542 00:23:41,860 --> 00:23:46,340 there is a time to say it's no longer wise for me to share the gospel with you. 543 00:23:47,000 --> 00:23:50,810 Judging, Rightly means first of all looking at yourself and saying 544 00:23:50,830 --> 00:23:52,330 I'm probably the issue here. 545 00:23:52,440 --> 00:23:54,760 I want to judge myself first before I judge others. 546 00:23:55,120 --> 00:23:58,370 Then as you think about others you want to judge in such a way that you 547 00:23:58,380 --> 00:23:59,550 give them the benefit of the doubt. 548 00:23:59,790 --> 00:24:03,090 You're not harsh, you're not critical, but then when it comes to how you present 549 00:24:03,090 --> 00:24:06,200 the gospel to people you ought to be wise enough to say there's probably a 550 00:24:06,200 --> 00:24:09,510 time when it's not really helpful for me to share the gospel with people. 551 00:24:09,870 --> 00:24:11,040 And you ought to be sensitive to that. 552 00:24:11,620 --> 00:24:13,140 I think Jesus is saying that right here. 553 00:24:13,390 --> 00:24:16,330 There are times When Jesus does this, and I'll show it to you, but 554 00:24:16,360 --> 00:24:18,710 if people are disrespecting God, and they're dishonoring God, they're 555 00:24:18,710 --> 00:24:21,870 mocking Him, mocking you, mocking your Christianity, that's a time when it's 556 00:24:21,870 --> 00:24:23,320 probably not good to share the gospel. 557 00:24:23,550 --> 00:24:25,600 Here's what Jesus does in front of Herod. 558 00:24:26,125 --> 00:24:31,085 Luke chapter 23 verses 9 and 11, Herod questions Jesus at some length, 559 00:24:31,085 --> 00:24:33,385 but Jesus, get this, just did quiet. 560 00:24:34,075 --> 00:24:37,295 Now, if Jesus were a scrupulous man, he might look at King Herod 561 00:24:37,295 --> 00:24:38,375 and say this is a great opportunity. 562 00:24:38,875 --> 00:24:41,775 I could, I, this is basically the Joe Rogan of the first century. 563 00:24:42,155 --> 00:24:43,715 I can get on his podcast. 564 00:24:43,745 --> 00:24:46,525 I can talk to all of Jerusalem because Herod likes me. 565 00:24:46,735 --> 00:24:49,075 And maybe he'll give me a platform and people will listen to me. 566 00:24:49,285 --> 00:24:51,365 And then I'll be able to get the gospel all over the world. 567 00:24:52,715 --> 00:24:54,175 Jesus says nothing to him. 568 00:24:55,090 --> 00:24:55,540 Why? 569 00:24:55,570 --> 00:24:59,440 Because Jesus knew, just a verse later, Herod with his soldiers treated 570 00:24:59,440 --> 00:25:01,440 Jesus with contempt and mocked Him. 571 00:25:02,040 --> 00:25:06,560 Jesus followed His own teaching and He was not going to cast pearls before swine. 572 00:25:07,240 --> 00:25:09,680 I know this is a derogatory term and you know I'm not expecting 573 00:25:09,680 --> 00:25:13,710 you to call your friends or your frenemies dogs and pigs, but you 574 00:25:13,710 --> 00:25:15,250 understand what Jesus is saying here. 575 00:25:15,250 --> 00:25:17,920 Judge well enough to know there's a time not to say things. 576 00:25:18,350 --> 00:25:22,020 And probably say more generally, there's a time to keep your mouth shut. 577 00:25:23,290 --> 00:25:26,870 And you'd be wise, probably more often than not, to not say what you're thinking. 578 00:25:28,060 --> 00:25:28,800 It goes on here. 579 00:25:29,620 --> 00:25:32,250 When people mock and disrespect God, that's probably a time 580 00:25:32,250 --> 00:25:33,320 to stop sharing the gospel. 581 00:25:33,870 --> 00:25:35,770 But also when they threaten bodily harm. 582 00:25:35,770 --> 00:25:36,640 That's verse 6. 583 00:25:36,830 --> 00:25:40,090 He says, don't give your, don't give the dogs the gospel, don't give the 584 00:25:40,090 --> 00:25:42,490 pigs the gospel, because they'll trample you, they'll attack you. 585 00:25:42,860 --> 00:25:44,570 That's essentially what persecution is. 586 00:25:45,370 --> 00:25:48,950 In Matthew chapter 13, 10 rather, verses 14 through 15. 587 00:25:49,420 --> 00:25:51,530 Here's what Jesus says to his disciples as he sends them 588 00:25:51,530 --> 00:25:53,650 off to share the early gospel. 589 00:25:53,650 --> 00:25:58,050 He says, if anyone will not receive you or listen to your words, shake 590 00:25:58,050 --> 00:26:01,470 off the dust from your feet when you leave that house or town. 591 00:26:01,760 --> 00:26:03,210 In other words, don't let it bother you. 592 00:26:03,230 --> 00:26:04,180 Let that roll off your back. 593 00:26:04,180 --> 00:26:05,700 If they're not going to give you a hearing, they don't 594 00:26:05,700 --> 00:26:06,500 want to hear the gospel. 595 00:26:06,815 --> 00:26:07,465 Don't force it. 596 00:26:07,535 --> 00:26:08,175 Don't stay there. 597 00:26:08,175 --> 00:26:10,565 Don't build a mountain and say, I'm going to, I'm going to destroy you. 598 00:26:10,565 --> 00:26:11,455 Don't build a fortress. 599 00:26:11,455 --> 00:26:12,875 Don't acquire an army. 600 00:26:13,105 --> 00:26:14,615 Don't call down fire on the town. 601 00:26:14,615 --> 00:26:17,635 He says, look, shake off the dust from your feet. 602 00:26:17,735 --> 00:26:19,855 Let it go and go on to the next town. 603 00:26:19,865 --> 00:26:22,075 Go to someone who's willing to give you a hearing. 604 00:26:22,845 --> 00:26:28,055 Verse 15 is the clincher because he says this, truly I say to you, it will be more 605 00:26:28,075 --> 00:26:33,535 bearable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah than that town. 606 00:26:34,390 --> 00:26:36,360 Now, Sodom and Gomorrah should ring some bells for you. 607 00:26:36,360 --> 00:26:39,630 This is the land that Abraham had to save Lot from. 608 00:26:39,630 --> 00:26:43,880 Remember, there's angels that go to retrieve Lot and his family, and then 609 00:26:43,880 --> 00:26:48,480 God rains down fire and sulfur upon this city, these cities, this collection 610 00:26:48,480 --> 00:26:50,450 of cities, burns them to pieces. 611 00:26:50,870 --> 00:26:54,680 Part of their sin was that they were sexually promiscuous. 612 00:26:55,300 --> 00:26:58,420 Jesus says they're going to be more safe. 613 00:26:58,510 --> 00:26:59,930 They're going to have a better judgment. 614 00:27:01,185 --> 00:27:05,025 in hell than the person who doesn't respond to the gospel. 615 00:27:06,245 --> 00:27:06,865 Think about that. 616 00:27:07,985 --> 00:27:11,665 Sodom and Gomorrah is going to have a better time in hell than the person 617 00:27:11,665 --> 00:27:13,155 who doesn't respond to the gospel. 618 00:27:15,865 --> 00:27:16,725 You ever think about that? 619 00:27:17,365 --> 00:27:19,815 That's remarkable because you would think Sodom and Gomorrah are really 620 00:27:19,815 --> 00:27:23,525 big sinners and indeed they were, but Jesus is saying the more light you 621 00:27:23,525 --> 00:27:25,645 have, the more judgment you acquire. 622 00:27:26,480 --> 00:27:30,300 The more light you're exposed to, the more the gospel the more judgment 623 00:27:30,330 --> 00:27:32,280 you're racking up if you reject it. 624 00:27:32,780 --> 00:27:35,660 Because it is essentially trampling the blood of Jesus. 625 00:27:36,560 --> 00:27:40,720 It would be like someone, okay, let's just say for yucks, one of my 626 00:27:40,720 --> 00:27:44,570 daughters runs into the street, she gets hit by a car terrible story. 627 00:27:45,810 --> 00:27:51,380 But you go outside and you dance in my daughter's blood, stepping on her blood 628 00:27:51,380 --> 00:27:52,970 and kicking her corpse all over the place. 629 00:27:53,270 --> 00:27:54,510 Now, just out of curiosity. 630 00:27:55,165 --> 00:27:57,225 How do you think I might feel about that? 631 00:27:59,075 --> 00:28:03,605 If you would say furious beyond all reason, you would be right. 632 00:28:05,245 --> 00:28:10,075 How do you think God the Father feels when sinners trample on the 633 00:28:10,085 --> 00:28:12,695 blood of his son who died for them? 634 00:28:15,350 --> 00:28:18,230 I guess if you take the analogy further, trying to build the illustration here, 635 00:28:18,260 --> 00:28:22,110 my daughter isn't only hit by the car and her blood is on the floor, she's out there 636 00:28:22,110 --> 00:28:23,360 because she was trying to save your life. 637 00:28:23,370 --> 00:28:26,520 She pushed you out of the way of the car, she gets hit by the car, 638 00:28:26,520 --> 00:28:29,400 she's run over, she's up dead on the floor, and you dance in her blood. 639 00:28:29,900 --> 00:28:31,380 Talk about offensive, right? 640 00:28:31,930 --> 00:28:35,200 I know this is a gruesome illustration, but this is the point. 641 00:28:36,770 --> 00:28:39,980 Jesus is saying, there's more judgment for those who reject the gospel. 642 00:28:41,060 --> 00:28:42,750 because they're trampling on the blood of his son. 643 00:28:42,760 --> 00:28:46,950 Then for those who lived in the time of Sodom and Gomorrah, all this 644 00:28:47,740 --> 00:28:50,740 to showcase the fact that Jesus is saying there's a time not to engage. 645 00:28:50,740 --> 00:28:52,520 There's a time to let it go. 646 00:28:53,050 --> 00:28:56,410 And there's a time to, when they threaten bodily harm, Hey, don't sweat it. 647 00:28:57,200 --> 00:28:58,260 Probably a time to leave. 648 00:28:58,480 --> 00:29:02,170 Now there's qualifications here, because the apostle Paul sometimes leaned into 649 00:29:02,170 --> 00:29:04,360 it and he allowed that to take place. 650 00:29:04,360 --> 00:29:07,130 There is a time and place to say, I'm willing to suffer bodily 651 00:29:07,130 --> 00:29:08,240 harm for the sake of the gospel. 652 00:29:08,900 --> 00:29:09,870 There's a time and place for that. 653 00:29:09,870 --> 00:29:12,840 But by and large, Jesus is saying here, you don't need to do that. 654 00:29:14,630 --> 00:29:17,380 Don't cast your pearls before pigs. 655 00:29:17,730 --> 00:29:19,110 Don't give the dogs what is holy. 656 00:29:20,510 --> 00:29:20,890 Okay. 657 00:29:21,890 --> 00:29:24,270 Judging others rightly starts with judging yourself. 658 00:29:24,300 --> 00:29:28,040 Firstly, Jesus wants you to learn how to judge, to do it the right way. 659 00:29:28,420 --> 00:29:32,100 Judging is appropriate and wise and good if you apply it the right way. 660 00:29:32,370 --> 00:29:34,300 There's a kind of judgment that Jesus warns you against. 661 00:29:34,300 --> 00:29:35,250 It's a hypocritical judgment. 662 00:29:35,280 --> 00:29:36,070 It is harsh. 663 00:29:36,360 --> 00:29:37,250 It is self serving. 664 00:29:37,260 --> 00:29:38,580 It's a superiority complex. 665 00:29:38,580 --> 00:29:40,520 It looks down at others and says, I'm better than you. 666 00:29:41,220 --> 00:29:43,390 And I'm going to judge you with a different standard 667 00:29:43,390 --> 00:29:44,620 than I judge myself with. 668 00:29:45,280 --> 00:29:46,910 You might see adults do this all the time. 669 00:29:47,560 --> 00:29:50,270 If you've ever sat with an adult in the car and they get angry at 670 00:29:50,270 --> 00:29:53,810 cars around them, it's because they judge themselves to be morally 671 00:29:53,810 --> 00:29:55,190 superior than the cars around them. 672 00:29:55,190 --> 00:29:56,160 And that might be the case. 673 00:29:56,225 --> 00:29:57,625 Now this is just another one of those things that you don't know. 674 00:29:58,305 --> 00:30:01,705 Cars that cut off or are driving too fast or driving too slow, there's a 675 00:30:01,705 --> 00:30:04,985 quick judgment on the part of adults that say, Man, that person is you know, if 676 00:30:04,985 --> 00:30:06,535 they're going too fast, they're a moron. 677 00:30:06,545 --> 00:30:07,865 If they're going too slow, they're a moron. 678 00:30:08,285 --> 00:30:10,485 If they're making decisions that you wouldn't make, they're a moron. 679 00:30:10,945 --> 00:30:12,725 We probably ought to be much more careful about that. 680 00:30:13,375 --> 00:30:15,645 It's good for you to learn how to judge and to judge well. 681 00:30:15,885 --> 00:30:18,955 It's bad for you to judge with hypocrisy, with superiority, 682 00:30:19,295 --> 00:30:21,295 and with loveless criticism. 683 00:30:21,925 --> 00:30:23,145 And really, that's the end of it, folks. 684 00:30:24,015 --> 00:30:26,665 Learning to judge well starts with loving God and loving people. 685 00:30:26,665 --> 00:30:29,535 If you care about people, you will judge appropriately. 686 00:30:29,665 --> 00:30:32,665 If you care about your neighbor, your friends, your parents, you will judge. 687 00:30:32,685 --> 00:30:34,925 You should judge, but be careful with that. 688 00:30:35,255 --> 00:30:38,855 Jesus wants you to learn to judge others rightly by judging yourself firstly. 689 00:30:39,145 --> 00:30:39,595 Let's pray. 690 00:30:39,955 --> 00:30:42,915 God, help us to now put this to work, to apply some of these lessons 691 00:30:42,915 --> 00:30:46,535 into our lives, to think about ways that we could use this even tonight. 692 00:30:47,155 --> 00:30:50,815 Not that we want to become hypercritical, but or overly critical, 693 00:30:50,815 --> 00:30:53,335 but we want to be appropriately critical, so please teach us how to 694 00:30:53,335 --> 00:30:54,485 do that tonight in our small groups. 695 00:30:54,915 --> 00:30:57,125 We ask this all in Jesus name, Amen.