The House on the Rock

Transcript

My name's Chet. I'm one of the pastors here. The Bible starts off, it says, In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth. The heavens and the earth. And it says that he made everything good. That all of creation was good and that it was intended to exist before him in a loving relationship.

That humanity is the pinnacle of creation. And that we were meant, humans were meant to exist in a relationship with God. And that was beautiful and worked out perfectly for like two chapters of the Bible. And then it falls apart. Like it was two people put on earth and it just falls apart. One of the things we see throughout the Bible is that any two people, any of us, it could have been us, it could have been not Adam and Eve, it could have been Greg and Tina, it would have still fallen apart.

The names wouldn't have been, you know, maybe it's not as the same kind of ring as Adam and Eve, but it would have still fallen apart. There still would be sin. There still would be brokenness. And what came out of that and what we see very quickly in the Bible is that questions arise because we were designed to exist in a relationship with God as our good and loving father and as our creator. We were designed for that to be good. And what happens is there's still his imprint on us so that we all feel like we have to wrestle with, ask this question of what is God like?

Who is he? What is he like? And then in response to that, what does he want from me? That that's a normal human question. And maybe people would say, what are the gods like? Or what is the universe like?

Or what's going on out there in the cosmos? And even the people who come to the conclusion that there is no God still spend a lot of time in this area of thought. There is no God. And you'd think they would come to that conclusion and move on, but they don't. They say there is no God. And then they still answer the question of how should we respond to that?

How should we live in light of that? But for most of history and most of humanity, even now on earth, the question is, what is God like? Or what are the gods like? Or what are the spirits like? And then how do we respond? And that's been a normal human question.

And there have been countless number of people who have come along and said, here's what God is like, and here's how we ought to respond. And when we're in the Sermon on the Mount, that's where we are today. We're finishing up our last sermon, last section of this. This will be the last week we spend on it. We're starting a new sermon series next week. Go ahead and go to Matthew chapter 7.

We've been spending three chapters of the Bible. We've spent several weeks just walking through what Jesus says. Matthew chapter 7, if you have one of the white Bibles on your row, it'll be page 474. We're going to start in verse 15 today. But Jesus is stepping into a situation where they were inundated with people coming along and saying, here's what God is like and here's how we ought to respond.

The biggest group of these people that did this, that taught, were the Pharisees. They said, here's what God is like. They studied what we have as the Old Testament, the law and the prophets and the Psalms and Proverbs, the wisdom literature and the history books. And they studied all of them and they taught, here's what God is like and here's what we have to do. Here's how we ought to respond. I mean, if we're honest, that's what a lot of us struggle with, wrestle with, are thinking through.

What's he like? How do I respond? What's my right response to him? And so the Pharisees came along and they taught calmly, patiently, systematically. Here's how we apply these rules. Here's what we do to make God okay with us.

Here's what we do to have him on our side. Here's what we do to have him be pleased with us. And so when Jesus comes along and starts teaching, a couple of things happen. Everyone listening to him is going, is he teaching the same thing the Pharisees taught? Or is he teaching something different? And the Pharisees sent people out to listen to him.

This was the largest religious group in Judaism at the time. They sent people out to listen to him to basically ask, is he teaching what we teach or is he teaching something different? And you'll see that in the Sermon on the Mount and as it continues in Matthew, if you continue reading, Jesus basically starts the Sermon on the Mount and then towards the end of it, plants his foot and says, I'm breaking from the Pharisees. We're doing some different stuff here. And that's what he's doing here. See, this is the last section of the Sermon on the Mount.

And he's really kind of finished the bulk of his teaching. And now what we're going to see today is that he gives us three distinct warnings and one way that we ought to respond. Three distinct warnings in Matthew chapter 7 and one way that we ought to respond. That's what we're going to look at today. But he's answering the question.

He's stepping into the realm of who is God and what do we need to do? How should we respond? What's the appropriate action for us? And Jesus is going to give us some warnings and then call us to a specific response. So let's pray as we begin this morning to read God's word.

Father, we ask that through your Holy Spirit, you would give us fresh ears to hear the warnings that we find in this passage. And fresh zeal and energy to respond. That you would break through barriers. That you'd help us listen well this morning. And that we wouldn't leave this place having had your words have no effect on us. But that you would make us tender and receptive to your word.

In Jesus' name. Amen. So he's coming to the end of the Sermon on the Mount. And he's giving us three specific warnings and then one response. We'll pick up in verse 15. This is the first warning.

Beware of false prophets who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thorn bushes or figs from thistles? So every healthy tree bears good fruit but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.

Thus you will recognize them by their fruits. Jesus' first warning is to beware false prophets. There's kind of a two-fold warning here. The first one is beware of false prophets. Realize people are coming along that are going to claim to speak on behalf of God. And they are intentionally misleading.

They're trying to make themselves look like sheep while they are actually ravenous wolves. These people are intentionally misleading. That's one of the things that we have to have as Christians. As people trying to figure out what God's talking about. What the Bible says is we have to have discernment. Which just means we have to have some sort of a radar up for is this person true or not true?

Is what they're saying true or not true? Are they a sheep or are they a wolf wearing sheep's clothing? That's what he's talking about. And he says you'll know them by their fruit. His second warning that's tucked in here in this first warning. It's kind of a two-fold thing.

Is that all bad trees, all diseased trees end up in the fire. And that's just a basic tree fact for them. You have a bad tree. You burn it. Like it's good for firewood. That's about it.

So he's saying though we will recognize false prophets by their fruits. And it's a real simple analogy. If you have a tree and it makes apples. So like it's a tree and hanging from it, connected to it are apples. What kind of tree is that? Y'all can do it.

I believe in y'all. What kind of tree? An apple tree. Yeah, that's all he's saying. He's saying you don't get apples from thorn bushes. Like if you, that just doesn't happen.

That's his point. So he says you'll know them by their fruit. So I think the appropriate question for us is what is fruit? What's he talking about? He says you'll recognize them. You'll know the difference.

That's the way we're supposed to spot false prophets. People who are intentionally coming along and saying here's what God is like and here's how we ought to respond. He says you'll recognize them by their fruits. He does not, however, tell us what fruits are in this first section. He just says you'll see them. You'll recognize them by their fruits.

And so I think we could sit and try to guess what fruits are. And I did that some while I was working on this. And then I kept reading and I feel like Jesus helps us out. So we're going to read his next warning. We're going to talk first about how I think that helps us understand fruit. And then we're going to spend a little time on that warning.

But the first warning is there are going to be people who come along and intentionally try to mislead. But you will be able to spot them by their fruits. Now we have to ask, okay, what are fruits? So let's look at verse 21. It's his next warning, but we're going to talk first about how this helps us with the first one. Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven.

Okay, that helps us. We cannot say, oh, they say they're Christians. Oh, they say Jesus is Lord. Oh, they put Jesus Christ on their pamphlet. Like that can't be it because he says not everyone who does that is going to enter the kingdom of heaven. Not everybody who does that is okay.

So we can't have that be a litmus test, like the litmus test. It may help us because if we're Christians and we're trying to follow other Christians and they don't say anything about Jesus, that should be a red flag. That one's free. That's just to help you all out. You go to church. They don't talk about Jesus.

Not a good church. Okay. So he says, but not everyone. So that can't be the only test. We'll enter the kingdom of heaven. But the one who does the will of my father who is in heaven on that day, many will say to me, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and cast out demons in your name and do many mighty works in your name?

And then I will declare to them, I never knew you depart from me, you workers of lawlessness. Okay. I think this helps us because fruits cannot be spiritual ministry, spectacularness, spiritual ministry stuff. He says, many will say to me, didn't we prophesy? Didn't we cast out demons in your name? Didn't we do many mighty works?

Like he sets the bar really high here so that for us who were going, okay, no, I hadn't, maybe I hadn't, like I don't prophesy and cast out demons. I hadn't, you know, I think that would include any type of ministry stuff. He takes it to the extreme, but I think it includes ministry. So when he says, you'll know them by their fruits. What we can't say is obviously they're right because look at how big it is, or obviously they're right because look at how many people have been baptized or obviously they're right. Look at this person.

Obviously they're right. They're in Sunday school every week. Obviously they're a Christian. They hang out with our group all the time. Obviously they're a Christian. They serve in kid city.

That can't be what he means by fruit. Still doesn't tell us what he means by fruit. It just tells us that it's not that. I think we're going to get to see finally in his third warning what he means, but let's go ahead and look at the second warning while we're here. This one is scary and should cause us to pause here. The first warning is beware.

There are false prophets who are intentionally leading people astray. They want you to think they're a sheep, but they're actually a wolf. The second warning is not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord will enter the kingdom of heaven. And then at the end of this, he says, depart from me. I never knew you, you workers of lawlessness, meaning that this group of people claim Jesus as King, but are actually working against his good work in the world. This is a group of unintentional false prophets.

This is a group of people who would say, I trust Jesus. I know Jesus. I believe in Jesus. I serve Jesus. And they are working towards lawlessness into the world. They are sowing and leading people astray.

So let's read it again. And then let's look at it. Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord will enter the kingdom of heaven. And here's what that means. Very basically, just saying you are a Christian or just calling Jesus Lord is not sufficient for salvation. Just saying you are a Christian or just calling Jesus Lord, just claiming that, saying that out loud is not sufficient for salvation.

Not everyone who says this will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my father who is in heaven on that day, this would be judgment day. Many will say to me, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and cast out demons in your name and do many mighty works in your name? And then I will declare to them, I never knew you depart from me, you workers of lawlessness. The picture he gives us here is there's going to be a day when Jesus sits in judgment over the world. And there's going to be a group of people at that judgment. Who are shocked.

A group of people at that judgment who are baffled. And terrified. Because Jesus says, I don't know you. And they're going to respond. They're going to argue. They're going to say, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no.

Lord, Lord, Lord, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. But, but, but didn't we prophesy? Didn't I spend my life casting out demons? Didn't we do mighty works? Weren't we in service? Didn't we, didn't we do all this stuff?

And he's going to say, depart from me, you workers of lawlessness. I never knew you. There are people who live in our state. There are people that you know, that believe with everything they have, that when they die, they will stand before Jesus and he will say, well done, my good and faithful servant. And on that day, he will look at them and say, depart from me. I never knew you, you workers of lawlessness.

That is terrifying. That for us in this room, who actively are calling Jesus Lord, that may not be you, you may not be in that place, but for those of us who are, and who are serving, and who are doing ministry, fill in the blank. There are going to be people who look at God and say, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. Didn't I serve? Didn't I serve every week? Wasn't I there every Sunday?

Wasn't I there? Didn't I go to Sunday school? Didn't I get the perfect attendance award? There are going to be people who say, God, didn't I preach? Didn't I play in a church? Didn't I get to stir up the waters of baptism and baptize people?

Didn't you see? He's going to say, I didn't know you. There are going to be people who, weekly, do exactly what I'm doing right now. Stand before people, open the Bible, proclaim the gospel, and Jesus is going to look at them and say, I don't know you. That ought to shake us. Let's look at his third warning.

And then we'll look at what he says, how we ought to respond. Verse 24. Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them. He's referring to the entire Sermon on the Mount and then also the bulk of what he's going to do. Everyone who hears the words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell and the floods came and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall because it had been founded on the rock.

And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell and the floods came and the winds blew and beat against that house and it fell. And great was the fall of it. And when Jesus had finished these sayings, the crowds were astonished at his teaching for he was teaching them as one who had authority and not as their scribes. So they listened to him and he sounds more like a prophet than the people they're used to, than the Pharisees, the people who were studying the word and teaching.

But what his third warning was, there's going to be people who hear me and follow me and build their house on the rock and storms are coming, but that house won't fall. That's what wisdom looks like. But they're going to be a group of people who build their house on sand and when the storms come, great was the fall of that house. His third warning is that a house built on sand will fall. And sand, in this picture that he gives, is anything other than his word. Anything other than his word is sand.

But he gives us the way to respond. And he says it in both his first, his second warning and his third warning. And I want to read those now as we try to ask the question, what do we do? How do we respond? What is it supposed to look like if just saying Lord, Lord isn't enough? If people are actively walking around trying to trick us, if there's going to be a day when a storm comes and that we're going to see at that moment, you know you can't see a foundation.

Until a storm comes. That's what Jesus says in this story. You won't be able to tell the difference. Those houses are going to look the same. But there's going to be a day when a storm rolls through and house after house after house after house falls down.

And there are going to be some houses that stand because their foundation is on the rock. Look at verse 21. Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my father who is in heaven. You could flip that sentence. It would be the one who does the will of my father who is in heaven will enter the kingdom of heaven. Verse 24.

Everyone who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who builds his house on a rock. Jesus says that the call to us is obedience. That we do the will of his father and that we do his words. Not ministry success. But doing his words, doing his will, obedience.

What's he talking about? What words? What will? He's talking about everything he's already taught in the Sermon on the Mount. When he comes to this conclusion, he's saying if you do all the stuff I just said, so what is that? It's to be salt and light.

To trust him and to follow him and to live normal life bringing light and refreshment and goodness to everything around us. It's to teach his word to others. It's to not be angry but to reconcile quickly with those we've hurt or that have hurt us. It's to not lust and to fight for your marriage. It's to be honest and say what you mean. To not retaliate.

To turn the other cheek to overlook offenses. It's to hold your pride and your reputation and your finances with an open hand. It's to love your enemies and to do good to those who persecute you. It's to not practice all of your good works in front of other people so that they'll see you. It is to pray and to give and to fast but all in secret. Forgive others.

Don't hoard your possessions acting like all that matters is here on earth. Be generous ready to give and not to spend your life worrying about tomorrow and what you'll wear and what you'll eat to trust your father to not be judgmental to care about your brothers and sisters enough to address their sins and to live as if God is a good father who loves you to treat others the way you want to be treated. Now, what on that list sparkles and has razzle dazzle? What on that list is like a I'm following Jesus flare that shoots up into the sky and everyone says look at how amazing they are. What on that list would you see in someone and go oh obviously they're a Christian.

When we list off oh they're a Christian what do we say? When you point to someone and say I'm pretty sure they're a Christian and they say why and you say they gave money but I don't know anything about it. That's not how that works. We say well they're always at church they always do this thing they've done this ministry they run an orphanage they went as a missionary overseas like we list off all this stuff but who can do the list.

Jesus just said? Your mailman teachers students people in middle school you can't do hardly anything in middle school you can do this people who work in your office two cubicles down can do this people in our community groups that hardly say a word can do this the vice president of a region can do this and so can the sales associates missionaries sure women who homeschool their children absolutely there's nothing in here that is magical or beautiful it's a life of regular devotion that's the obedience.

Jesus is talking about when he says who hears my words and does them there's someone in your group your community group they've been fasting for four days you don't know because they're not supposed to do that as a show there are people in your community group in our church family who opened their wallets and gave money to someone the person who received the money doesn't even know where it came from people who get up earlier than they have to every day to spend time on their face praying.

For their families and our city and our groups and our community group leaders and for Jesus' will and the lives of those around them you don't know people who just show up to your group they're the person who brings shredded cheese every time it didn't even make sense this week they were just like put it in the refrigerator it'll work next week that are doing this they were prayerfully actively forgiving people in your group before they showed up they said Lord they hurt my feelings last week.

But I don't want to retaliate I want to overlook offenses help me to love them there are people who work with you that every day face an enemy at work that they love and serve and pray for that they don't undercut and talk about behind their backs Jesus says those who do my words those who do the will of my father that's the people who enter the kingdom and there's going to be a whole lot of ministry leaders and a whole lot of razzle dazzle that's going to stand before the king one day and say didn't I do this and he's going to say I don't know you.

Now if you've been around a while and hopefully because we work on discernment here hopefully some of you are thinking wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait time out time out time out time out isn't that work isn't that one of the things we say over and over again that religion is I do these things so God will love me but that Christianity but the gospel is that God loves me and therefore I do these things didn't you just say you have to do this stuff in order to be.

Okay didn't you just say you have to you have to do his word isn't Jesus just saying the opposite of the gospel here I have two things to say to that good point no and here's why I think I think he hid it in there and we're going to see because we have to use the rest of scripture to understand what he's talking about but I think he hid it in here he hid it in his tree and fruit analogy when he says you'll know them by their fruits a tree makes the type of fruit.

For what type of tree it is the fruit just shows it to you you can look at the fruit on a tree to know what type of tree it is but the tree is what makes the fruit here's what I mean you come to my house this isn't true this is pretend because I don't actually have a peach tree in the backyard but you come to my house and say I had a peach tree and you say man that's a beautiful peach tree and I'm like that tree is garbage and you're like why and it's like.

Because I have worked for five years to get that thing to make oranges I trim it the way you're supposed to trim an orange tree I fertilize it with orange tree fertilizer it exists I found it on Amazon every orange season I go pretend to pick oranges off of it just so it'll kind of get the feeling like it's an orange tree help it out a little bit now you're not a scientist but you know I'm stupid but you're gracious so you say that nicely to me hey buddy that thing is only ever going to make peaches and also.

Because I love you peaches are better than oranges like you might would coach me up a little bit you can't flex you can't manufacture you can't work to make a different type of fruit you have to be a different type of tree so when he says those who do the will of my father those who build their life on my words they'll bear this type of fruit they'll look like this there's a step in front of that that makes that happen.

Jesus has to change our tree Jesus has to uproot us and replant us he's got to change us on the inside because I know this because of what the rest of the Bible says and I want to show you a few places where Jesus says this clearly we have to change on the inside before the outside changes John 14 and we're going to just take a few quotes out of John 14 to help us see this Jesus says if you love me you will keep my commandments you.

See there is an obedience that follows faith there is an obedience that follows a love for Jesus if you love me you will keep my commandments that's verse 15 21 he says whoever has my commandments and keeps them he it is who loves me and then in 24 and 23 and 24 he says if anyone loves me he will keep my word and my father will love him and we will come to him and make our home with him whoever does not love me does not keep my words that's why he says you can.

Look at a false prophet and you'll know them by their fruits that's one of the reasons why in our church family we take so long to raise up leaders because the only way you can see it has nothing to do with can they talk well from the bible can they lead a good bible study do their prayers sound delicious like it's none of that the test is are they doing a whole bunch of character things that you can't even see the thing about not being able to.

See them is that they're hard to see it takes years to walk with somebody you gotta get stuck in traffic with somebody you gotta be at a restaurant when the waitress has completely forgotten your table exists you gotta be at their house when they're in the middle of a deep conversation and their child runs over and hits them with a stick and then spills juice all over their leg you gotta watch people count to ten a few times calm their soul back down that's why he says you'll know them by their fruit like you gotta get around them you gotta figure out how this works you gotta.

See all this underworking of normal everyday Christianity and that'll show you their heart Jesus later in Matthew's gospel says make the tree good and the fruit good or make the tree bad and the fruit bad the tree starts it we have to have a love for Jesus in order for this to happen how for the person sitting in this room who may be in that moment when we were talking a minute ago and I thought about this a lot who may be in that moment.

When you thought about yourself for a second before the king and he looks at you and says I don't know you what's going to be the first thing that runs out of your mouth what's your wait wait what's your Jesus no what are you going to point to what are you going to say to show that what I would do on that day and maybe you began to think okay okay okay okay okay okay I'm going to go love my enemies I'm going to go start forgiving this one person I have to forgive I'm going to forgive them I'm going to start giving money I'm going to start fasting I'm going to fast.

So that I have money to give but I'm not going to hell anybody here's the problem with that the only type of fruit you can manufacture is ministry fruit without a love for Jesus you cannot do the stuff he's called us to not for any amount of time you can do it for a little while without him refreshing your soul renewing your heart changing you from the inside out you can't walk around and love your enemies you can't forgive you can't not retaliate you can't fight.

For your marriage without him coming in and changing your heart to love in a way that's supernatural and beyond you you need Jesus to change your heart and then you can bear this type of fruit Jesus says not everyone who says to me Lord Lord will enter the kingdom of heaven but the one who does the will of my father who is in heaven I want to show you John 6 38 through 40 because this is the beginning of God's will.

Jesus says for I have come down from heaven not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me and this is the will of him who sent me that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me but raise it up on the last day for this is the will of my father that everyone who looks on the son and believes in him should have eternal life and I will raise him up on the last day the will of the.

Father is that we would place our faith in Jesus that wasn't just words it was connected to our heart that when we talk about Jesus as Lord we talk about the way someone speaks about someone they love we talk about it the way that people who are engaged or newly wed speak about each other our little cheeks start glowing that we love him let me tell you how that happens Jesus Christ said I didn't come to do my will but the will of the.

Father Jesus lived a perfect sinless life and died on a cross to love his enemies and when his heart becomes connected to your heart you can start loving your enemies Jesus calls us to fight for our marriages to stay married and we see that he pursued his bride the church even gave his life up and we can fight we can hold on as his heart changes our heart Jesus didn't retaliate Jesus he took beatings on behalf of those who were harming him he prayed.

For them when his heart gets connected to our heart we can begin to change Jesus gave his life when nobody noticed and nobody cared and when that changes our hearts we start handing out money left and right without it being a show without putting our name on something see Jesus goes to work in us and then we become different Jesus came to save sinners and when you see that when you see how far you have fallen and how much you deserve you have earned.

For him to look at you and say depart from me I never knew you you work that way that he was cast out that he was harmed that he was cut and bruised and beaten and hanged and buried because that's what we deserved our hearts change and then we truly believe and place our faith in him and he goes to work in us to make us new he digs us up which is a painful process but that he plants a new tree there that bears good fruit the gospel leads to a changed heart which leads to evidences of faith the gospel love.

For Jesus changes our heart so that we love him that we our response is because we truly love him and then there's evidence of faith you can't manufacture it you can for a time you can a little bit you can struggle and try that's where you hear people say I tried religion it didn't work out for me it's because they were white knuckling it and it's exhausting so the question isn't do you do good things the question is why has your heart changed are you bearing this type of fruit.

Because you're this type of tree there's a story I've heard before there was a king he had a kingdom and he was in his court and somebody told him that the farmer comes in he stands before the king he says sir I'm a simple farmer I have about an acre of land and mostly I produce carrots and this week I dug up this carrot and he shows the king a very nice carrot as far as carrots go and he says I think this is the most beautiful largest carrot I will probably ever grow.

Because I love you and appreciate you as my king I just wanted to give it to you king looked at him saw that he was telling the truth kind of discerned his heart and he said you know what I know the farm you're talking about I own the ten acres behind it I want to give you that ten acres I want to make your one acre farm an eleven acre farm and you just tend to it as you can and as you can get to it.

But thank you farmer was overjoyed caught off guard by this leaves all excited there was a nobleman who was in the king's courts that day and he watched this and he thought all that for a carrot and this nobleman raised horses so he went home picked out his best horse took it to the king the next day says oh king my king this is the greatest steed I will ever breed it is the most beautiful from nose to haunch I don't know.

If I'll ever have a greater horse and because I love you and I appreciate you he's my king I wanted to give this horse to you the king looked at him saw his heart and said thank you you're dismissed the nobleman froze he was struck this is not how this was supposed to go at all this actually is a good horse and the king goes I think you're confused let me help you out the farmer yesterday was giving me the carrot you were giving yourself the horse there are some of us who are doing a lot of christian things.

Because we think it makes God owe us because it puts him in our debt because it's the best way we've been told to have a good life and have a good family and go to heaven and Jesus says there's going to be a day when I'm going to look at a lot of people who are going to be shocked and terrified because they spent their whole life serving themselves and there was no love that's why he says I don't know you we're not close you don't love me it was all a scam what's what's what's your motivation do you have a love.

For Jesus deep in your core so that even in the times when you're running and sinning you hate it and you long for him do you truly believe when you stand before the king are you going to stand and say I'm here because Jesus is good and he's died for me and his work has taken the place of my work I have nothing to give nothing to prove it's all him are you sitting here today building your life on sand your effort your work your goodness your name it's going to fall down it cannot last or have you dug deep anchored yourself on Christ and said I'm not going anywhere.

Because he's not going anywhere my only hope is him and he will keep me Matt's going to come back up he's going to lead us in a song and I just all these things I just want us to sit and reflect and I want you to ask what am I building my life on what am I banking on when I stand before him where is my hope found it is my fear that there are people in this room maybe you've been a part of our church.

For a couple of years and all you're doing is building a house on sand he hasn't changed your heart there's no love for him you got some ministry you got some work you've done some good things you share the gospel every once in a while you've seen people come to faith do you believe have you trusted in Christ as your king have you devoted your life to him Jesus helps us out here look at the sermon on the mount what kind of fruit are you bearing is there love.

For enemy is there service when nobody sees you do you pray and fast and give only to be noticed if no one knows you're going to do it are you going to do it do you forgive those who hurt you or are you holding grudges and have bitterness towards other people maybe Jesus hadn't changed your heart maybe he hadn't enraptured you and overwhelmed you by the forgiveness the free forgiveness that he gives all of those who harmed him and hated him.

Jesus love for us as the type of love that fills us up and colors us in and brings us to life and changes us so while Matt sings I just want us to sit if you will if you're willing I want you to ask Jesus the question is my life built on you or am I banking on something else have you really changed my heart and for those of you who know that's not you all you have to do is say.

Jesus I want you I love you I believe in you I trust in you it's the will of the father that all those who call in the name of the son all those who trust in him believe in him won't be lost that Jesus will lose none of those that the father has given him will you trust him today will you commit today for those of you who deal with anxiety and fearfulness and this stirred it up in you and you're being told right.

Now you've never believed you've never trusted your whole life is a sham okay believe and trust now say okay Jesus I commit to you now I love you now I want you now begin to grow fruit in me make me yours forever father through your grace and through the power of your holy spirit we pray that a sermon preached over two thousand years ago through the lips of your son who is going to die in our place for our sin and rise that we might have hope eternal we pray that your spirit would empower it again to.

Let us hear the warnings and heed the call that we might respond to live lives of simple unnoticed faithfulness as we love you God through your grace grant us faith help us to dig deep and plant our lives firmly on Christ the rock that will not move his word that will not change and the gospel that will stand forever though kingdoms rise and fall the gospel will stand and may we hide ourselves in you that we will one day stand before you.

Because Jesus was your good and faithful servant we'll be called good and faithful because we've been wrapped up and covered by Christ in Jesus name amen y'all sit let's think while Matt sings.

The Narrow Gate

Transcript

Well, good morning. As Christians, we celebrate two major holidays. We celebrate Christmas, which is where we remember that Jesus Christ was born, that he became a human, that he was God who was infinite and glorious and has existed for all time and that he became a tiny little useless infant. And then we celebrate Easter, which is that he grew up, that he lived perfectly, that he loved the way he was supposed to, that he cared about humans the way he was supposed to, that he worshipped God the way he was supposed to, and that he then ultimately was crushed for our sins, that he was crucified, that he was murdered, that he breathed his last breath, that his heart stopped beating, and that he was wrapped up, laid in a tomb, and left.

And that three days later, he rose again from the dead, fulfilling all the promises he had made, fulfilling all the promises Scripture had made, that the Bible says that all of God's promises find their yes in Jesus, that he is the ultimate fulfillment of everything God promised to do. And that's what we celebrate at Easter, that ultimately Jesus has accomplished for us what we could never accomplish on our own. He has fulfilled the law for us. He has been moral enough and good enough for us, and that by faith in him, we can have life. We can be forgiven of our sins through his grace, and we can have eternal life through Jesus.

That's what we believe. That's what we're celebrating. And we've been walking together as a church family through the Sermon on the Mount, which is one of Jesus' first long sections of Scripture that he teaches through. And we're going to pick right back up there today. We're going to be in Matthew chapter 7. If you have one of the white Bibles on the road, we'll be on page 474 in Matthew chapter 7.

And here's what we're doing. It may not feel Easter-y at first, because we're walking, continually walking through just what Jesus has been teaching. But the crucifixion, the burial, the resurrection didn't come out of nowhere. Jesus had been telling us all along about what he was here to do, what he was here to accomplish. He's been teaching us from the very beginning what he was going to do. And I think it's very helpful for us as we continue to walk through the Sermon on the Mount to see how clearly what he says today is a call to us as we remember and celebrate Easter that Jesus Christ rose from the grave, that this is a call to us about the vast importance of why he had to do that and how we ought to respond.

See, what we want to see today as we look at what Jesus is saying here in the Sermon on the Mount is why he had to go to the cross and how we ought to respond. I'm going to pray and we'll begin kind of walking through this this morning. Lord, we pray that's the power of your Holy Spirit. We would be changed. That we would see some spiritual reality clearly today, that you would grab our hearts and make us yours. And that for those in the room who are seeking, who aren't sure if you're real, aren't sure that you love, aren't sure that you exist, aren't sure that this is true.

We pray that you'd give them clarity, that you would show them your love and give us all wisdom as we try to follow you and learn a little more this morning. In Jesus name. Amen. Amen. I like adventure stories, like really well told, good adventure stories. They do.

They just kind of captivate me. They draw me in in a way that other things don't. And I recently, about a year ago, year and a half ago, decided that I should probably start reading books. Um, I would read like leadership books or whatever, but I started like, no, I need to start reading some fiction. And so I started doing that. Um, and I read, uh, the Hobbit and I read the Lord of the Rings.

And can I just say something? Some of you right now, I just said, I wanted to start reading books. And some of you are book people. And immediately you were like in your little soul. You were like, yes, books books. And some of you were like, that sounds terrible.

Why would you read a book? That's what my wife is like. The other day I was laying in bed. I had my little, a little clip light on a book and she started telling me I look like I was at summer camp. I don't even know what that means. I've never been to summer camp, but I could tell it was derogatory and I should have felt shame.

But, but book people, can I help you out? Um, if you're talking to someone and you say, I really liked the Lord of the Rings and their response is movie or book. Is that a movie person or a book person? That's a book person. Yeah. Uh, and you'll say, oh, movie.

And they'll go, oh, okay. Can I, nobody wants to join your team. Stop. That doesn't help books. Like being smug about books isn't helping books. So book people just, just tone it down a notch.

You like books, but don't, don't be rude to other people who, who, and also watching all three of those movies is about as long as it takes to read a book. Those movies are long. But anyway, in, in, as I read through the Hobbit and, and through the Lord of the Rings, I just got kind of sucked in and I, I like action movies. I like adventure movies, but the problem with them is it's, it's a really passive experience and they're over so quickly. Unless it's like Braveheart and that was four and a half hours long or whatever. Most of them kind of, they go, they end, you're done reading this book.

Cause I'm kind of a slow reader and I'm trying to learn this thing, uh, took a really long time. And so it was like, I was in this adventure for, for a long time, especially since it's three books and each of them's like 300 and something pages. Like I really, I got into it and here's what they do though. Good adventure stories call you into, uh, remembering that you want to be a part of something that matters. You want to be a part of something real. It's like, as I was reading through the Lord of the Rings, it was like, I want to be a part of something that, that actually has weight to it.

That actually like, I want my life story to have a little more gravity to it. And I think that's what a good adventure story does. But I also, one of the things that was kind of captivating to me about the Lord on the Lord of the Rings is that the main characters are hobbits. Now, if you're not familiar with hobbits, they are very small. I'll describe them to you. They're, they're made up.

So don't go looking for them. They're small. Um, they're about like the half of the size of a human. They live in a place called the Shire, which is beautiful. It's got like rolling green grass and all they do. They sit around all day long with good tobacco, good drink, good food, good friends, having a good time.

And as I read the beginning of these books, I was like, I want to be a hobbit. Like I do. When I do hobbity things now, like eat supper twice, my wife fusses at me. I want this to be celebrated at my house. And there was something about it that, and, and there's, there's a beginning of both of the books where this, this wizard Gandalf shows up and yeah, I'm completely nerding out. Some of y'all excited.

The other of you just track with me. Keep going. Uh, there's a wizard. He shows up and he basically calls the hobbits. He says, do you want to go on adventure? At the beginning of one of the books, the hobbit responds, uh, adventures are nasty, uncomfortable things that make you late for dinner.

But he basically shows up and calls them into something more. And I will be honest with you. We would not know about these books if they turned that down. If the rest of the book was how their conversations went, what type of tea they drank, uh, which barrel of wine they opened, how gardening was going, we would have stopped. See, what's good about them is that this is common, small creature that gets called into something so magnificent, something more, more powerful, bigger than themselves. And in the Lord of the Rings, what happens is, basically Gandalf says to Frodo, and Frodo's the little hobbit guy, he says, you don't know this because it hasn't reached your hometown yet, but the rest of the world is growing dark and destruction is headed towards your door.

You don't know this, but eventually you can't just sit here without this coming to your very doorstep. And what he says is to not act is to act because eventually it's going to reach here. And he says, you've got to get up and do something. Now you've got to join this. Now you've got to move now into something that's hard and uncomfortable and difficult, but it's really your only good choice.

Because if you don't, even though it's comfortable now, destruction shows up. And here's what's interesting. As we get to this section in the Sermon on the Mount, I believe that Jesus has said the exact same thing. That in so many ways, Jesus has walked to us and as he's taught through the Sermon on the Mount, he's coming to a close. He's kind of beginning his ending here. We're going to finish the Sermon on the Mount next week.

And he's coming to an end and he basically is saying the same thing. You have to act. Because not to act is to already make a decision. That destruction is on its way and we have to respond. And so what we're going to see as we go through this is why Jesus had to go to the cross and how we ought to respond. So pick up in verse 13.

We're going to look at two verses today. And then we'll look at a few other places in scripture that'll be on the screen to help us kind of understand this a little more clearly. But we're just going to read two verses in the Sermon on the Mount. Now in the Sermon on the Mount, he's coming to an end. And what we've heard so far in the Sermon on the Mount, this is where Jesus starts off with the Beatitudes, where he says things like, Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn for they shall be comforted.

Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth. This is where some of Jesus's most famous sayings. He goes from there into teaching us how to act and how we ought to respond to our anger, how we ought to love one another, how we ought to act in marriage and relationships and act towards lust. Then he starts telling us to be generous and to trust him, that God is our father and he'll care for us. This is where we get turn the other cheek and love your enemies. This is where Jesus teaches us the golden rule that we should treat others the way we want to be treated.

This is where so much of what Jesus teaches that we've heard over and over again in life is explained. And then he kind of comes to the end of this after he's explained that the church is salt and light and that they're going to be sent out into the world and what they're supposed to look like and what kind of people he's making. He comes to the end of this and he says, okay, it's decision time. He starts making a few things really clearly as he closes out and we're picking up in verse 13. He starts off with a command. Enter by the narrow gate for the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction and those who enter by it are few.

I'm going to read that one more time. Enter by the narrow gate for the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life and those who find it are few. This is Jesus talking. He's speaking out of love and he's calling us to respond. Now, immediately when he says this to them, they would have pictured a city because all of their cities had gates and most of their cities had different gates.

So you would have the main gate or you might have a couple of main gates if maybe a big road ran through it. And then you would have smaller gates that people used for specific purposes, but you kind of had to have a reason to go to the main gate. Now, we don't have cities like that. I've never like ridden up to a city. It's not like you're going to Charlotte and you show up and there's gates around Charlotte. Like that doesn't really happen.

So the only thing I was thinking of like maybe theme parks would help you picture this or the fair. I think it's a fair example. My bad guys. It's not on purpose. I don't know whether to be proud or ashamed of myself. But here's what happens at the fair.

You drive your car. You pay for parking or you don't pay for parking because you're willing to risk it. You're like, I can park here. We'll see if my vehicle is still here when I get back. And you get out. And then what do you do?

You look. If you've never been before, you see where everyone else is walking. You think that person's going to the fair and you just walk with them. Eventually, the crowd grows and grows. And then you're all just, you're not even having to think. You're just walking with everybody else.

And eventually you show up and there are the gates and you go in. That's how it works. And that's what he's saying. There's a wide gate that everyone's going into. There's a wide gate that as you get closer to the city, you begin to see more people. And eventually you're just in a nice, easy path.

It's the main gate. It's paved. It's smooth. It's nice. And everybody's going in through that gate. And then he says, but there's another gate that's narrow.

The path to it is narrow. It's a hard path. It's difficult. And this is one of the things I think is very interesting in this text. When he's talking about the wide gate, he says those who enter by it are many. And when he's talking about the narrow gate, he says those who find it.

It's easy to just walk into the wide gate. He says there's actually some work that has to be done to find the narrow gate. And then once you find it, it's hard. But he says at the beginning of this, enter by the narrow gate. That's his call to us. Now, this should scare us a little bit.

Because what he just said was, there's a really wide gate with a really smooth path. Those who enter by it are many. And it leads to destruction. I can tell you something very clearly. The many that are entering by it don't know it leads to destruction. Because they wouldn't enter by it.

Like if they knew, if we knew that gate entered into destruction. Like if you could see, as soon as people walked through, like a monster ate them. We wouldn't go. You wouldn't be able to talk us into it. You wouldn't be like, hey, let's go there. And I'd be like, hey, let's go there.

And you'd be like, no, there's a monster. And I'd be like, yeah, I know there's a monster. Look how big the doors are. You'd be like, what does that have to do? Well, it just seems like you wouldn't even have to duck when you go in. There's a monster.

Yeah, but it's so smooth. We could squirt some dawn on this. Throw a little water and just slide right in there, bad boy. You wouldn't go. But he says many enter by this.

And it leads to destruction. That's scary. And what Jesus is saying is that this is life. That every person in this room, if you believe what Jesus is saying, if you think he's trustworthy, every person in this room is headed towards the wide gate or the narrow gate. And I think it's fair to say that if you have not made an active, intentional search, you can just assume you're walking with the many. Because he says those who find it, that there's taken effort, that it's difficult, that it's hard to find the narrow gate.

And for everybody else, they're just walking together towards the destruction. That's scary. If it's just been an easy process, if there hasn't been much work, if he hadn't thought about it, if it wasn't an anguished over decision, he's saying there's a really good chance. You don't know it. But you're walking towards the destruction.

And this actually makes sense with what much of the Bible teaches. See, the Bible makes really clear in Genesis that there's a good God who's existed for eternity. We find out as we read the Bible that he existed for eternity in relationship, that it's a Trinitarian God, that there's Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. And that forever they have loved one another and cherished one another and celebrated one another. And it was out of that love and out of that goodness that it overflowed into creation. That God didn't make people because he was bored or needy.

He made people because he was relational and loving and good. And that God created everything good and set at the top of his creation humans. And we know that. We know that implicitly. Like when a lion eats a zebra, we just film it, watch it, teach kids about it. Nobody arrests the lion.

Why? Because they're animals. But when a human is harmed, murdered, or hurt, we automatically know this is on a different level. This is, we're above creation in a way. That God made us good and that God designed humanity to love him and to love each other. That we were designed to exist in a relationship with God the same way that children are supposed to exist in a relationship with their parents.

That that's what's best for them. That we know that. That for a child to have parents is the best route. That's why every Disney movie starts off with the parents dying. Because that automatically throws a wrench in the gears. That's why it automatically messes things up.

We know now there's going to be some drama, some difficulty. And what happened was humanity rebelled. You see, one of the gifts that God had given them and us is ourselves. Themselves. Have you ever thought about that? That you're a gift to you from God.

Your intelligence, your looks, your abilities. Everything you have, every breath you've taken in, every breath you've exhaled was a gift to you. That all of you that you've enjoyed was a gift. And see, when God gave humanity themselves, what happened was they chose to honor themselves, to love themselves, to pursue themselves more than God. We swapped God out. That's why Christians will often refer to the world as broken.

Or refer to humans as broken. It's because something's broken when it doesn't accomplish its intended purpose. We were supposed to love God supremely, to see Him as beautiful and good, and to love each other out of that. But we don't. We don't hold God up as supreme. So, for some of you, maybe you don't believe this.

Or maybe one of the things you've had the hardest time with with Christianity. And I've talked with people with this. My cousin's kind of like this. Where basically it's like, okay, I'm really, who is God that He would make people and then give a bunch of rules and then say, you failed the rules and then punish us? What is that? But see, the Bible says the biggest issue with us relating to God is not that we broke His rules.

But that we've completely distorted the way the world was supposed to work. That God, who is God, which makes Him the most lovely, the most holy, the most worthy, the most good, the highest of all, we've placed something else there. We've taken something else and we've said, this is worthy, this is beautiful, this is high and holy. The Bible calls that blasphemy or idolatry, where we've looked at something else and said, I love you more. I believe in you more. You're more worth serving and chasing and spending my life for.

In the book of Romans, Paul says it this way, it's going to be on screen. He says, For although they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks to Him. But they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things. And then in Romans 1.25, he kind of sums it up this way. They exchanged the truth about God for a lie.

And worshipped, that means believed, was most holy, most worthy. And served, that means spent their life for. Their energy, their time for. They worshipped, they said, you matter the most and I will spend my time for you. The creature, that means anything that's not God. Rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever.

Amen. And this is where I think Jesus' illustration of a wide gate makes so much sense to me. Because I feel like in life, I kind of am tempted to do what I do when I'm going to the fair. Which is get out, see where everybody else is headed, and go with them. That's what we've done, right? We've gotten out, we've started to grow up and we've said, okay, what matters the most?

Money? Money's really nice. That's a good one. And so we've begun to put that as highest and said, this is what's most worth serving. So that our time, our energy, our effort goes to that.

Some of us said, no, no, no, no. It's not money, it's relationships. Or it's sex. Most worth serving. Some of us said, no, it's actually to have people like us. It's to have some status, some power, some love from other people.

Some of us said, no, no, it's actually comfort. It's being able to rest. It's living life like a hobbit. That's the most valuable thing I could ever spend my time doing. But in all of that, we've taken God, we've set him to the side, we've said, this is more beautiful, more lovely, more worth worshiping, and more worth serving than you are.

And what Jesus says is, that's normal, that's natural, and it leads to destruction. That one day, as humans, we will stand before God, having swapped him out for something else. And that's going to be a terrible day for us. That this leads to purposelessness. That we spend our lives bored. Lacking.

Longing. Empty. Because the thing we were designed to do, we're not doing. The one thing that was going to set us right, worshiping God and relating to him, we've swapped it out for something else. And we spend our life feeling like this isn't correct. You ever tried to do a job and you don't have the right tools?

So that you're using the back of a screwdriver like a hammer? If that's all you ever did with your screwdriver, and if your screwdriver was sentient, it would think, this doesn't feel right. It seems to me like something is missing. That this is not what I was designed to do. And the reason we feel that somewhere deep as an undercurrent in our souls, that what we're chasing is always going to turn up empty. That even at our highest, it's so fleeting.

It's as if it was at the tips of our fingers and then it just disappeared. It's because we're broken. The thing that was going to set us right has been removed and we place something else there that will never satisfy. But Jesus says, there's another way. Now I want you to hear his sales pitch.

I used to be in sales. I want you to hear his sales pitch. Enter by the narrow gate, for the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction. And those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life. And those who find it are few.

If you're just looking at the gates and the paths, the narrow one sounds worse. So we don't know what's at the end of these gates. Like we said earlier, they don't understand the many that are walking into destruction don't understand that they're headed to destruction. Let's say we're walking along and all of a sudden there's a guy standing on the end of the path. And accidentally we make eye contact and he's like... But now we're like locked in, we feel rude, so we just kind of come over there and he goes, hey.

You want to go down a different path? Um, probably not. Wait, wait, wait, you didn't let me finish. You know how you like steep hills? No? Well, you see this path, how easy and nice it is?

Yes? I've got one that's way worse. It's got rocks. What? You know how fun it is to be chased by a bear? Like, we would not take this path.

Hey, you see all that stuff you've got with you? Yeah, you've got to put it down. Leave it right here. It won't fit. But if you come this way, it's going to be hard.

It's going to be difficult. It's going to be narrow. You're going to have to leave everyone else with you. If they won't come, you've got to come and leave them. It's a single file path. The only way we're taking that path is if we trust them enough to believe what's at the end of it.

You see, Jesus says there's destruction at the end of this one. But there's a narrow way that leads to life. It's narrow and it's hard, but it leads to life. And the wide and easy one leads to destruction. So the question put before us is, do we trust Jesus?

Do we trust him? Do we believe that what he's saying is true? See, he's called you to act. He says enter by the narrow gate. The question is, do you trust him? Do you trust him?

Do you trust him? Jesus goes to the cross because he believed this was true. You see, Jesus goes to the cross to open up the narrow way for us because he is the narrow way. I heard one time when a pastor was teaching this section, he said that we can follow the narrow way because there's one that goes before us. And I actually think that we've got to realize that the only way the narrow way was opened for us is that Jesus went to destruction for us. That he went to a cross for us.

That he paid the penalty for us. That what was going to be owed us when we walked through that gate and stood before God and said, measure me, judge me based off of my work. That the condemnation and the destruction that was going to be owed us. Jesus walked before God. When we read earlier where it says that the sky was dark, that the world was dark for three hours and then Jesus says, God, why have you forsaken me? You see, every time Jesus prays in the gospels, he says, Father, except for there.

There he says, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me? You see, Jesus walked before God and said, judge me, measure me, condemn me based off of their work, not mine. So that we can walk before God and say, judge me, measure me, condemn me based off of his work, not mine. See, Jesus in John 10, 9 says this. I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved.

That means that you get to walk through Jesus, that you get to go through Jesus. The Bible says he's clothed us in his righteousness. That we get to enter by Jesus. We get to go stand and say, it is only by Christ that I'm able to stand before you. And my hope and my faith is only in him. Because he went to the cross and he died for my sin and he rose from the grave and he conquered it for me.

And I can come to you because my sin was laid in the grave with him and it didn't walk out of the tomb when he did. Jesus says it this way in John 14, 6. Jesus said to them, I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. Jesus is the narrow way that we can be saved. He's narrow.

It's just Jesus. Just through the name of Jesus. There is no other name under heaven or on earth or anywhere by which we may be saved. There is no other name. It is only through Jesus that we can be saved. He is the way, the truth, and the life.

And no one is going to get to the Father but by him. He's our hope. He is the resurrection. He has died for our sins and risen to give us a living hope. You are more sinful than you could possibly imagine. But we are more loved than we would ever understand.

That Jesus Christ has died in our place for our sin to give us life. And what Jesus says is there are two paths. There is a wide one that leads to destruction. And many are going to enter by it because it's easy and it's wide and they don't understand where it leads. But there is a narrow path.

And those who find it are few. And that way is hard. You have to give things up. You have to leave people behind. You have to accept a call into a life that does not make sense here. But if you find it, it leads to life.

I think we're like Frodo. I'm going to be honest with you. America is pretty nice. We get to watch on video and on our newsreels. Bombings. Chaos.

Destruction. We get to read about it in our feeds. We get to put our iPhone, Android in our pocket. And then go eat frozen yogurt. And forget all about it. We get to eat dinner twice.

But Jesus has walked to our door. And he says, if you aren't careful. You will ease your way to destruction. You will slide your way to destruction. Or you'll sit on your couch and destruction will come to you. And you won't even know it happened.

Get up. Start searching. There's a more difficult path. It's a lot harder to walk. But at the end of it, there's life.

And Jesus Christ is that for us. That he walked first this difficult path. That he went to the cross. That he took the destruction we deserve. And that in him there is hope and life for eternity. Don't hesitate.

Don't hesitate. Don't delay. Don't wait. Don't sit and ease your way to destruction. And Christians in the room. Who believe with everything that you have.

That you have found Christ. And that you will enter by him. And that you will be on the narrow way to kingdom. And joy. And hope. And life.

And glory. Do not be content with the many that sit near you. At your offices. That sleep near you. In your neighborhoods. In your apartments.

That are easing their way to what Jesus Christ says is destruction. We have a risen king. We will one day have all pleasures forevermore. All the goodness. Everything good on earth right now. Is only good because it reminds us of him.

And points to that place. Take the hard path. Give some things up. Spend some time for something that matters. Accept the adventure. And follow Jesus into life.

Pray with me if you will. Pray with me if you will. Father we ask. That you would help us not be okay. With simple and small and comfortable. But that we would join you in the everyday mission.

That you have called us into. God we pray that you would help us to clearly see. That wide and easy. Is the path that leads to destruction. And narrow and hard leads to life. Awaken our hearts.

Let people who have never placed their faith in you do so today. In Jesus name. Amen. The band is going to come back up. We are about to get to celebrate baptism. Baptism is the celebration for Christians.

Where when someone has placed their faith in Christ. We get to gather. We get to gather. We get to openly and publicly profess. Jesus is good. I'm not.

He is holy. I'm not. He is moral. I'm not. And I needed a savior. That we get to celebrate.

And re-embody. The death. Burial. And resurrection of Jesus. That's what baptism is. And in just a second.

There will be a young lady who is going to get in these waters. Is going to be baptized. And we are going to celebrate. As another child. Has entered the kingdom. Belongs to Jesus.

And has publicly declared. I'm going to spend my life on a narrow and difficult path. Because I believe that Jesus is good. That he's better than ultimately anything I can find anywhere else. And I'm going to follow him to life.

Where Good Comes From

Transcript

All right, we're in Matthew chapter 7 today. It's on page 474. If you have one of these white Bibles, my name's Chet. If this is your first time hanging out with us, I want to tell you a little bit about what we do, what we believe, who we are. We believe that the Bible is trustworthy, that it is true. We believe that the God that we meet in that Bible is loving and good.

And so we get together, we open the Bible, and we study it. We spend a good bit of time every Sunday. We just take the time to read what it says, to study it. We believe that it's true, so we then try to seek to apply it to our lives. And so that's what we're about to do now. We've been walking verse by verse through the Sermon on the Mount, which is probably the most famous sermon in the world.

Jesus preaches for three chapters, chapters 5, 6, and 7 in Matthew. And so we've just been going through chapters 5, 6, and 7, verse by verse, trying to understand what he's saying, what his point is, and how that looks for us to actually try to apply that in life. So we're going to be in Matthew chapter 7 today. We're going to pick up where we left off last week in verse 7. And I think we're in a bit of a danger today, just in our time this morning. And so we're going to read.

I think it will be most helpful for us to read the whole passage that we're going to look at this morning. And then I want to tell you what I think is a danger to us, what we actually need to be aware of as we study this this morning. So let's read it together. Ask, and it will be given to you. Seek, and you will find. Knock, and it will be opened to you.

For everyone who asks, receives. And the one who seeks, finds. And to the one who knocks, it will be opened. Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him?

So, whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them. For this is the law and the prophets. That passage is so nice. It's so nice. It's like a warm blanket out of the dryer. Like, by the time we get here in the Sermon on the Mount, like, this is just, it feels like your soul just got home from a hard day of work, opened the door, and your house smells like fresh-baked cookies.

Like, that's how nice that passage is. That, oh, you ask and you'll be answered. Seek and you'll find. Knock and the door will be opened. God is like a good Father who gives good gifts to his children. So, treat others the way you want to be treated.

Like, if you have, like, the old school flowy Jesus voice in your head, this is where he gets most Jesus-y sounding. Like, you can almost see him penning a lamb where he's just, everything is said. So soft. And so smooth. Like, but the problem, the danger that I think we're in today, is that we've all heard this 1,000 times. We know this.

Like, even if you're not a part of a church, even if you've never studied the Bible, maybe when we just read, do unto others as you would have them do unto you, or treat people the way you want to be treated, you were surprised that that was in the Bible. You've heard that your whole life. You know that's the golden rule. You just didn't know Jesus said it. Or, you've heard even people who don't believe in anything, or just believe that there's a God, will tell you that he's a father, and that he's good. Like, that's mainline stuff.

So here's the deal. We'll read this. We're in danger of reading this section, that God's a good father, that he answers prayer, that he loves you, that he gives good gifts, and that you should treat others the way you want to be treated. And we'll all go, mmm, yes. When's lunch? And we'll move right on.

And here's the truth. As I've studied this this week, and I've thought about my life, and I know y'all, I've thought about y'all, I don't think we believe this, and I don't think we do it. This is such a beautiful passage, that it gets cross-stitched on little lacy pillows, and I actually don't think we believe it, and I don't think we do it, so let's cross-stitch that on a lacy pillow. Just put nuh-uh under it, I guess. Psych. Thanks, but no thanks.

That'll be on the backside of the pillow. So, here's what I want to do. I want us to see what he's saying, then I want to show you why I believe we don't believe it, and then, after we've done that, I want to show us how I think we can believe it, and how it can actually help us. Is that fair? Can we do that? Doesn't matter.

I'm going to. Let's pray, and then we'll start studying. God, we ask for your help this morning. As we approach some of the most, I think, warming, helpful, beautiful teaching that you give us in the Sermon on the Mount, I pray that we would not shoot past it, or convince ourselves that we believe it, because we know it, because we could repeat it, because we've heard it a thousand times. I pray that you'd help us to see with new eyes today, and evaluate ourselves well. We ask this in your son's name.

Amen. Okay, so, there is a difference between knowing something and believing it. There's a difference between having information in your head, and actually having it, it seep into your heart, and so that's what I, I think we all have this information in our heads, and I think it hasn't necessarily seeped into our hearts. So let's start looking at what he says. I just want to spend some time saying, this is what he says, and what it means, and then I want to say, here's why I don't think we believe it, and then we'll talk about how we actually can. So let's look at the first section first, verses 7 through 11.

Ask, and it will be given to you. Seek, and you will find. Knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives, and the one who seeks, finds. And to the one who knocks, it will be opened. Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone?

Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? If you then who are evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him? So Jesus sets this up as ask, seek, and knock towards God. So you want to ask God, you want to seek God, you want to knock on God's door. That's what he's saying. That's why he ends and says, how much more will your Father in heaven?

So he's calling us, commanding us, he gives three commands here, towards prayer, towards pursuit of God, knowledge of God. So this would include reading your Bible, this would include serving, giving, this would include any pursuit that helps you believe in, trust, and know God, that you would ask him, that you would seek him, that you would knock on his door, and that he would respond. So he gives three commands and six promises. Ask, and it will be given. Anyone who asks, receives. Seek, it's a command, and you will find.

Anyone who seeks, finds. Knock, and the door will be opened. To the one who knocks, it is opened. So he tells us to do something three times, and then he gives six promises that pair with those. And it's actually really encouraging. If you're praying, if you're seeking, if you're the type of person that you're here today because you're just checking this thing out, you don't know how you feel about Jesus, maybe you think he was an okay guy, maybe you think he was a prophet, maybe you kind of grew up around people who you believe, genuinely believe this stuff, but you don't know where you stand, this is an encouragement to you.

Start asking your questions. Start seeking the truth. Start knocking on Jesus' door. Start trying to talk to him. Start trying to understand what's going on, and he promises he'll respond. And then I love the illustration he gives.

He says, which one of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? It's a rhetorical question. People are like, no, I wouldn't do that. Like, I said to my kid the other day, he's two. He wanted some fish for dinner, so I stuck a snake on his plate and gave it to him.

It was hilarious. Nobody would do that. Like, y'all should call the cops. That is terrible. That's the point. He's like, this sounds ridiculous because no one would do this.

And then he says, you who are evil know how to give good gifts. He looks at them, looks at us, and says, y'all know you're messed up, right? Yes. You know you do pretty terrible stuff. Yes. Right.

But you wouldn't do this to a kid, would you? No. That's the point. That your God, your Father in Heaven, loves you so much more. How much more is he going to give good things to those who ask him? He's saying, nobody comes back empty handed.

You get to go to God and make your request. You get to go to God seeking and searching and he responds. But he actually tells us something that I think makes this so much better. He says, verse 11, if you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in Heaven give good things to those who ask him? You know why that makes that so much nicer? He doesn't give you the thing you ask for.

He gives you good things. Sometimes what you ask for is a good thing. Sometimes it wasn't. He's not a genie. And I think a lot of us think it would be really nice if he was. But let's think about that for just a second.

If God just answered all of our prayers. First of all, that would mean all of our prayers, not just yours. So you may think my prayers are great. It's like, right. But if he's just going to answer everybody's prayers, your neighbor's an idiot.

No? Y'all's neighbors are great. The guy lives two doors down. Like, if he answers everybody's prayers. And you know how afraid you'd have to be about asking for the exact right thing? All right.

Let me give you an example of God not being a genie. When I was in middle school, I think in sixth grade, I was reading my Bible. That may be weird. I used to read my Bible. I'd read two chapters a day starting when I was about 12. I was reading my Bible and I would come across stuff where it said, if you have faith, anything would happen.

Like, God can answer prayers. If you have faith, you have faith. So I started trying to test this out. And what I would pray for before I would go to sleep, and I must have done this for a couple of months, was that I would wake up with a full beard. This is a legit, real prayer I had when I was in sixth grade. And I would wake up and think, I must not have enough faith.

I'd keep reading my Bible. I'd try it again the next night. And I kept thinking, maybe one day it's just going to happen. Here's the thing. You know how terrible that would have been if I'd have woken up in sixth grade with a full beard? My parents would have had to have taken me to the doctor because that would have been like a really scary thing to have happened.

I would have been like, no, I prayed for it. And they'd be like, no kid, like we got to go get you tested. Something wrong here. Also, like I'm really glad I didn't have to shave constantly through middle school. Some of you did. I'm sorry.

God didn't answer your prayer, I guess. I don't know. I didn't have to shave all the way through middle school. But eventually, and I don't think, I don't know if this has anything to do with that consistent amount of prayer in seventh grade, but I am the only one of my two brothers, there's three of us, who can actually grow a full beard. So they should have started praying in middle school.

They might have worked out. One of them can grow an amazing mustache and he cannot ever not grow that because when he shaves it it immediately pops back out, but that's about it. And the other one can grow a really awesome, like Fu Manchu, but that's it. That's why he rocks a Fu Manchu. He's one of our group leaders and you don't ever see him do anything else. They can, though, to make it fair, God evened it out, they can get a tan.

My skin just turns red and then falls off. So maybe he gave me a beard to protect my face. Here's the thing. God's not a genie. He gives good gifts. I have a two-year-old son.

He, when he turned two, was like, I'm going to start talking now. So that's been pretty cool. When he wakes up in the morning, he and I get to eat breakfast together a couple days a week because we both get up early and we'll eat breakfast before I go to work and I'll fix him breakfast. And on a very consistent basis, at least a couple times a week, he will say no to all the breakfast options. No eggs, no cereal, no Pop-It, which is how he says Pop-Tart, which is basically candy. But his mom is still asleep so I can feed him what I want.

But then he will, he'll go, because he's thinking about the options of things and he'll go, candy, chocolate, Pep-It, which means peppermints, which would be a terrible thing to eat for breakfast. He just likes them. And I will say, no, you're not eating candy for breakfast. Like, that's just not going to be good for him. If he ate it that morning, he would think it was delicious. He would think this was the best thing that ever happened.

But, it actually, he wouldn't understand the consequences later in the day when he didn't have any energy and he was frustrated. He wouldn't understand if we did this over time, like if I always let him eat candy every time he wanted to or if I always let him stay awake at night when I tell him it's bedtime and he says no sleep, I was just like, well, you know your body, bud. If you don't want to go to sleep, I'm cool with it. Like, that would be terrible for him. If he just ate candy and slept on his schedule, it wouldn't be good. So, I'm a father.

I care about him. So, I'd say no. Like, I'm slowly teaching him that bacon is better. That's what I'm doing. And here's the promise that Jesus makes here is that you get to go to God and ask. You get to walk to him every day and say, God, candy, chocolate, and peppermints.

And he, because he's a good father, gets to go, no, but I am slowly going to show you that bacon is better. Like, that's the promise here. That he's good. That he gives good gifts so that we get to ask him, but then we get to trust him. We get to ask. We get to seek.

We get to knock. But then we get to trust that he's going to take care of us, provide for us, and give us actual good gifts. I think that's the first thing Jesus is teaching here. Now, I want to show us, if I can, quickly, why I actually don't think we believe this. I'll start by kind of giving us an illustration, help us picture this. When I was growing up, my dad, I mention him periodically because he's a big figure in my life, and I'm really blessed to have the dad that I have, but he is a very intense man, and I slept so soundly in my house when I was growing up.

Because if you broke in my house when I was growing up, good luck. My dad is the equivalent of an angry bear in some ways. And so I just, I'd hear a noise and I'd be like, if that's a bad guy, good luck, buddy. I'd just go back to sleep. I didn't care. I wasn't afraid.

I wasn't scared. My dad would walk around the house at night. He would check things out. Like, I was never worried about this. I've had him before tell me that if, like, I was in a situation when I was in T-ball, and a coach was yelling at me, and I told my dad, like, I was kind of worried because there's a grown man yelling at me, and he was like, look, as long as he yells, it's okay, but if he touches you, you let me know, and I'll break every bone in his body. And my dad was serious.

Like, he'll go to the penitentiary for me. I didn't even bat an eye at that. I was like, all right, sounds good. So, a coach would yell at me, and I just wouldn't even flinch. Like, I, and that was how I slept. Like, my whole life, I just, I just knew that was the person who lived in my house, and I was going to be okay, and I could just rest because I knew if something went down, he would handle it.

He had our back. He was going to protect us. He would take care of us. I knew that. Like, I, there was never even a question in my mind. Fast forward to the time that I get married.

I get married, and my ability to sleep soundly disappeared. Every little noise. Like, there was something in my house, it would be like, like, it was like a cricket sneezed, and I'd be like, because suddenly, my dad wasn't there anymore. I had to do this. And my wife, who weighs about 100 pounds, it's never her turn. Like, we don't have a schedule of like, if someone breaks in on Tuesday, that's your turn, or I got the last one.

It's never like, hey, babe, you're up. Like, that's always my job. And so she would say, that's nothing, go to sleep. And I'd be like, yeah, you can say that, because if they come in the door, it's suddenly my problem, not yours. I'm going to go walk around and check. And so on a consistent basis, a couple of times a month, ever since I've gotten married, maybe a couple of times a week, just depending, sometimes a couple of times a night, I'm walking around my house looking for stuff because I heard some sort of phantom noise, and I won't be able to go to sleep until I find the person and attack them.

I also have it mapped out in my house which rooms I'm checking first and how I'm doing it, because, you know, I've got to pay attention to people getting behind me and stuff. I know what's up. Here's the thing. Here's why I think we don't believe this. Much of our lives, much of my life, is spent not in the peaceful, restful sleep of someone who knows their father is good and there and can handle it, but is in the restless, wakeful, tense, worry of is this going to work out is in the state of I have to make this work. I'm the one responsible.

So when it comes to work, when it comes to family, when it comes to children, when it comes to relationships, we're not living our lives as people who are at rest because their father is good and there. We're living our lives as people who have to be in control and make everything work out. You see, he says your father's good and good things come from him and you can trust him and you can ask of him and you can seek him and you can knock at his door and you can know that he'll give good gifts, but I think we spend so much time worrying about our ability to make this work that I just don't think we truly believe that. And I think it's not just our worries, our fears, our anxieties, our nightmares that betray us.

I also think it's our hopes, our dreams, our ambitions, and the thing that we'll get on our grind for because what he says here is that good things come from God and I think for many of us, if you were going to say good things come from, you wouldn't end the sentence with God. You wouldn't end the sentence with Jesus. You wouldn't end the sentence with a heavenly father. You'd end the sentence with something like good things come from popularity, good things come from having a lot of friends. Good things come from being able to rest and vacation. Good things come from money and we know this when we're looking at our bank accounts that we've tied our hearts to it.

We know this when we're paying attention to our children. All the things that we put so much weight and pressure on, I just believe that we don't spend our life in the restful peace that this offers and so I think we don't actually believe it. We could say it. You could quote it to somebody. You would tell somebody in your community group that. God's a good father.

He's got you. I just want you to know they're sitting on the other side going it doesn't feel like that and I can't trust that right now. I really need my finances to work out. And you're going no, he's a good father. He's got you. But five months later when you're looking like you might lose your job and they're saying God's a good father.

He's got you. You're going it doesn't feel like that and I don't see that and I really need my job to work out. And I just think we don't truly believe this. It hasn't really sunk into our heart yet. Let's look at verse 12.

We're going to do the same thing. We're going to see what it says. I'm going to try to show you why I think we don't really believe this. We don't really practice this. So whatever you wish that others would do to you do also to them for this is the law and the prophets.

So he's kind of coming to a conclusion here in the Sermon on the Mount the next couple of weeks as we go into Easter and the week after we're going to be finishing up and Jesus is going to kind of he's going to basically have said everything he's going to say and then he's going to kind of conclude it with let me be really clear about a few things. So this is kind of the end. He's actually tagging back to verse 5 chapter 5 verse 17 where he talks about the law and the prophets and he says so it's kind of in conclusion treat others the way you want to be treated. Do also whatever you wish that others would do to you do also to them.

Where he talks about the law and the prophets and he says so it's kind of in conclusion treat others the way you want to be treated. Do also whatever you wish that others would do to you do also to them. This is the law and the prophets. There's a book I heard about recently by a guy named Robert Fulham it says all I really need to know I learned in kindergarten I want to read y'all a little bit from the first chapter of that book

He says all I really need to know about how to live and what to do and how to be I learned in kindergarten these are the things I learned share everything play fair don't hit people put things back where you found them clean up your own mess don't take things that aren't yours say you're sorry when you hurt somebody wash your hands before you eat flush warm cookies and cold milk are good for you

Take a nap every day when you go out into the world watch out for traffic hold hands and stick together he says everything you need to know is in there somewhere the golden rule that's this that's Matthew 7 verse 12 to do unto others as you have them do unto you or treat people the way you want to be treated he says it's in there the golden rule and love and basic sanitation ecology politics

Equality and sane living what he says is if you took any of those concepts and extrapolate them out into adult terms we'd be great things would work out fine if countries would put things back where they found them and clean up their own messes if everybody just followed the rules that you learned in kindergarten we'd be fine and here's the thing I don't think there's anything on that list we would disagree with some of you might disagree with naps and we'll begin the church discipline process soon

I don't think there's anything on there that we would disagree with but we also don't do that in life we just don't like treat others the way you want to be treated if we were in high school and you forgot you had a presentation today but it was on that you could show up to class be reminded you had the presentation walk up and wing it and you'd do fine because you can make arguments for that everybody can make an argument for why treating others the way you want to be treated makes life better we just could

But we don't do it we don't actually practice that that just means that in life you would think in every situation how do I wish they would act towards me and then you would use that as your framework for everything he says this is the law and the prophets this is what all the Old Testament was getting at in so many ways was just trying to get you to treat people the way you want to be treated but let's look at this if you're buying a house how honest should the seller be about the house's

Issues quality things that have happened things they've just fixed how honest okay thank you if you're selling a house 65% honest is okay mostly honest like I was pretty honest plus I kind of fixed that thing and you can't really see it unless you knew that it happened and looked in that corner with this type of lighting alright you hear a really good secret really good piece of information about someone it's like crazy interesting

And you know that other people want to hear it someone hears something like that about you how do you want them to respond I think I'd like for them to say something like that doesn't really sound all that true plus if we told people about it I don't think it would be that helpful maybe we should go talk to him and sort it out now that's how I'd like for them to respond but I can tell that I don't do that by how annoyed I would be

If a person said that to me after I told them something really interesting I don't think that's actually very helpful to spread around I think we should go talk to them and maybe you should apologize for telling people their information about their personal lives I would be like I hate you right now you just made that secret not fun at all and I would be actively fighting against people doing unto others like I'm glad I would love for people to do that towards me but I don't want to do it

Towards other people like that's a very difficult thing to do when the trash can's full or the sink is full how do you want people to treat you how about your neighbors or your waiter if you were a waiter or a waitress and you are just really having a rough day life's been going really poorly you have more people in your set you got scheduled because people had called out and so you were the one person who showed up because a couple people were sick and so you're handling

More tables than you can handle right now and you're not doing a great job because you had some stuff going on in life and you're a little bit frustrated that you're there and so you actually aren't the best waiter or waitress that day how do you want the people eating meals to treat you I want them to be pretty forgiving and gracious and to just assume I'm having a bad day and to tip me better because of it but if I'm sitting at the table

You've been sitting at a table and you're like frustrated about the service and you say something and a person at your table says they may just be having a really bad day how annoyed are you with them it's like maybe they're a terrible waiter it's possible he's having a bad day because he's a moron no just me come on this is what I'm saying like we know how honest do we want people to be how forgiving

How gracious how generous we can answer that question easily I can answer how I'd like to be treated so easily and then if you walk through my life and say let me show you how you treated this person let me show you how you spoke to them let me show you how you responded let me show you how you responded to their anger like for the most part I think my rubric is treat people how they're treating me if you're really nice there's a good chance

I'll be nice if you're rude I'll be rude if you've already done something to me if you've been spreading rumors about me and I suddenly get the chance to do that like there's a there's a chance I'm gonna go let's do this and that's the opposite every single one of us could stand up here and tell how beautiful the world would be if we just did this but we don't do it see I don't think

We truly believe that God's good and that he's our father and I don't think we actually practice this even though we would argue for it even though it would not automatically pop out of our mouths if we were dealing with a child where somebody would do something we go hey is that how you'd want to be treated I just don't think we believe it I don't think we do it here's why well let's look at this here

I think Jesus gives us a clue in the text as to how we can actually treat others how we can actually live out the golden rule I think he gives us a clue in the text I want to show it to you it's at the very beginning of verse 12 so I'll read that again in case I lost you so it's a two letter word it begins the sentence here's what it means in light of what I've already said that's what it means so like

You've been using the word so since first grade you use it all the time in normal language it's a concluding word you say stuff like I'm really hungry so I could eat anywhere somebody's like where should we go to lunch you say something like I don't have any money so I'll go with you wherever because I'm not going to be eating I'm going to be watching you like you take a bit of information you say so and now you have a conclusion and so it's weird to me because

Jesus says so whatever you wish that others would do to you do also to them for this is the law and the prophets he says it as a concluding statement to some stuff that doesn't seem real connected to me he just got done saying that God's a good father who give you good gifts and then he says so treat others the way you want to be treated and it feels a little bit like he went A B green and thought we were supposed to catch that like it's just it feels a little weird

I don't know why he jumped to this but actually as I got to thinking about it it seems to make a lot of sense I think the primary reason that we don't treat others the way we want to be treated is that we don't want to lose if you treat others the way you want to be treated if you actually sit and spend any time thinking about this you're suddenly going to go wait I'm the only one who ever cleans up every time I see the sink is full I fill it up when a co-worker has been spreading rumors about me and then the boss comes and asks me

How I feel about them I'm suddenly supposed to think how do I wish they would treat me and even though I don't really like them try to find something gracious to say and maybe highlight some of their good qualities rather than just dogging them as best I can here's the problem with that I won't get a promotion how honest would I like someone to be if I was interviewing them real honest but I don't think I'd get a job if I just sat down and was completely honest with every question they asked

If I didn't put a little bit of spin on it some of you just thought yeah no you can't be honest in an interview that's my point like we don't believe the reason we don't do this is we don't want to lose we don't want to come in last we feel like there's so much pressure for us to make it work out for us to get it for us to accomplish it for us to make this work so that when Jesus says your God's a good father and good things come from him so treat others the way you want to be treated what he's saying is

You'll quit looking to others and to the world for all your good things so you'll actually be free to just treat them well you see when we spend all of our time looking at everybody else and needing them to fill us up and to make us okay that we believe that our good things are out there at our jobs and in our relationships and in our friendships and in our money when we believe all the good exists out there we can't treat people the way we want to be treated but once we believe

And fully know that God is good and our good comes from him then we're free then you're free to actually love people the way you want to be loved you're free to treat people the way you want to be treated see the reason I'm anxious and the reason I'm worried is because I feel like I'm going to lose I feel like I'm going to I'm going to mess this up I'm going to come and last other people are going to get ahead of me I'm going to fall behind so I can't treat people the way I want to be treated because I've got to get an edge I can't always just be serving and showing up early

And leaving late and filling in everybody's schedule every time they don't show up for work I can't be the only person who fills in slots for people who are sick that can't be just me but that's because we're not fully believing that our good comes from him we believe our good comes somewhere else we're actually asking and seeking and knocking in so many other places trying to find the good in life and we've forgotten that he's a good father who gives us our good things let's think about it this way if we're in a river and we're drowning

Just a couple of us if you're being washed down a river and you're drowning you're trying to keep yourself up the only way to keep yourself up if you've got other people around you is to grab them and pull them down it's the best way to get your head out of water is to grab somebody and pull them down if that's all you have around you is to grab something and pull them down but if it's just people if it's just the people around you all you can do is drown them a little bit so you can get some air but if as we're floating along someone's able to grab a hold

Of a root or a big tree limb or even the trunk of a very small tree suddenly they can pull themselves out and then they can help everybody else out in the river not because they're strong or amazing but because the tree is I think that's what Jesus is saying that as long as we believe that good is out there at work and in relationships and friendships as long as I believe that the good of my life will come from my wife do you know what will happen? at best I'll drown her I'll spend my life trying to get all the good

Out of her I can get and she won't be able to handle it she'll be the reason I'm happy and I'm okay and fulfilled and satisfied and I'll drown her or I'll drown if you're looking to your job and that's where good comes from if you're looking to your finances and that's where good comes from if you're looking to relationships or marriage or future marriage and that's where good comes from the best thing that can happen is you can either drown somebody else or you can drown see we're running around asking seeking and knocking so many other doors

And so many other places we're searching in so many places and asking so many people and so many entities and jobs and everything trying to get it to find our good and what he says is once you realize he's a good father and good things come from him then you're anchored then you get to be like the person standing on the riverbed holding on to a tree who can just give and it's not a problem to give because you know where all the good stuff comes from where all the strength comes from you've got a firm grip on him and his roots are dug deep and you are anchored

That's why he says you have a good father who'll give you good gifts so treat others the way you want to be treated but until we know that he's a good father and until we know that he gives good gifts we won't actually ever be able to do that now for some people in the room you're saying okay I've asked I've sought I've knocked that's a lie I begged I pleaded I searched I dug I read I prayed I wept I was banging on his door and cancer won

They still left it was a train wreck and that's a lie if you're going to stand up there and tell me that that was a good gift from a good God I'm out I don't want to tell you that if Matthew chapter 5, 6, and 7 is all Jesus did this was all he did was walk around and teach things like this I'd be with you if all he did was maybe teach stuff like this and then heal some people if all he did was teach stuff like this and then maybe he fed 5,000 people and maybe he walked on water if that was all he did I'm with you I think that's a lie because I've stood next to people

In our church family and people I loved and I've watched things that I could not in any way say that's a good gift that I could only sit with them and cry and say I have no clue how a good God is even going to make anything of this this looks terrible and evil and broken and I am so sorry and if this was all we could hang it up we could walk away and I'd go with you but today is Palm Sunday Palm Sunday is in the Christian calendar it's the celebration that Jesus rode into Jerusalem

And he had people yelling Hosanna in the highest they were proclaiming his name they were worshipping him they were waving palm branches it was beautiful and they were celebrating that he was a good teacher and a good prophet who could feed 5,000 people and who could heal the sick and make the blind see they were celebrating all of that about Jesus and if it was just Palm Sunday I'd leave if it was just he said stuff like this that God's good and he's a good father and he's going to take care of you some of you are saying I was asking for bread and he gave me a stone

But you see Palm Sunday is a week out from Easter you see this Thursday we get a picture of Jesus Matthew's story isn't done here we get a picture of Jesus in a garden sweating drops of blood dripping out of his head as he begs his father if this cup can pass from me let it he's asking his father if I cannot have to go to the cross if there's another way let that happen and then he ends his prayer with not my will but yours and his father said no there's not another way

But this is the only way I'm going to be able to give good gifts and this is the only way I'm going to be able to bring good about you see the primary thing that on Good Friday that happens is that Jesus Christ was nailed to a cross that he was massacred that God's greatest gift he ever gave was an execution that his wrath was poured out on Jesus in our place and that it was in the midst of that pain and fear and upheaval and chaos that he was turning the world on its head

So that we could actually have good gifts so that he could actually pursue us and redeem us and set us free from sin and give us himself and if it was just this if Jesus just taught and did some miracles I'd walk away with you but because he didn't we get to stand with each other and say I don't know how this is good I think it's a train wreck I know that sin's at work here but I trust that Jesus is good and I know that he's trustworthy because of the cross God definitively made this true when he when Jesus was nailed to a cross when he gave his son for us

He definitively guaranteed that he is good and he is for our good because he loves us enough to give his son for us Romans 8 verse 32 says he who did not spare his own son but gave him up for us all how will he not also with him graciously give all things give us up give all things give us all things see the promise we have in the cross is that God's not withholding from you he's not going to give you a stone he's not going to give you

A serpent he is good and he definitively proved it on the cross now your circumstances may not work out the way you want them to what you're praying for may not be what you get but you can trust definitively and forever that he is good and he is for your good because he gave us his son and how much more will he not give us all things how much more is he not using that to redeem us and to make us okay some people say I trusted God and he failed me

The truth was we trusted him to fulfill our plan and our wisdom and he didn't but because of the cross we can know that he's trustworthy so that we can continue to trust him when it doesn't work out the way we want to that's the promise we have in the cross and that's the king that we have and that we follow in a few minutes when we get done here there's going to be about 30 children running laps in this room it's going to be a lot

It's a lot to take in if you don't have kids I'm sorry I have to try to like I got one he's running around I have to pay attention because every once in a while he just scoots out the door and it's like I really don't want him running out in the parking lot but there's just a pile of kids running around here and one of the coolest thing to see about children is when something happens that scares them or if they just suddenly realize that they don't see their parents anymore have you ever seen a kid do this so they're running around playing

And it's like ah ah ah and all of a sudden they'll go ah like they just they lose it my son says mama are you mama are you that's what he does he runs around he'll like he'll freak out there's one little boy in our church his dad and I were talking the other day and his dad kept trying to put him down and his son was fine but as soon as he would do this he would go ah ah

And grab him he's like I'm not going anywhere you've lost your mind you think you're setting me down here with all these other kids running around it's something bad going to happen I ain't going to trust these people it's built into them that protection and safety and goodness comes from their parents and we as a church have to have it soul level bedrock deep built into us that all of our good

Comes from God or we'll never be free we have to be so fixated on the cross so changed by his love for us so overwhelmed by the grace that was given to us that we don't have to be good or moral or perfect or fix ourselves or clean ourselves up but that he died for us so that we could be clean that he loves us so much that he gave his own son for us that we can be welcomed into the family and it's got to be our natural reaction

That when things in life aren't going well that we're just grabbing onto our father and saying okay I'm alright if you're here I can trust because you're here you see so many times we get shipwrecked because the thing that we were holding on to to tell us we were okay was a relationship and it just can't keep you afloat the thing that we had grabbed onto to tell us we were going to be fine was money

And it just can't keep you afloat and we have to train ourselves that when anything happens our head snaps around we run to God and that we're already just nestled in the crook of his arm holding tightly to him and knowing that all my good comes from here so I'm actually now free to love people the way I'm supposed to I'm free to give free to care because I'm firmly fixed in Christ and what he's done for me and in the father

Who's good who gives good gifts I do want to say this he says ask seek knock those are action commands us being firmly rooted in this good God involves us pursuing him so that we actually know how good he is so this means praying this means reading our bibles this means taking time to really be

Devoted to our community group some of you are kind of in a group but it's optional for you because you have a lot of other things that you're asking seeking and knocking and wanting to have fill you up and fix you this takes actually saying no this is this matters because it's one of the ways that I tether myself to the cross tether myself

To God's people some of us this is money you'll make you'll set aside money for anything you care about so one of the bible tells us is what Jesus said earlier that our monies are our monies our money is tied to our hearts and some of us just need to start giving need to start setting aside money to just try to move your heart a little bit to begin

To trust and believe some of this is serving it's an action that needs to be taken so I just want you to think if you just need to say okay I can set aside time for my favorite tv show I actually work my whole schedule around it or it's not uncommon for me to binge on Netflix but it's hard for you to pray for more than

Three minutes maybe you're asking seeking and knocking is just saying I'm going to set aside time every day I'm going to pray for at least 15 minutes I'm at least going to stay in the chair even if my mind wanders one of the things I do if someone's like I have ADD I can't pray I set a phone alarm for three

Minutes I'll only be distracted for three minutes then it beeps and I restart it and remember I was supposed to be praying some of you it's bible reading you say well I don't really read you know all the stats for your favorite sports team maybe you watch that on ESPN but they're also bible apps that

Will read to you so I really have very little like we have way more opportunity to get to the bible than anybody else ever has in history but he says ask seek knock and then he promises you won't miss out it won't be a waste of time I will respond I'll open the door I'll answer you'll find it's worth it so I would just challenge us as we

Try to begin to fully not just know but believe that he is a good father so that we can actually be free to love people the way we want to the way we're supposed to that we would actually act on that not just not alone and go home and go right back to what we were doing and miss out on what was so beautifully promised to us by the by Jesus who

Loved us so much that he gave his life for us let's pray God we ask that you would give us the courage the determination and the discipline to ask seek and knock that you would help us to see all the places that we're running to right now believing that good things come from there all the doors we're knocking

On all the things we're seeking all the all the questions we're asking that ultimately just lead to our own destruction and our own failure Lord show us where we're drowning and drowning others so that we might begin to actually pursue you and to begin to realize where all the good things really come from

We love you we praise you in Jesus name amen

Judgement

Transcript

Well, I am really excited this morning. In just a minute, I'm going to have the privilege of calling Spencer Carey up here. He is going to be walking us through the next section of the Sermon on the Mount this morning. I just wanted to kind of tell you a little bit about him and what's going on. A little over a year ago, I got a call from him. I went to school with him at Presbyterian College.

He just said that he felt called to plant a church in Lexington, South Carolina, and was planning on being down here and just wanted to grab coffee. So we got together and talked. Then this past June, he and some of the Antioch guys started being around, and Spencer actually started hanging out in the office. We basically just said, we want your church plant to be good, and we want to be your friend, so come hang out. He kind of came in with this idea of, I'll hang out, learn what I can. Probably half of what they do is dumb, and I think he found it's only about 15%, and I think he was really excited.

We brought him in, and we just kind of, one of the things we do in our meetings, we said you can be involved in all of this, but we have in our meetings, we have view seats, voice seats, and vote seats. So a view is, you're welcome to be in here, but you're just looking. You're not talking. And a voice seat is, you're a full-fledged member of the meeting. You can say everything you want, and at the end of all the things you said, the vote seat people will then decide what we're going to do, so that you get to say all of your words, and then vote team gets to be like, good. And then we get to make a decision.

And so we kind of said, look, you're a view seat, and we put him in in a couple of our meetings, just kind of hanging out, watching, and then we would kind of go around, everybody would talk, and then we'd be like, okay, Spencer, do you have any thoughts? And then he would say his thoughts. And we did that for about two weeks, and we started realizing that all of the things Spencer had said were pretty good. And so about two weeks later, we said, hey, just be a voice seat. Just say your words when you think them, because it's been really good. And so we've been blessed to have him around, to have the Antioch church family around.

They've been hanging out kind of on this back row, and they have a community group. We actually get to celebrate with them in baptism on Easter. And so it's just been a beautiful, encouraging thing, and we want to actively help plant more churches. And you may be thinking to yourself, or you may have had conversations with people when they find out you're a part of a church plant, and they say something along the lines of, don't we have enough churches? My answer to that is, nope. We want the world crawling with churches, with people actively trying to follow Jesus and be his people and see more people welcomed in.

And we think we've been specifically designed to reach certain groups of people and to pursue them. And we want as many churches as possible that are faithfully following Christ and trying to see people become disciples of him, that help make more disciples of him. And so we want to forever be planting churches. And so we're excited to be able to partner with Spencer. Spencer, if you want to come on up. We're excited that he's here this morning and going to be able to teach from the word for us.

And so we have him come up here. I'm going to pray for you, buddy, and then I'll get out your way and let you open the Bible and let you start. So y'all pray with us. Father, we thank you that your Holy Spirit is still working to call people to use them to expand your mission. And whatever role that is, we praise you where you empower people and use them. And we thank you that we got to be a small part in the story of Antioch Church as they begin to pursue the people of Lexington.

We pray that we would continue to have a role to serve them, to love them, to be generous towards them in however you have you see fit. Pray, Lord, that you would speak through Spencer this morning and use him to teach us and to help us grow in our love for you. In Jesus' name, amen. All right. Good morning. I know how Chad feels now when he says that.

Yeah. So like you said, my name is Spencer Carey. We moved back in June to start the work of planting Antioch Church on the other side of Lexington, the Lexington side, going towards Gilbert. And we decided to call this church Antioch. It is a city in the New Testament in the book of Acts where the gospel explodes. The gospel moves there.

The city is changed. And then Paul and Barnabas, they come and they spend a year there. And then they are commissioned out on the first missionary journey of Paul. And it changes Europe. It changes the whole world from that city. And we want to be that.

We want to be a church that impacts Lexington well with the gospel. We want to see people changed by Jesus. And then we want to be a sending force down the road that can send people to change the rest of North America and the rest of the world. So, yeah, we moved here in June. Didn't really know what this would be with you guys. We know we needed a sponsor church if we wanted to get money.

So we're like, all right, well, let's let's I know Chet and Matt. We went to college together. Let's start this conversation. And it started with a conversation. It has blossomed into a friendship and a partnership that we never expected. Your church family is loving and caring.

And that isn't normal in church planning. It should be. But it's not. And we are so thankful for you guys. And I'm thankful that I get to open up the world with you this morning. I feel like as Matt and Chet were thinking through, what's a text that I can preach?

Since some of you don't know me that well. What's a text that I can preach that's easy? It's not confrontational or controversial. So they said, give him judgment. And that's where we are. Matthew 7 verses 1 through 6 this morning.

We're going to be walking through one of the most misunderstood passages in the New Testament. It's one of the more popular ones. People that have never really read the Bible in our culture can at least reference, didn't Jesus say, don't judge? Tupac had a song. I didn't even realize this until this week. He had a song called Only God Can Judge Me.

That Only God Can Judge Me phrase shaped our generation in ways that I didn't even realize. It was kind of my anthem. Throughout my teenage years, I wasn't a Christian. I was in rebellion. One of the guys that I used to get high with back in the day, we're all at Wendy's. He says, dude, I'm getting a tattoo.

I was like, tell me more. He's like, I'm getting a tattoo that says Only God Can Judge Me on my back. I was like, that's really cool. I want that. When I turn 18, I'm getting that too. Praise God, I did not.

I became a Christian at 17. If you have that tattoo, that is fine. That is just not my taste. But that was my justification for why I could live the way I wanted to live. And I feel like our culture is symptomatic of our culture. We live in a postmodern culture.

And to boil that down for our purposes, that means that I can live my life on my terms. It's my truth. And you don't get to speak into it. And that was my life. It shaped much of how I acted. I didn't think I had consequences for my actions.

But here's the deal. The idea that God would judge me should have never been comforting. I wasn't a Christian. I wasn't changed by the gospel. It should not have been a comfort. And I feel like so many people have a very similar story to me.

They had this Tupac philosophy blended with Matthew 7 that justifies the way that we want to live. So, this morning, we're going to walk through this passage. I want to see how the New Testament uses the word judge. I want to see how it's being used here. And I want us to see how this shapes our view of others. So, I'm going to pray real quick and we'll dive in.

God, thank you for your word. Lord, I pray that you would block out any distractions that we may have this morning. You would speak to us that we receive tough teaching like this. You'd open our hearts for it. In Jesus' name, amen. All right.

So, we'll do the first two verses of chapter 7. Judge not that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce, you will be judged. And with the measure you use it, we'll be measured to you. All right.

So, in order to understand this text, we have to see how the word judge is being used. Like I said earlier, I think our culture has a ranging view of this word. But I think if you had to define how it uses this word, it's making any kind of statement about anyone's actions or character or anything of that sort. So, if that's kind of your running definition, here's my question for you. Does that definition really hold up? Does that narrow definition of judge hold up?

Like if I say that if you like Pepsi more than Coke, you're crazy. Is that crossing the line? Because like when I go to a restaurant and I order a Coke and someone says, is Pepsi okay? I look at them funny. Because Coke is objectively better than Pepsi. How about if you say, I love Nickelback.

And I say, I don't think you have good taste in music. Is that okay? Am I crossing the line with that statement? Can a pastor who maybe preached here last week, stand up in the pulpit and make the ridiculous claim that a Moe's burrito is better than a Chipotle burrito? Now, we're not talking about chips and queso. All right?

We're not talking about cost. I'm saying just the burrito itself. Can a pastor make that absurd claim? They can. Is that crossing the line? How about if you have a neighbor that has a dog and it's the middle of July and it's melting here because we're in Columbia.

And they leave a dog chained out to a tree with no water all day long. Is it okay to say, that guy doesn't deserve to have a pet? Is it okay to call the authorities? Is it okay to make that judgment? What if you have a neighbor that's beating his kid? Is it okay to say, they don't deserve kids?

I'm calling the police. Is it okay for us in our culture to look at other cultures that mistreat women so badly, that treat them as property, that rape and do all kinds of terrible things? Is it okay for us to say, that's not okay? Can we make judgment calls like that? So at this point, I hope you see that our culture has a really fuzzy and unhelpful definition of judge.

And it's unhelpful as it is unbiblical. So I want to walk through some passages real quick to give us a New Testament, a biblical definition of what judge looks like. The first one comes from 1 Corinthians 5.12. It says this, For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Is it not those inside the church whom you are to judge? All right, so context for this.

At the beginning of chapter 5, Paul highlights a case of sexual morality. It's actually incest. A man is sleeping with his father's wife. And they haven't done anything about it. They haven't addressed it. So Paul in verse 11 before this says, Don't associate it with them.

Don't eat with them. After this verse in 13, he says, Purge the unrepentant man from the congregation. He practices church discipline. Get him out. So the way that we see judgment used here is accountability.

Paul wants accountability for the church. So he commands them to judge those inside the church. So judgment holds the idea of accountability. That's one positive definition of it. A second one is discernment, which is determining through good judgment. So later in Matthew 7, we'll get to this in about a month or a couple weeks, Jesus talks about discerning false teachers by their fruit.

And what he means is you have to judge them by the way they live. Our culture looks at that and like, that's crazy. But Jesus did this all the time. I mean, he calls the Pharisees, the religious leaders at the time in Jewish culture, he calls them whitewashed tombs. He says, you look clean on the outside, but you are dead on the inside. Jesus and John the Baptist call the Pharisees a brood of vipers, which is kind of a creative insult.

That he says, you are a viper. You are venomous. You are the offspring of snakes. So he makes that discerning call that we see later in Matthew 7. So those are some positive uses, discernment, accountability.

Then we get to this, verses 1 and 2, and this is definitely a negative use. So what is Jesus trying to say here? First, we have to look at who his audience is. He's got the crowds. He's got the disciples. In the middle of all that, he has this group, the Pharisees.

This teaching, verses 1 and 2, is an indictment on them. He's calling them out. This group was known for being very cold and condemning towards anyone who wasn't holy like them. That was their MO. And in these two verses, man, Jesus is fighting against some righteousness and hypocrisy that is so prevalent amongst these religious leaders. So the way that judge is being used here leans towards meaning condemnation.

So we've got three different uses. We've got accountability and discerning. These are two positive uses. And we've got cold condemnation, which is the negative use. I think one of the clearest examples of this comes from Luke 18. Jesus tells a parable about a Pharisee and a tax collector.

And he says in Luke 18, Pharisees must have been fun at parties. I mean, they... This is the kind of stuff that Jesus was dealing with. This pride and self-righteousness. That's who he's calling out. So I think it would be most helpful if we looked at verse 1 and 2 and it was read like this.

This is the kind of thing that Jesus was dealing with. Don't give condemning judgment toward others or you will get the condemnation you deserve. For with the condemning judgment that you practice will be given right back to you. With the same measure you dish it out, it will come right back. That should scare the pants off of us. I mean, it should because the condemnation that he's talking about that you'll get if you dish it out is hell.

And when we hear teachings like this, I think what we do is we distance ourselves from the Pharisees. We're like, well, at least we're not the Pharisees. We're not... I'm not prideful or self-righteous. That's... I'm not condemning.

That's not me. And I think we fail to see that we have that embedded in our flesh. That we've got a little Pharisee that lives inside of us. I'll give you a few examples. It's tax season. If you did not know that, you should do your taxes because tax day is coming.

And when you do your taxes, maybe you don't report all of your cash earnings. Maybe you shave the Numbers a little bit. And when you're doing that, you may be thinking, I'm just doing... This isn't a big deal. I mean, I'm not Bernie Madoff. I'm not Wall Street.

That's not me. And you've compared yourself and condemned a group of people to justify yourself. Do the same thing with sexual sin. It's just a little bit of pornography. It's just a little bit of explicit content. At least I'm not the porn star.

At least I'm not the stripper. At least I'm not the man running around on his wife. And you've condemned other people to justify yourself. Maybe you have somebody in your community group who is always coming and confessing the same sin over and over again. And if you're not in a community group here, maybe it's somebody in your family or friends that makes the same mistake over and over again. And when they do, your first reaction is, well, of course.

It's cynicism. Well, of course they would. That's who they are. That's what they do. And you're not led to compassion. How about another scenario?

What are the thoughts that go through your head when you were standing at the checkout line in the grocery store? And you see somebody that has their snap card, which is food stamps back in the day. Their snap card in one hand and they got an iPhone in the other hand. What are the thoughts that go through your head? Well, I'm just being discerning. I mean, if he or she's got a snap card, she shouldn't have an iPhone.

She shouldn't be able to pay for that data plan. You don't know them. You don't know them. They may need that iPhone for their job. And they also might have three or four kids that they need to feed. You don't know them.

And you are quick to condemn others with your thoughts. We do the same thing with if you own a business or you're a waiter and somebody from a different race or a different socioeconomic class comes in. And you've already sized them up based off of stereotypes before you even talk to them. We do the same thing when we're in downtown Columbia. And we're walking and somebody who's homeless comes up and says, can I have some money? What are your first thoughts?

Drugs? Alcohol? I mean, we do this all the time. And about a month ago, we walked through this. There is a helpful way to help others. But what we're looking at here is we're diagnosing the heart.

And we do it all the time with simple things. That church doesn't do church like us. That couple doesn't do finances. I wish they could just live in a budget like we do. I wish that this couple that has marital problems would just listen to us. And they would have a marriage like us.

I wish that this family would discipline their kids like us. And we position ourselves in a prideful way and we condemn others. And we have thoughts like this that happen all the time. And here's the deal. We as Christians, we don't let those thoughts go unexamined. That's not our play.

We are called to diagnose those things. To see where they're coming from. And ask Jesus to go to work on those parts of our heart. And as Paul says, to crucify that sin, that flesh, and put it to death. That's our calling. Because self-righteousness is a cancer.

Self-righteousness is a cancer that affects so much of our judgment and discernment. So Jesus, he wants us to check ourselves before checking others. And that's what we get in verses 3 through 5. We get a pretty extreme example. He says this in verse 3. Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but you don't notice the log that is in your own eye?

Or how can you say to your brother, let me take the speck out of your own eye when there is a log in your own eye? You hypocrite. First, take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye. So in college, I studied abroad. I did something called semester at sea. And we spent a semester traveling on a ship around the world.

It was a really tough semester. And I made a friend on that ship as we were traveling that, there's no way to say it, he had really, really bad breath. Like, could have been halitosis, I don't know. And we would talk, and he would be getting closer to talking to you, and you'd just be like leaning back, like, yeah, okay. And you, I mean, because you didn't want to get too close to his face. And I remember thinking the whole time, like, do I say something?

Has anybody said anything to him? Like, has his family said something? Have his friends said anything? I mean, he's got a girlfriend back home. She has to know. Like, I'm thinking, what, should I say something?

And the whole trip, I didn't say a word. Like, I was a terrible friend. Fast forward six months. Six months later, it's Christmas. I've got a stocking. Typically in my stocking, I get fruit, some candy, some toiletries, stuff like that.

And I pull out of the stocking a bag of mints. And then a second bag of mints. And then mint-flavored gum. And as I pull all this stuff out, as Chet would say, it was an aggressive amount of mints and mint-flavored gum. And I was like, and I'm not Columbo. Like, I'm not really quick.

Like, we watch movies with my wife, and I'm not quick to figure out the ending. But I read into it. I was like, you know, I feel like my mom is trying to say something. So I was like, Mom, what's the deal? It's a lot of mints. It's a lot of gum.

What are you trying to say? And she said, well, once you got to college, you started drinking coffee, which is fine. But afterwards, your breath is really bad. You should keep these on you throughout the day in your car, in your dorm. It'll be helpful. And I was like, no.

There's no, that's, you know, I push back because I'm argumentative sometimes. And then my sister jumps in and says, no, no, no, it's terrible. You need to do something about this. We're in the teaching team this week, and someone, I can't remember who said it, someone said, what if it was you on the ship just talking to him and it was coming off his face? I never thought of that. I was like, no.

That was not the case. That was not the case. But that's a helpful story that explains this. And Jesus, he gives a really hyperbolic exaggeration in this story. He compares a tiny little splinter to an entire beam. Now, I want you to visualize the absurdity of that, like how crazy that looks.

Like somebody's got a four by four beam sticking out of their eye. And they see somebody with a splinter, and they're like, I got it. I mean, just they're, I hit them in the face, and they don't know what's going on. And they're just reaching awkwardly to grab it. It's a silly picture. It looks ridiculous.

And I think what Jesus is saying here is when you're blind to sin, and you're trying to correct others, you look silly. You look ineffective. What Jesus wants is humility-soaked accountability. That's what he's calling for here. Humility-soaked accountability. Not the cold condemnation that the Pharisees dished out.

But here's the thing in this teaching. I feel like people miss this. If they're big on the hypocrisy part, and they miss what he's saying, he still wants accountability. That's what he's calling for. He says, then you will see clearly to take out the splinter. So we have to see that.

As a Christian, we are called to hold others accountable. We're just called to work through our own junk before we deal with others. So this passage, it has a two-part command for really people on both ends of the accountability spectrum. All right? On one end of the spectrum, we've got people that are quick to confront and slow to reflect. And on the other end of the spectrum, we've got people that just hate confrontation.

All right? So if you're on this end, people might say you're blunt. All right? If you're quick to confront, you're slow to reflect like you have good company. King David from the Old Testament, one of the biggest figures in the Bible, he was quick to confront. One of my favorite stories from the Old Testament is when David, he sins.

He has an affair with a woman named Bathsheba. She conceives to cover it all up. He has her husband killed, one of his soldiers killed by sending him to the front lines. And then he looks all great because he says, well, I'll take her as my wife so that she doesn't have to remain a widow. Here's the thing. God does not let sin remain hidden amongst his people.

The New Testament says that he disciplines those whom he loves. And that's exactly what he does. He sends his prophet Nathan. Nathan comes to David. David is the king, which means he's also a judge in the land. And he comes to David and he says, David, there's a man in the land who had many sheep.

And then there was another man that had one sheep. And the man that had many saw the man that had one. And he saw that sheep and he said, I'll have it. And he took it by force. And as David's hearing this story, he's steaming mad. And he says, I want to find that man.

I want justice to be done. And Nathan, in the middle of his anger, says, David, you're the man. You're the one that took Uriah's wife. You're the one that slept with her. And he's got a four by four beam sticking out of his eye. And he's trying to point out a splinter.

So if you're on this end of the spectrum, if you're like David, if you're quick to confront and you're slow to reflect, you have to start a new pattern of confrontation. You have to be slow. You have to, maybe it's hard for you to see things. Maybe you invite somebody from your community group or a trusted brother or sister to help you point out stuff. But here's the thing.

If you are this, if you're quick to confront and slow to reflect, like you need to change. You need to repent of that. Start this new pattern of confrontation. Maybe when you see sin in somebody else, you take a few days to pray, to ask God if that's going on in your heart. Bring others into it. Address it.

And then examine others. So that's one of the spectrum. If you're on the other end and you just hate confrontation, like maybe you're completely content to just let people live their own lives, make their own mistakes, make their own decisions. And as we talk about accountability, you're like, well, I guess I'm supposed to. And maybe there's somebody in your community group that is blind to a sin. And you're like, well, somebody else would take care of it.

Like we have other people in our community group. We have community group leaders. Like isn't that a pastor's Job? You might be thinking, but if I talk to them, like I might lose them as a friend. Like it's going to make it weird. They're going to get really, really angry at me.

And what you've done in those moments is you've placed your comfort, your need for friendship or approval over their sanctification, over them knowing more of who Jesus is. And if I'm honest, like that's kind of where I land on this spectrum. Like I don't hate confrontation. That's not me. Like I'm willing to confront people. I've done it before.

It's not like I'm not scared of it. If I'm honest, I just get lazy. Like it's a lot of work to do this because I know if I see someone else who's blind to something, that means I got to stare at my own junk. And I know I got a lot of my own junk. And that's not fun. And then I got to wade through that.

I got to pray. And then I know that I'm called to walk in the light. So I got to bring others into this. And then we got to address this together. And then I have to go and confront them. And it's a whole long process.

And if I'm honest, I don't want to do it. It takes a lot of energy. And I'm a pastor. That's just, I don't want to do it. I say, I'll put it off until next week. Or maybe sin will resolve itself since that's how sin works.

And I put it off. If you are like this, this kind of selfishness is terrible for biblical community. It's terrible for your community groups. Because when sin doesn't get confronted, it destroys lives. It wrecks marriages and families. It spreads like a cancer.

God calls us to do the tough work of confronting one another in love. That's our calling. And it's hard. It is hard. Living out the gospel in community, it's difficult. Confronting others, it's hard.

And sometimes, sometimes it doesn't go well. There was a time my wife and I, we moved to Louisville, Kentucky. We're from here, but we moved to Louisville. We spent five years in Louisville at our sending church, sojourn, community church, and in seminary. And the first couple friend we met, we got to know, they were kind of our best friends for about a year and a half. So we got to know them, and I started to recognize a pattern in the husband.

We started seminary at the same time. He had a job. He worked for a computer company. And then he also was at a church. A few months later, he leaves that job and that church, and he goes to a new church to be a worship pastor for a season. For about a few months of that, he leaves that job at that church, goes to a new church, starts a new job.

Then he starts another Job. Then he quits seminary. Then he moves to our church. Then he says, well, we're going to move to Chicago. Then he says, we're not moving to Chicago.

And then a few months later, he says, we're leaving sojourn in our church. And they didn't really give a lot of good reasons. So I said, man, let's get coffee. Let's talk about this. I sat down. I was like, man, I pointed all this out.

I was like, I feel like you make a lot of really quick decisions. You don't really pray through it all. You don't really think through that dragging your family like this, this pattern of life is not sustainable. And I tried to point it out. And then that was the last conversation we ever had. This is one of our best friends.

The last conversation we ever had. A few months later, I realized we hadn't spoken. And I texted them. And I was like, hey, man, I've been a bad friend. Let's get coffee.

Let's connect. And he texted back. He said, let's call this what it is. We've grown separate ways. Have a nice life. What do you text back to that?

I was like, all right, take care. And I fought over that conversation like a hundred times since then. Like, what did I say? What could I have said differently? How did I approach this? Like, what happened?

And I could take that instance and say, you know what? That's a reason why I don't have. That's why you don't confront people. Because you lose friends. And it's not worth it. And I could believe that.

But I don't. Because here's the thing. First, I was being faithful to the teaching that Jesus teaches here. I was being loving towards my friend by calling that out. And I've had dozens of conversations before them and since then where I've confronted somebody in love. They have confronted me in love.

And yeah, it's not always gone perfect. It's not always been pretty. But what came out of that is both of us knowing more of Christ. And as 1 John 1.7 says, you have true fellowship when you walk in the light together. Meaning, we grew closer as friends. So I do it all over again.

Because in God's kingdom, he wants his people to check our hearts for sin and self-righteousness and whatever before we check others. Like, no matter the cost, that is our calling. So the first five verses here. Jesus, he fights against that cold condemnation. Then he lays out why we do biblical accountability.

And then we get to verse 6. Walking through the Sermon on the Mount is heavy. Like, if you've been here for the past couple of months, like, this is weighty stuff. And sometimes Jesus says things. Like, I feel when the disciples go, what? Because every now and then he says something where I'm just like, what did you say?

And that's kind of what he says here in verse 6. In verse 6 he says, do not give dogs what is holy. And do not throw your pearls before pigs, lest they trample them underfoot and turn to attack you. I mean, you read that and you're like, what did you say? All right, so firstly, that picture, it's connected to what we just said, to judgment and accountability.

So we've got to take it in its context. Now he doesn't fully explain what he says. He just keeps teaching. And there have been a lot of pastors and a lot of theologians who love Jesus deeply, who have studied this, and they've come to different conclusions. So with our brief time left, like, I don't want to nail down, like, one interpretation for us.

I want to really give one helpful application that I think is faithful to the teaching here. So given the immediate context, which is correction, correcting your brothers and sisters, I think what he's saying here is don't spend your time correcting those who don't believe. Don't hold unbelievers accountable. They're outside of our faith. So Jesus' context, he's speaking to a Jewish audience.

Jews did not, dogs and pigs were considered unclean. That may be difficult for you to see this because some of you have dogs that are like children. They've got ten sweaters and they sleep with you. We can't import our view onto this. Dogs were like the vultures of the ground in their time. They cleaned up after everyone else.

They're considered unclean. And when you read this, what he's doing is he's making a comparison between dogs and pigs to unbelievers. And as you study that, you're like, wow, like that. Really, Jesus? Like, that's a heavy comparison. Here's the deal.

I don't think from the text and from the context, I don't think that what Jesus is saying here is he's making a statement of value. I don't think he's making a statement of value. I think he's simply saying, like, you wouldn't have your dog eat off of fine china. We have a dog. We have a little dachshund. He looks cute.

He's actually a really bad dog. But we love him sometimes. And after I've eaten a meal on our regular dinner plates that we've had for the past, since we got married about almost six years ago, I set the plate outside and he cleans it up. We just now got fine china and we use that. He ain't touching those plates. So you wouldn't have your dog eat off of fine china and you wouldn't throw your pearls before pigs.

So don't focus your effort on holding unbelievers to values that we find precious. Morality doesn't save people. Only belief in the finished work of Jesus on the cross and the empty tube saves people. So if you're the kind of person that holds your family or friends or coworkers to values and morals that we find precious, I think what Jesus is saying here is stop. Stop doing it. I do.

I'm a church planner, but I'm a bivocational church planner. I do real estate as well. And every now and then in real estate, you'll walk into a house where you first walk in and you're like, wow, this house looks really good. They painted the walls. They've changed out the flooring. And then as you dig into it, you see there's major problems with the house.

It has termites that have eaten through the walls. The foundation is crumbling and falling apart. The house is a mess. And C.S. Lewis, he has a metaphor like this. He says when God comes in to change our lives, he doesn't come into our house and basically just paint and change some things.

He completely remodels the house, rips out everything, replaces everything to a brand new creation. And if you're the kind of person that is trying to force morals on those who don't believe, you're trying to put paint on the walls. And what you need to see is that they don't need paint on the walls. They need an entire new house. So stop forcing morality on those who aren't ready to receive it, who aren't ready to receive what is precious.

Like love them, share the gospel with them, but don't force morality on them. All right, so that's verses one through six. Here's something you don't hear in the church very often. Tupac got it half right. He got it half right. God is our ultimate and final judge.

The gospel teaches that we deserve judgment, that we've incurred wrath, and that we deserve punishment. It teaches us that one day Jesus is going to return. He's going to make all things new. But when he does, there will be a day of judgment. And a lot of pastors and theologians disagree on how that's going down, because when you read Revelation, you're like, huh? But there's one thing we can all agree on.

It's a terrifying picture. Judgment is coming. But the good news of the gospel is that Jesus came to rescue us by taking that judgment that we deserve on the cross. Colossians 2.13-14 says, And you who are dead in your sins and the sinful nature of your flesh, God made alive together with Christ, having forgiven us of all our trespasses. Hear this. By canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands, this he set aside, nailing it to a cross.

Like, see that picture. All the record of debt. Past, present, future sins, all placed on Jesus. And the judgment we deserve was death. This he set aside, nailing it to a cross. What a beautiful picture of the gospel that we have in Jesus.

So here's the deal. Like, we all have self-righteousness. We all have pride in our hearts. Like, we have hearts that constantly condemn. So Jesus took that condemnation for us on the cross.

We have four by four logs that are jammed in our eyes. So Jesus was nailed to a log so that we might be a community that holds others accountable. So we're being transformed as a community into those that don't condemn, that love and hold each other accountable. That's for us as those who believe. But here's the deal.

If you've never placed your faith solely in Christ, like the gospel has not changed you. Paul has a picture of an old creation and a new creation. In 1 Corinthians. If that picture for you isn't true, this passage cannot be a comfort anymore. Like, you can't use it as a comfort. It's a warning.

This passage cannot be your excuse to live your life on your terms. Tupac, he got it right. You will be judged. We just hope that you will be judged in Christ.