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Welcome to Hub City Vineyard.

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To get connected or to give online go to connect.hcv.church or give.hcv.church.

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If at any point during this message you feel called to make a change in your life, text

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change me to 970-00.

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Thank you and enjoy the message.

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Good morning everyone.

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So if you weren't awake, you're awake now.

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Welcome to HCV.

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If you're joining us from home, thank you for welcoming us into your space.

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I just want to start real quick before I jump into our talk.

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In your bulletins, if we could kind of shake them and look at them, there's a little flyer

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that we put in every bulletin.

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Mine's a little bit bigger than yours, yours is a postcard size.

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So if you don't know, we are hosting, actually establishing our first annual tie-dye run

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for freedom on October 12th of this very year.

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This run is a 5K, 10K, your choice, or you can have your whole family do a mile family

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fun run or walk.

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And all of the money, okay, all of the money is being given to Compassion International

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to end child slavery and exploitation.

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Okay, so every penny, every penny from the runners to sponsors to whatever it may be,

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we're giving it all away.

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Compassion will be joining us for that entire weekend.

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So we're going to have a Compassion weekend.

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We're going to have a sponsoree from the Dominican Republic that's actually going to come here

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and share his story about how Compassion changed his life and his journey and how he saw God

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in the midst of it.

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Here's what I want you to do.

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Our goal as a community of faith is to have 200 runners participate in the first annual

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5K, 10K run for freedom.

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Do you think we can do that?

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I agree, I think we can do that too.

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Here's where you come in.

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Your postcard, I want you to take that postcard and I want you to put it into someone's hands

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that likes to run, that likes to exercise, that likes to take care of themselves and

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invite them to run it with you.

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Now some of you think, well Chris, I'm not going to run it.

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Well that's okay, you can volunteer and be on the course and hand a bottle of water and

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high five them and say, yeah, I'm doing it with you.

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See, so you can participate and you can be a part in inviting someone to be a part of

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this run.

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Now, for all my business owners, if you own a business or you know someone that owns a

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business, we have created, please flip it up there, a sponsorship level where businesses

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can sponsor the run.

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Okay, 250, 500, 750, 1,000, 1,500 and again, all this money goes where?

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Where does it go?

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To Compassion International, exactly.

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All the money is being given away, HCV is keeping none, we just want to bring awareness

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to the reality that slavery still exists in 2024 throughout the world.

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And a lot of those slaves, unfortunately, are children that are being taken advantage

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of, they're being forced into pornography, they're being forced into making the food

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and the clothes that we wear and eat and it shouldn't.

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Okay, and it's our desire to raise this awareness so that we can make a difference in the world.

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Can we do that?

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All right, so you can go to the Welcome Hub after this.

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You can sign up to run today, you can grab a corporate sponsor letter and take it to

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someone you know.

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If anybody is in with the gyms, there isn't any reason our gyms aren't sponsoring this

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run, right?

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So if you know someone at, what's the one over here?

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One Life or Four Star or Crunch or Planet Fitness.

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Well, actually, we already have Planet Fitness they can care about.

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I had a manager there this morning and I handed it to him.

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But if you know anybody in the other three and would like to get them involved, that'd

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be a great way to kind of get the word out.

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We need your help.

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So we want this to be a success.

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Again, our goal is 200 runners.

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We have hired a professional racing multi-sports that's going to be doing the start, the finish,

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the timing, everything.

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There's going to be awards given out.

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Oh, did I mention that you're going to be getting a tie-dye run for freedom shirt if

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you register.

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Okay, so let's do that.

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Let's get the word out.

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Let's make a difference.

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So since I got that out of the way, let's jump into our morning talk.

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But before we jump into it, I believe in morning exercises.

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Okay, when you agree a little morning exercise is a good thing to do, right?

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Right?

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Everyone agree?

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Yeah, okay.

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All right.

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Some people don't, but I do.

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And I'm leading this talk.

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So guess what?

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We're doing it.

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Okay.

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All right.

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So I need this section right here.

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Middle section is stand up.

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Thank you.

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All right.

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Middle section over here on my right to stand up.

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Okay, are you ready?

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Change seats.

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Go.

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Let's go.

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You can do it.

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At least move there.

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Yeah.

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Yeah, high five someone you don't know while you're going by.

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Good job.

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I believe you all know what's coming, right?

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You're next.

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Wow.

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Much quicker than our first gathering.

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Very nice guys.

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All right.

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Thank you.

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This section.

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Stand up.

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This section.

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Stand up.

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Find a new seat.

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Go.

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Go.

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Go.

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Go.

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Go.

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Oh.

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Oh.

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Oh.

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Oh.

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Oh.

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Oh.

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Oh.

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Back row, go!

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You thought I forgot you, I didn't.

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Change back row, flip over.

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If you're watching from home, change your seat unless you're driving.

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Then don't try to change your seat.

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All right, don't drive.

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Okay back row, I don't think you moved.

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Okay, there you go.

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Back row.

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All right, so I noticed, I noticed over the last two Sundays how so many of us sit in

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the same seats every week.

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And I thought, I thought a different perspective and a different change of view would help,

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right?

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Yeah, good.

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Some of you are like, no way, that's great.

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If this is your first time joining us here at HTV, welcome.

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We're excited that you chose to be a part of our family this morning.

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Please understand we are a very non-traditional church, all right?

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So as many of you know, we're in a series called Questions Jesus Asked.

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And for the last several weeks we've been addressing a question that Jesus posed to

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his disciples, to the crowds that were gathered all around him, and to the Pharisees.

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Rudy kicked it off by looking at the question, who do you say I am?

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Right?

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And we challenged us to really identify with Jesus and understand that he was the Son of

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God.

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And we too, I discussed the question, what do you want me to do for you?

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And we challenged ourselves to really step out in faith and to experience healing, emotional

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healing, physical healing, whatever we needed, trusting that God would provide.

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Last week Steven had an excellent talk, built around the question, do you understand this?

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He empowered us with five modern day parables to use while discussing Jesus with others.

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Now listen, if you or any of your friends missed any of those talks, go to our YouTube

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channel, subscribe and listen.

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Now I don't know about you, but these questions, as I've been a part over the last several

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weeks, have been very challenging.

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Because Jesus' questions go right to the heart.

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They make us personally reflect on where we are in our relationship with him.

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Now with the upcoming political season that is now in full swing, all the changes with

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the start of the upcoming school year to go along with the divisiveness, negativity and

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struggles that we experience in everyday life, I thought it would be a good idea to address

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a question that focuses on how we view others.

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So this morning we will be discussing on what is probably the number one most quoted Bible

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verse by people who are not in a relationship with Jesus, and one of the more popularly

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quoted verses by those of us in the church.

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It comes from Matthew chapter seven verse one, and these are Jesus' words.

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Do not judge others and you will not be judged.

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Now typically when we hear those words, it's not the way I said it.

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Nobody says it that way.

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Anytime I've ever heard those words being spoken, it's with a little attitude.

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Don't judge me.

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You don't know me.

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Don't judge me or you're going to be judged.

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Some people, some of you old timers, you throw in the little King James version, judge not,

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lest you be judged.

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You throw it out there.

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People that don't even believe in the Bible, but they sure do believe in that verse, and

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they say it with attitude.

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They're caught.

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They're guilty, and they're going to point it back onto others.

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These people essentially are saying, you have no right to tell me how to live.

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I'll do what I want with my life.

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I don't care what you do, but you're a sinner too.

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Stay out of my business.

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It doesn't matter what I do as long as it makes me happy, as long as I don't hurt anyone.

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Judge not, lest you be judged.

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And I would argue that this very statement is one of the most prevalent values in our

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culture today.

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Tolerate everything.

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It doesn't matter the behavior.

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It doesn't matter the belief system.

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You have no right to say if something is right or wrong.

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Do not judge or you will be judged.

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By show of hands, does it feel good to be judged?

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It doesn't, and none of you raised your hands, but all of you have been judged.

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We all know what it feels like to be wrongly judged.

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Not me, of course, oddly enough.

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I've never been judged.

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It's never happened to me before.

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I've never been accused of serving beer on a Sunday morning.

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That's the only reason HDV is growing.

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Never, never been accused of serving a keg of beer on a Sunday morning.

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It's never been said about your pastor.

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How is he a pastor?

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He has sleeves and is covered in tattoos.

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It's never been said.

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Never been said.

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Just last week, I was told that I am leading this community of faith incorrectly and that

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I need to change and listen to God.

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I was like, okay.

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I've had other pastors say, you know that Schlatterback, he does everything wrong in

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terms of pastoring and leading a church when it comes to the books that I read, yet he's

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still growing.

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Yeah, we do something, right?

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It's called following the Holy Spirit.

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And I share that with all of them.

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See, many of you just now judged me when I asked you to change seats.

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Some of you sat there and said, I'm not doing it.

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I saw it on your faces.

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I saw it.

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And I'm glad you're laughing about it now, but I judged you right back.

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It just shows you how hard-headed you are.

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Now you see, I have a method to my madness.

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I just wanted all of you to look at me with evil eyes and just think, I can't believe.

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Don't you know my name is on those seats?

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See, it's horrible to feel judged.

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And it's no secret that this theme just alone is probably the number one reason it drives

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people away from church.

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You hear it all the time.

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Those Christians are hypocrites.

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They're judgmental.

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They don't support me.

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They think everything I do is wrong.

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Well Jesus did say, do not judge or you too will be judged.

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So is that exactly what he meant when he was saying it?

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In other words, if that's true, then we have to acknowledge that no teacher has a right

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to judge an essay that I write.

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Who are you to say that it's an A or a B?

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You have no right to judge my paper.

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If we take these words at face value, then no one on a jury has a right to judge or hold

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someone accountable for a crime.

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Who are you to say I'm innocent or guilty?

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That police officer has no right to tell me that I'm driving too fast.

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I like to drive 100 miles an hour.

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Who are you to tell me that I need to follow the stated speed limit?

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You can't tell me that.

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You have no right.

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I can drive the way I want.

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Is that what Jesus was saying here?

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No, of course not.

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I think we would all probably agree that at some point of level, we have to make a sound

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judgment.

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For example, I'm going to ask you a few questions and I want you to think about it in your own

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mind and determine your response.

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Do you have the right to judge someone else's haircut?

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I mean, did you see what she did to her hair?

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I mean, what was that girl thinking?

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What was she thinking?

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Really?

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Do you have the right to judge what people do with their hair?

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If you're sitting beside someone that has a little... Don't look at them.

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Don't look at their hair.

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Just look at me.

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Pretend like you don't know what you're talking about.

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No, obviously the answer is no, but what if your kid decides that he wants to get a word

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shaved into the side of his head with negative connotations?

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Do you have a right to speak into his or her life?

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I would hope so.

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What if some random guy at work that you do not have a relationship with or friendship

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with that happens to be married, but he's really flirty?

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You don't know him or the situation that he's living in, but you listen and gossip about

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him.

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Do you have the right to speak into his life?

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Saying, hey bro, you're married.

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What if you know a person that happens to be your best friend, he or she attends church

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weekly, is in a relationship with Jesus, he or she is married, but they're really flirty

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and it looks bad?

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Do you have a right to speak into his or her life?

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Let's try this.

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Our culture says that anybody can have sex with anyone, right?

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True or false?

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Does our culture say that?

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Mind your own business, right?

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That's what our culture says.

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You can't judge someone's sexual life.

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But what if someone wants to have sex with a 12 year old?

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Do you have the right to speak into that or judge that?

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You're darn right you do.

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We are fighting against it every single day and we have a whole team of people that are

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standing against it.

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So now we realize how complicated, yet incredibly important this statement, this question that

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we're pondering really is.

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And Jesus does say, do not judge or you too will be judged.

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And then he asked in verse three, the question that we'll be talking about this morning.

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Why worry about a speck in your friend's eye when you have a log in your...

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So do we ever have the right to call someone out and say that's wrong behavior?

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Do we simply have to keep our mouth shut and worry about ourselves?

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And again, it's complicated, but I believe we really need to dig into the Bible and accurately

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interpret it so that we understand the scripture and what Jesus is trying to say to us this

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morning.

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And we do that by looking at scripture in three different ways.

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Number one, you have to understand the context and some of you are thinking, okay Chris,

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what does that mean?

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We don't want to take the verse, the question out of context.

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We want to know who wrote this, when they wrote it, who they were writing it to, why

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they wrote it, what comes before the verse, what comes after the verse.

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You don't want to pull just that verse, do not judge me, out of context.

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We want to understand it.

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The second thing we do is we interpret scripture with other scriptures.

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The best way to interpret the Bible is with the Bible.

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In other words, we're not going to just interpret it with our feelings or our experiences or

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our thoughts.

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The best way to interpret the Bible is with the Bible.

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That's how you build your theology.

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You can't base it on one verse, taking it out of context.

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What you do is you look through the entirety of the Bible, seeing what God says about this

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very topic.

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So we're going to look at the totality of what God says through the Bible so we can

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build our theology on judgment.

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And finally, number three, we're not going to just be students of the Bible, I mean we're

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just going to read it and study it.

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We're actually going to be doers of what we read.

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We're going to apply it, we're going to make it practical to our life and it's going to

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come out in us so that we are better people.

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So how do we study scripture, how do we read to understand scripture?

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First, you learn the context.

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Number two, you interpret the Bible with the Bible.

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And number three, you apply it to your life and make yourself a better person.

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So let's try to do it with this text.

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The book of Matthew was written by Matthew, the apostle.

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He was the author, of course, of the first gospel.

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Matthew, we learned lastly from Stephen, he was a tax collector before accepting Jesus

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as savior and following him into a role as an apostle.

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The context, if you will, means what comes before Matthew chapter seven.

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Does anybody know?

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Thank you, Matthew chapter six.

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Yes, it's really not that complicated.

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Matthew chapter six comes before Matthew chapter eight comes after.

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It's really easy.

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Okay, so remember, we're talking about judgment or judging.

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We don't want to get this wrong, but in Matthew chapter six, one of the big themes that Jesus

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is hammering home is hypocrisy.

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Jesus was challenging the Pharisees about their hypocrisy.

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In verse two, five and 16 of chapter six, he addresses it and challenges them to change.

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Then when we get to Matthew chapter seven, Jesus says, do not judge.

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But then later on in the very same chapter, he says, watch out, be on your guard, be aware

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of false prophets.

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The only way you're going to be aware of false prophets is to make a what?

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A judgment.

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So suddenly you're like, wait a minute, Jesus, you just said, don't judge.

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And then you're telling me, I need to judge.

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I'm allowed to judge to determine if someone's a false prophet.

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Now in the very same chapter, Jesus says this.

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He says, do not judge.

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But then he implies that we make a judgment.

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So what is he really trying to say?

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He's trying to address the hypocrisy.

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He's trying to challenge us to get out of our heads, stop looking at people in negative

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means so that we become a reflection of the kingdom of God here on earth.

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And all of that leads us to our first talk.

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See humanity, all of us, we walk around with a limp.

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We walk with a limp.

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Matthew seven, one through three, do not judge others and you will not be judged for you

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will be treated as you treat others.

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The standard you use in judging is the standard by which you'll be judged.

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And why worry about a speck in your friend's eye when you have a log in your own.

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See we also must remember in terms of context, these words are a part of Jesus's sermon on

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the mount.

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And in the sermon on the mount, Jesus is describing what it looks like for his people to become

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a new creation.

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If you go back to the garden of Eden, we are created in the image of God.

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We are living in perfect fellowship with him and with the creation.

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Then in Genesis three, everything changed and everything broke.

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It was left our relationship with God fractured.

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It left our relationship with other people fractured.

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So here you have Jesus, he's up on a hill.

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He's teaching his disciples.

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He's teaching the crowds.

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He's challenging the religious leaders of what it looks like to live and to be a living

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example of him in God's kingdom.

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And he's calling out those people, especially the Pharisees who judge others and friends,

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guess what?

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Until we realize we're all in phariseeical recovery, then many of us won't change.

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All of us can be Pharisees that don't live up to what is God's best.

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We judge others.

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And it goes all the way back to our sin nature.

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In the sermon on the mount, Jesus is addressing lots of issues, marriage, sexuality, how we

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give, the motives of our hearts.

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And we must remember the questions that Jesus asked always go to the heart level.

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They reveal our motives so that we can experience freedom and change from our sinful nature

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because friends, we walk around with a limp.

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And Jesus addresses our relationship with others through these words in Matthew seven

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twelve, just a little bit further down from his judgment statement, do to others whatever

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you would like them to do to you.

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This is the essence of all that is taught in the law in the prophets.

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We all know these words, treat people the same way you want to be treated.

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That is how we deal with the question that Jesus is asking us today.

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Why worry about the speck in your brother's eye when you have a log in your own?

403
00:24:22,840 --> 00:24:29,100
See there is a universal human tendency because of the sin in our world to stand over someone

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in judgment and condemnation.

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We want to be better than someone else.

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And Jesus says no, don't live that way.

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Rather lovingly restore people, embrace people and accept people that are struggling.

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See the Pharisees of Jesus day, what would they do?

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They always pointed fingers.

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They always stood in judgment and condemnation.

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And we see that being passed down through the church.

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So many people don't go to church, will not even consider Jesus because of the people

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that go to churches.

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Because the people in churches have a tendency to want to fix others so that they look just

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like us.

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I want to fix you so that you fit in, you look just like me and then I don't feel uncomfortable.

417
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We do this every single day.

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Now I knew I was sharing today about judgment.

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So yesterday morning I woke up early and I said Holy Spirit reveal to me throughout today

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00:25:30,160 --> 00:25:35,160
my attitude and my outlook when it comes to judgment.

421
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Pray that prayer one time.

422
00:25:38,000 --> 00:25:41,920
So for those of you who don't know, my day yesterday started at 3.30am.

423
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I had to get up at 3.30am so I had my wife Jessica and my daughter Lily to the airport

424
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by 5am so I had to get on the road at 4.00am and about 4.20am was the first time I judged.

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So I'm driving down the interstate and there are still so many people that haven't got

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00:26:02,760 --> 00:26:07,600
the memo that you drive slow in the right lane.

427
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If you are going to drive 55 or 60 miles an hour please get in the right hand side of

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the lane because I personally like to drive 70 to 75 miles an hour.

429
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And if you don't get over then chances are you are going to be judged which I was doing.

430
00:26:21,480 --> 00:26:24,640
Trying to figure out who was doing it and why they were doing it and looking at them

431
00:26:24,640 --> 00:26:33,560
as I passed them by and many of you are thinking you are a horrible pastor and you do it too.

432
00:26:33,560 --> 00:26:39,000
So then quickly thereafter I performed a wedding and it was beautiful and then I decided to

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00:26:39,000 --> 00:26:41,960
take my son to the city park.

434
00:26:41,960 --> 00:26:45,120
He wanted to go and play so I was like let's go.

435
00:26:45,120 --> 00:26:49,720
We will feed the ducks, we will walk around the pond and then we got to the playground

436
00:26:49,720 --> 00:26:54,600
and there also happened to be a revival happening in the band shell at the same time I was

437
00:26:54,600 --> 00:26:57,440
trying to have fun with my child.

438
00:26:57,440 --> 00:27:03,200
Now this revival happened to be a fire and brimstone revival so it was a turn or burn

439
00:27:03,200 --> 00:27:07,760
revival and the whole time I am sitting there trying to play with my son I am looking at

440
00:27:07,760 --> 00:27:12,120
the band shell thinking that is not going to work.

441
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That doesn't work that way.

442
00:27:14,080 --> 00:27:18,200
You are making people run and then they began to sing and I said please don't sing.

443
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That is horrible and that is really loud and that is really annoying.

444
00:27:22,200 --> 00:27:27,960
So number two judgment was I was judging another church.

445
00:27:27,960 --> 00:27:34,320
So yes it happens and then I decided to go to dinner and while I was at dinner I went

446
00:27:34,320 --> 00:27:37,680
to Mission Barbecue and all of you know I go to Mission Barbecue quite a bit and of

447
00:27:37,680 --> 00:27:44,360
course the new guy that was taking my order didn't know me and he offered me a giant cup

448
00:27:44,360 --> 00:27:47,120
to which I said of course I don't want a giant cup.

449
00:27:47,120 --> 00:27:49,080
I never get a giant cup.

450
00:27:49,080 --> 00:27:53,160
Who are you to offer me a giant cup?

451
00:27:53,160 --> 00:27:55,840
Right?

452
00:27:55,840 --> 00:27:58,360
Roger we are just alike aren't we?

453
00:27:58,360 --> 00:27:59,360
Yes thank you.

454
00:27:59,360 --> 00:28:00,360
All right cool.

455
00:28:00,360 --> 00:28:02,040
The point.

456
00:28:02,040 --> 00:28:04,120
We all judge.

457
00:28:04,120 --> 00:28:06,540
We all make assumptions.

458
00:28:06,540 --> 00:28:07,840
We all sin.

459
00:28:07,840 --> 00:28:10,640
We make mistakes and guess what?

460
00:28:10,640 --> 00:28:13,720
When we sin and we make a mistake what do we want?

461
00:28:13,720 --> 00:28:15,040
Mercy.

462
00:28:15,040 --> 00:28:16,580
We want forgiveness.

463
00:28:16,580 --> 00:28:18,680
But when others sin we are quick to what?

464
00:28:18,680 --> 00:28:20,280
We're quick to point it out.

465
00:28:20,280 --> 00:28:21,560
We're quick to gossip.

466
00:28:21,560 --> 00:28:26,880
We're quick to make assumptions and Jesus says no you got to look inside.

467
00:28:26,880 --> 00:28:28,600
Church stop.

468
00:28:28,600 --> 00:28:30,080
Stop with the condemnation.

469
00:28:30,080 --> 00:28:34,360
Stop with the judgment towards others because if you don't there's a boomerang effect to

470
00:28:34,360 --> 00:28:35,360
your attitude.

471
00:28:35,360 --> 00:28:36,680
Galatians 6, 7.

472
00:28:36,680 --> 00:28:37,920
Don't be misled.

473
00:28:37,920 --> 00:28:40,000
You cannot mock the justice of God.

474
00:28:40,000 --> 00:28:43,080
You will always harvest what you plant.

475
00:28:43,080 --> 00:28:48,320
If we live with a judgmental and critical spirit towards our spouse guess what?

476
00:28:48,320 --> 00:28:51,320
Welcome to a marriage full of conflict.

477
00:28:51,320 --> 00:28:53,560
Welcome to a marriage full of conflict.

478
00:28:53,560 --> 00:28:58,260
If we are raising our children with judgment and a critical spirit guess what?

479
00:28:58,260 --> 00:29:01,400
They're going to live that same way when they get older.

480
00:29:01,400 --> 00:29:06,880
If we are in a church that is full of people living in judgment and critical spirits judging

481
00:29:06,880 --> 00:29:11,760
other Christians in churches chances are we're going to feel the same way.

482
00:29:11,760 --> 00:29:15,260
And Jesus says it's time to change.

483
00:29:15,260 --> 00:29:18,040
Now what I want to do is I kind of gave you a context.

484
00:29:18,040 --> 00:29:19,040
Where we go?

485
00:29:19,040 --> 00:29:20,040
Everyone seeing what I'm doing here?

486
00:29:20,040 --> 00:29:24,120
I kind of gave you a context of what was happening in Matthew chapter 7.

487
00:29:24,120 --> 00:29:28,080
Now I want to try to number two interpret the Bible with the Bible.

488
00:29:28,080 --> 00:29:31,720
I want to look at other verses to talk about this very important issue of judging.

489
00:29:31,720 --> 00:29:32,720
Are you ready?

490
00:29:32,720 --> 00:29:33,720
Number two.

491
00:29:33,720 --> 00:29:34,720
Never judge superficially.

492
00:29:34,720 --> 00:29:35,720
Right?

493
00:29:35,720 --> 00:29:37,240
Let's be honest.

494
00:29:37,240 --> 00:29:39,620
Almost all of us do it and we do it often.

495
00:29:39,620 --> 00:29:43,480
You're watching a TV show and you're thinking what are you wearing?

496
00:29:43,480 --> 00:29:44,760
Right?

497
00:29:44,760 --> 00:29:45,760
You come to church.

498
00:29:45,760 --> 00:29:46,760
You're looking at the worship team.

499
00:29:46,760 --> 00:29:50,920
You're like man bro you need a haircut or whatever it may be.

500
00:29:50,920 --> 00:29:51,920
Right?

501
00:29:51,920 --> 00:29:53,840
Chris those jeans are way too tight.

502
00:29:53,840 --> 00:29:54,840
Right?

503
00:29:54,840 --> 00:29:56,360
Come on.

504
00:29:56,360 --> 00:30:00,180
But listen here's what Jesus said in John 7 24.

505
00:30:00,180 --> 00:30:02,400
Stop judging by mere appearances.

506
00:30:02,400 --> 00:30:05,000
Oh I'm sorry.

507
00:30:05,000 --> 00:30:07,840
Can we all read this together?

508
00:30:07,840 --> 00:30:12,000
Stop judging by mere appearances.

509
00:30:12,000 --> 00:30:15,000
But instead judge correctly.

510
00:30:15,000 --> 00:30:16,000
You see that?

511
00:30:16,000 --> 00:30:18,960
So Jesus is telling us it's a time to judge.

512
00:30:18,960 --> 00:30:21,000
And when you judge though judge accurately.

513
00:30:21,000 --> 00:30:22,000
Judge correctly.

514
00:30:22,000 --> 00:30:24,840
But please don't judge by appearances.

515
00:30:24,840 --> 00:30:25,840
Right?

516
00:30:25,840 --> 00:30:29,200
Stop judging by appearances.

517
00:30:29,200 --> 00:30:31,220
Oh he's so full of himself.

518
00:30:31,220 --> 00:30:33,760
Why does she have purple hair again?

519
00:30:33,760 --> 00:30:35,520
What is that outfit they're wearing?

520
00:30:35,520 --> 00:30:36,520
Right?

521
00:30:36,520 --> 00:30:37,520
It doesn't matter.

522
00:30:37,520 --> 00:30:40,480
Just because they're different than you doesn't mean we give them the right.

523
00:30:40,480 --> 00:30:42,120
Gives us the right to judge them.

524
00:30:42,120 --> 00:30:43,120
Right?

525
00:30:43,120 --> 00:30:47,120
They're allowed to be different and express themselves in different ways.

526
00:30:47,120 --> 00:30:52,040
It has nothing, nothing to do with a relationship with God.

527
00:30:52,040 --> 00:30:55,880
And we have to be very very careful not to judge from a distance.

528
00:30:55,880 --> 00:30:56,880
So many people.

529
00:30:56,880 --> 00:30:57,880
Right?

530
00:30:57,880 --> 00:30:59,680
They judge the rich.

531
00:30:59,680 --> 00:31:01,920
They judge those that are wealthy and with money.

532
00:31:01,920 --> 00:31:03,600
Oh if they would only give back.

533
00:31:03,600 --> 00:31:04,600
Oh if they would.

534
00:31:04,600 --> 00:31:06,320
We don't know who they give to.

535
00:31:06,320 --> 00:31:07,320
Right?

536
00:31:07,320 --> 00:31:11,160
We don't know what organizations they support.

537
00:31:11,160 --> 00:31:13,020
What nonprofits they support.

538
00:31:13,020 --> 00:31:18,800
But those that are without or those that are middle class were so quick to judge the celebrities

539
00:31:18,800 --> 00:31:23,680
and the politicians and those things that we see, people we see on TV yet when in reality

540
00:31:23,680 --> 00:31:26,320
the news that we get is all one sided, one or the other.

541
00:31:26,320 --> 00:31:28,160
We don't know the truth.

542
00:31:28,160 --> 00:31:29,160
There is no truth.

543
00:31:29,160 --> 00:31:33,480
So the point is we can't judge from a distance.

544
00:31:33,480 --> 00:31:34,740
Right?

545
00:31:34,740 --> 00:31:39,280
We also can't assume we know what a person's going through.

546
00:31:39,280 --> 00:31:40,280
Right?

547
00:31:40,280 --> 00:31:45,880
So if someone is rude to us or disrespectful to us or mean to us doesn't mean that they

548
00:31:45,880 --> 00:31:46,880
should be judged.

549
00:31:46,880 --> 00:31:53,600
There is no reason for it because what if that same person that was mean to us or rude

550
00:31:53,600 --> 00:31:59,680
to us or disrespectful to us just so happened to have their mom dying that day in the hospital.

551
00:31:59,680 --> 00:32:00,680
Right?

552
00:32:00,680 --> 00:32:06,460
We can't assume that we know everything about a person that just is rude to us.

553
00:32:06,460 --> 00:32:07,800
We can't judge that.

554
00:32:07,800 --> 00:32:08,800
Right?

555
00:32:08,800 --> 00:32:12,440
In the church world I hear people say it all the time, well we don't like that pastor.

556
00:32:12,440 --> 00:32:14,080
We don't like that church.

557
00:32:14,080 --> 00:32:16,840
Listen, you don't know him.

558
00:32:16,840 --> 00:32:17,840
Right?

559
00:32:17,840 --> 00:32:19,080
We don't know who they are.

560
00:32:19,080 --> 00:32:21,280
We don't know their hearts.

561
00:32:21,280 --> 00:32:25,640
And as a community of faith, listen, we need to be a church.

562
00:32:25,640 --> 00:32:26,640
Right?

563
00:32:26,640 --> 00:32:29,500
That is supporting people who are for God.

564
00:32:29,500 --> 00:32:32,080
It doesn't matter who they are or what they're doing.

565
00:32:32,080 --> 00:32:33,080
Right?

566
00:32:33,080 --> 00:32:36,000
If they're seeing people saved and they're teaching the good news and they're sharing

567
00:32:36,000 --> 00:32:40,520
about Jesus and salvation and lives are being changed, we need to support that.

568
00:32:40,520 --> 00:32:47,080
We can't judge that because they're for God and anybody that's for God, we should be for

569
00:32:47,080 --> 00:32:50,280
and we should be praying for and we should be encouraging them.

570
00:32:50,280 --> 00:32:52,320
Friends, don't judge from a distance.

571
00:32:52,320 --> 00:32:54,400
Don't judge from appearances.

572
00:32:54,400 --> 00:32:57,640
Give people the benefit of the doubt.

573
00:32:57,640 --> 00:33:00,720
We're going to believe the best in others.

574
00:33:00,720 --> 00:33:06,400
We're not going to judge by mere appearances as Jesus said.

575
00:33:06,400 --> 00:33:09,080
Do we hear that, friends?

576
00:33:09,080 --> 00:33:13,240
Let's learn to judge correctly, which leads us to our next thought.

577
00:33:13,240 --> 00:33:16,520
Never judge hypocritically.

578
00:33:16,520 --> 00:33:22,080
Jesus goes right at the Pharisees, calls them out, Matthew 7, 5, hypocrite exclamation point.

579
00:33:22,080 --> 00:33:29,480
In other words, he looks at them, stares them in the eye and says, hypocrite.

580
00:33:29,480 --> 00:33:31,120
And he challenges them.

581
00:33:31,120 --> 00:33:33,880
Get rid of the log in your own eye, then you will see well enough to deal with the speck

582
00:33:33,880 --> 00:33:35,440
in your friend's eye.

583
00:33:35,440 --> 00:33:43,200
Paul, writing to the Roman believers, challenges them to change in Romans 2 verses 1 and 4,

584
00:33:43,200 --> 00:33:44,720
he writes these words.

585
00:33:44,720 --> 00:33:50,580
You may think you can condemn such people, but you're just as bad and you have no excuse.

586
00:33:50,580 --> 00:33:55,000
When you say they're wicked and should be punished, you are condemning yourself for

587
00:33:55,000 --> 00:33:59,640
you who judge others do these very same things.

588
00:33:59,640 --> 00:34:06,080
Then in verse 4, don't you see how wonderfully kind, tolerant and patient God is with you?

589
00:34:06,080 --> 00:34:07,920
Does this mean nothing to you?

590
00:34:07,920 --> 00:34:12,420
Can't you see that his kindness is intended to turn you from sin?

591
00:34:12,420 --> 00:34:15,880
What is it that we are to do?

592
00:34:15,880 --> 00:34:17,480
What do we have in common?

593
00:34:17,480 --> 00:34:19,120
How do we live this out?

594
00:34:19,120 --> 00:34:23,600
We tend to accuse others, but we excuse ourselves.

595
00:34:23,600 --> 00:34:27,720
We'll point our fingers at other people, make judgments of why people are leaving church

596
00:34:27,720 --> 00:34:32,120
early, but we have no understanding as to why they just got up and left.

597
00:34:32,120 --> 00:34:34,120
We have no idea.

598
00:34:34,120 --> 00:34:38,800
I'm sure there was an important reason, but it's not for us to assume.

599
00:34:38,800 --> 00:34:41,720
We don't know the whole story.

600
00:34:41,720 --> 00:34:46,320
But if we get judged, then we're quick to stand up to other people.

601
00:34:46,320 --> 00:34:47,720
You don't know the whole story.

602
00:34:47,720 --> 00:34:49,080
You don't know what I was going through.

603
00:34:49,080 --> 00:34:50,940
I was having a bad day.

604
00:34:50,940 --> 00:34:52,040
This didn't happen.

605
00:34:52,040 --> 00:34:56,640
We have all these excuses and reasons why we were mean or negative, right?

606
00:34:56,640 --> 00:35:00,520
But we'll quickly point our fingers at others.

607
00:35:00,520 --> 00:35:02,280
Here's what I've discovered.

608
00:35:02,280 --> 00:35:09,360
The place where you issue your hardest judgment often reveals your deepest weakness.

609
00:35:09,360 --> 00:35:16,220
The things that you struggle with the most are the things that you release judgment on

610
00:35:16,220 --> 00:35:17,220
others in.

611
00:35:17,220 --> 00:35:19,320
Can I say that again?

612
00:35:19,320 --> 00:35:29,240
The place where you issue your harshest judgment often reveals your deepest weakness.

613
00:35:29,240 --> 00:35:32,000
And it's so, so true, right?

614
00:35:32,000 --> 00:35:37,040
Whenever I find myself quick to judge, it's often an indication if I really, truly and

615
00:35:37,040 --> 00:35:42,080
honestly look in the mirror, that it's a reflection of what I'm struggling with inside.

616
00:35:42,080 --> 00:35:44,280
It's the sin in my own heart.

617
00:35:44,280 --> 00:35:48,240
When we judge others, we are simply condemning ourselves.

618
00:35:48,240 --> 00:35:52,160
That's what Jesus is trying to get us to see, which leads us to our next thought, number

619
00:35:52,160 --> 00:35:53,440
four.

620
00:35:53,440 --> 00:35:57,320
Never hold those in the world to Jesus' standards.

621
00:35:57,320 --> 00:36:05,380
We never hold those who are outside of the family of God to our family standards, right?

622
00:36:05,380 --> 00:36:06,880
We can't.

623
00:36:06,880 --> 00:36:09,680
This is what Paul said in 1 Corinthians 5.12.

624
00:36:09,680 --> 00:36:13,540
It isn't my responsibility to judge outsiders.

625
00:36:13,540 --> 00:36:19,200
In other words, if they're not Jesus followers, who am I to tell them they should be living

626
00:36:19,200 --> 00:36:20,200
any different?

627
00:36:20,200 --> 00:36:21,200
It's none of my business.

628
00:36:21,200 --> 00:36:22,200
That's what Paul is saying.

629
00:36:22,200 --> 00:36:26,960
Then he goes on the right, but it certainly is your responsibility to judge those inside

630
00:36:26,960 --> 00:36:29,140
the church who are sinning.

631
00:36:29,140 --> 00:36:34,160
In other words, if they are believers, if they're in a relationship with God, iron sharpens

632
00:36:34,160 --> 00:36:35,220
iron.

633
00:36:35,220 --> 00:36:38,840
For people to change, they need to be in a relationship with others and be challenged

634
00:36:38,840 --> 00:36:39,840
to change.

635
00:36:39,840 --> 00:36:42,920
And we need to encourage one another to move forward in good works.

636
00:36:42,920 --> 00:36:45,700
We need to get 1% better every single day.

637
00:36:45,700 --> 00:36:46,880
We need to work on our anger.

638
00:36:46,880 --> 00:36:48,280
We need to work on our forgiveness.

639
00:36:48,280 --> 00:36:52,760
We need to show love to others.

640
00:36:52,760 --> 00:36:57,120
That's how we help those that are a part of our community of faith.

641
00:36:57,120 --> 00:36:58,400
I mean, isn't it so true?

642
00:36:58,400 --> 00:36:59,400
Think about it.

643
00:36:59,400 --> 00:37:03,540
In my house, there are standards about what we watch on TV.

644
00:37:03,540 --> 00:37:05,080
There are certain things we can watch.

645
00:37:05,080 --> 00:37:06,720
There are certain things we don't watch.

646
00:37:06,720 --> 00:37:11,080
In my house, there are standards to what comes out of our mouth, right?

647
00:37:11,080 --> 00:37:16,000
We don't want to swear, we keep positive, we do our best to stay positive.

648
00:37:16,000 --> 00:37:22,280
But listen, I can't judge your kids for the standards that are in your house because the

649
00:37:22,280 --> 00:37:24,320
standards in my house are mine.

650
00:37:24,320 --> 00:37:25,560
True or false?

651
00:37:25,560 --> 00:37:28,800
So I can't judge you for how you're raising your kids because your standards are different

652
00:37:28,800 --> 00:37:29,800
than mine.

653
00:37:29,800 --> 00:37:32,520
Same goes for people that aren't in a relationship with Jesus.

654
00:37:32,520 --> 00:37:38,400
I can't hold Jesus' standards to those that aren't in the church because they're living

655
00:37:38,400 --> 00:37:41,000
their own life.

656
00:37:41,000 --> 00:37:44,560
And friends, unfortunately, it's probably the number one reason why so many people within

657
00:37:44,560 --> 00:37:47,320
our culture walk away from God.

658
00:37:47,320 --> 00:37:52,000
Walk away from searching and learning about Jesus because they think they're going to

659
00:37:52,000 --> 00:37:54,840
be judged as soon as they walk in the door.

660
00:37:54,840 --> 00:37:55,840
Right?

661
00:37:55,840 --> 00:37:56,840
They walk through the door.

662
00:37:56,840 --> 00:37:57,840
You shouldn't act like that.

663
00:37:57,840 --> 00:37:58,840
You should change.

664
00:37:58,840 --> 00:37:59,840
Right?

665
00:37:59,840 --> 00:38:02,360
Why are you doing that?

666
00:38:02,360 --> 00:38:09,360
That's why at HCV, listen, we really believe that many of you, and we've seen it every

667
00:38:09,360 --> 00:38:12,600
single week, you may not be following Jesus.

668
00:38:12,600 --> 00:38:13,600
That's okay.

669
00:38:13,600 --> 00:38:16,880
You're welcome here because we believe that God is going to change you.

670
00:38:16,880 --> 00:38:20,700
You may not be following Jesus now, but we believe that God, through Jesus and the Holy

671
00:38:20,700 --> 00:38:25,360
Spirit, is going to move in your life, convict you, and challenge you to come into that relationship.

672
00:38:25,360 --> 00:38:26,760
And that's how it works.

673
00:38:26,760 --> 00:38:27,760
Right?

674
00:38:27,760 --> 00:38:30,560
You can belong here before God even changes you.

675
00:38:30,560 --> 00:38:32,560
And that's the way Jesus did it.

676
00:38:32,560 --> 00:38:33,560
Right?

677
00:38:33,560 --> 00:38:36,760
He went to people all the time who were doing crazy stuff.

678
00:38:36,760 --> 00:38:38,240
Right?

679
00:38:38,240 --> 00:38:39,240
Crazy stuff.

680
00:38:39,240 --> 00:38:40,240
Did he judge them?

681
00:38:40,240 --> 00:38:41,240
Did he condemn them?

682
00:38:41,240 --> 00:38:42,240
Did he point fingers at them?

683
00:38:42,240 --> 00:38:48,160
No, he put his finger in the ground, drew a line, and said, anyone that hasn't sinned,

684
00:38:48,160 --> 00:38:49,160
throw the first stone.

685
00:38:49,160 --> 00:38:53,080
Did he or did he not say that?

686
00:38:53,080 --> 00:38:56,280
And they all walked away.

687
00:38:56,280 --> 00:38:58,240
They all walked away.

688
00:38:58,240 --> 00:39:02,440
See, it was Jesus who changed them, not other people.

689
00:39:02,440 --> 00:39:03,440
Right?

690
00:39:03,440 --> 00:39:04,720
And that's the key.

691
00:39:04,720 --> 00:39:09,000
I'm not called to change people outside the family of God.

692
00:39:09,000 --> 00:39:10,200
You know what I'm called to do?

693
00:39:10,200 --> 00:39:15,760
I'm called to love them and induce them to a God who changes them.

694
00:39:15,760 --> 00:39:16,760
That's what I'm called to do.

695
00:39:16,760 --> 00:39:20,600
And if I'm judging others outside of the church, they don't want anything to do with me.

696
00:39:20,600 --> 00:39:24,920
They're going to say, you hypocrite, just like every other church.

697
00:39:24,920 --> 00:39:26,480
I'm not welcome there.

698
00:39:26,480 --> 00:39:31,320
But we need to change that outlook and embrace people right where they are.

699
00:39:31,320 --> 00:39:35,560
Because the same God that changes me is the same God that's changing you is the same God

700
00:39:35,560 --> 00:39:38,280
that changes people outside of this church.

701
00:39:38,280 --> 00:39:43,800
We have to let Him do the stuff, which leads us to number five, our final thought.

702
00:39:43,800 --> 00:39:46,640
Always help followers of Jesus who have fallen.

703
00:39:46,640 --> 00:39:54,200
See, there's this just horrible part of church where the church beats up the church.

704
00:39:54,200 --> 00:39:58,840
You know, someone's down, someone made a bad choice, and there's gossip and judgment, and

705
00:39:58,840 --> 00:40:02,360
they just beat people up, and it's just not God's best.

706
00:40:02,360 --> 00:40:03,360
Right?

707
00:40:03,360 --> 00:40:05,560
It's not God's best.

708
00:40:05,560 --> 00:40:06,560
And how do I know that?

709
00:40:06,560 --> 00:40:09,040
We're all vulnerable to temptation.

710
00:40:09,040 --> 00:40:10,880
None of us get it right all the time.

711
00:40:10,880 --> 00:40:15,080
At some point, you're going to need to be lovingly corrected back into your relationship

712
00:40:15,080 --> 00:40:16,080
with Jesus.

713
00:40:16,080 --> 00:40:17,080
All of us do.

714
00:40:17,080 --> 00:40:18,080
Right?

715
00:40:18,080 --> 00:40:19,080
That's why we have growth groups.

716
00:40:19,080 --> 00:40:21,180
That's why we're in relationship with others.

717
00:40:21,180 --> 00:40:27,440
In the family of God, when someone strays, it's our responsibility to come after them,

718
00:40:27,440 --> 00:40:30,240
to love them, and to bring them back into righteousness.

719
00:40:30,240 --> 00:40:31,240
True or false?

720
00:40:31,240 --> 00:40:32,720
That's what we're called to do.

721
00:40:32,720 --> 00:40:34,960
But so many churches.

722
00:40:34,960 --> 00:40:37,320
We just let people leave.

723
00:40:37,320 --> 00:40:40,360
And we all need to be willing to help others.

724
00:40:40,360 --> 00:40:43,960
We all need to be open to a correction from others.

725
00:40:43,960 --> 00:40:46,000
That's what living in community is all about.

726
00:40:46,000 --> 00:40:48,000
Paul writes this in Galatians 6.

727
00:40:48,000 --> 00:40:53,360
Dear brothers and sisters, if another believer is overcome by some sin, you who are godly

728
00:40:53,360 --> 00:40:58,300
should gently and humbly help that person back onto the right path.

729
00:40:58,300 --> 00:41:01,320
And be careful not to fall into the same temptation yourself.

730
00:41:01,320 --> 00:41:03,120
That's called pride.

731
00:41:03,120 --> 00:41:06,760
Bear each other's burdens and in the same way obey the law of Christ.

732
00:41:06,760 --> 00:41:11,920
If you think you are too important to help someone, you are fooling yourself.

733
00:41:11,920 --> 00:41:14,320
You are not that important.

734
00:41:14,320 --> 00:41:20,320
See, if someone that we love is living contrary to the Bible, it's called sin.

735
00:41:20,320 --> 00:41:21,960
I said it!

736
00:41:21,960 --> 00:41:23,240
It's called sin.

737
00:41:23,240 --> 00:41:28,400
And those who are living by the Spirit should go to that person and gossip about them, right?

738
00:41:28,400 --> 00:41:30,720
Oh, I'm sorry.

739
00:41:30,720 --> 00:41:33,320
We should go to that person and kick them out of the church.

740
00:41:33,320 --> 00:41:39,720
Oh, we should go to that person and hit them with a log.

741
00:41:39,720 --> 00:41:41,640
No.

742
00:41:41,640 --> 00:41:45,080
What did Jesus just say we were supposed to do?

743
00:41:45,080 --> 00:41:50,840
Lovingly bring them back into relationship.

744
00:41:50,840 --> 00:41:54,720
We restore the person that made a mistake.

745
00:41:54,720 --> 00:42:00,900
With the same grace that you want to be shown when you mess up.

746
00:42:00,900 --> 00:42:06,720
With the same love that you want to receive from God.

747
00:42:06,720 --> 00:42:11,120
It's all about grace and restoration and love.

748
00:42:11,120 --> 00:42:15,080
We do it with love, we do it with compassion, we do it with grace.

749
00:42:15,080 --> 00:42:18,580
And we see that's how Jesus came in John 1, 14.

750
00:42:18,580 --> 00:42:22,120
The Word became flesh, made His dwelling among us.

751
00:42:22,120 --> 00:42:26,680
We have seen His glory, the glory of the one and only Son who came from the Father full

752
00:42:26,680 --> 00:42:30,400
of grace and truth.

753
00:42:30,400 --> 00:42:32,280
And notice grace comes first.

754
00:42:32,280 --> 00:42:35,160
Okay, that's the Greek charos.

755
00:42:35,160 --> 00:42:39,280
And it means that we love those that are struggling.

756
00:42:39,280 --> 00:42:43,920
We love those that have made a mistake, that have fallen.

757
00:42:43,920 --> 00:42:47,940
Because I tell you what, if you hit them with the truth, it's harder to digest.

758
00:42:47,940 --> 00:42:50,960
When Jesus came, He came first with grace and then truth.

759
00:42:50,960 --> 00:42:52,320
Do I believe in truth?

760
00:42:52,320 --> 00:42:53,320
Absolutely.

761
00:42:53,320 --> 00:42:54,320
The truth does what?

762
00:42:54,320 --> 00:42:55,320
It sets us free.

763
00:42:55,320 --> 00:43:00,320
But you go first with grace, then you teach the truth.

764
00:43:00,320 --> 00:43:03,720
But too often in the church world, what's the church do?

765
00:43:03,720 --> 00:43:05,280
Truth!

766
00:43:05,280 --> 00:43:09,880
They hammer people with the truth and they focus on the truth and they leave the grace

767
00:43:09,880 --> 00:43:13,160
behind and it makes people want to run.

768
00:43:13,160 --> 00:43:14,480
And then there's the opposite.

769
00:43:14,480 --> 00:43:15,720
So many people just want grace.

770
00:43:15,720 --> 00:43:17,120
Oh, just do whatever you want.

771
00:43:17,120 --> 00:43:18,160
God is full of grace.

772
00:43:18,160 --> 00:43:19,460
He loves you.

773
00:43:19,460 --> 00:43:20,460
And there's no truth.

774
00:43:20,460 --> 00:43:22,080
You've got to find the middle ground.

775
00:43:22,080 --> 00:43:23,080
That's what Jesus did.

776
00:43:23,080 --> 00:43:24,080
Right?

777
00:43:24,080 --> 00:43:30,040
He loved that woman that was caught in adultery, drew a line in the sand, forgave her, the

778
00:43:30,040 --> 00:43:31,040
Pharisees left.

779
00:43:31,040 --> 00:43:34,120
And what did He say to the woman?

780
00:43:34,120 --> 00:43:40,520
Go and sin no more.

781
00:43:40,520 --> 00:43:41,520
Don't keep sinning.

782
00:43:41,520 --> 00:43:43,520
Don't keep sinning.

783
00:43:43,520 --> 00:43:48,520
No, it's grace and truth.

784
00:43:48,520 --> 00:43:50,200
It's both and.

785
00:43:50,200 --> 00:43:52,920
And that's how we're called to love one another.

786
00:43:52,920 --> 00:43:53,920
Right?

787
00:43:53,920 --> 00:43:57,600
Now the cool thing about this story and about this question, Jesus would have used this

788
00:43:57,600 --> 00:43:59,240
log as an object lesson.

789
00:43:59,240 --> 00:44:00,240
Right?

790
00:44:00,240 --> 00:44:04,060
He would have grabbed it and put it up to His head and said, hey, you know, how are

791
00:44:04,060 --> 00:44:08,500
you focused on the speck in your brother's eye when you have a log in your own eye?

792
00:44:08,500 --> 00:44:13,480
And basically He was trying to show them that the struggles in our hearts produce pain in

793
00:44:13,480 --> 00:44:14,480
others.

794
00:44:14,480 --> 00:44:17,740
Because think about it, if you're judgmental of your spouse, right?

795
00:44:17,740 --> 00:44:21,840
And she's not doing enough or He's not doing enough and you're living with this log in

796
00:44:21,840 --> 00:44:25,360
your eye and you go up and you try to have a relationship with them, what's going to

797
00:44:25,360 --> 00:44:26,360
happen?

798
00:44:26,360 --> 00:44:27,360
Here, stand up.

799
00:44:27,360 --> 00:44:28,360
Come here.

800
00:44:28,360 --> 00:44:29,360
Stand up.

801
00:44:29,360 --> 00:44:30,360
I'm not going to hurt you.

802
00:44:30,360 --> 00:44:31,360
I promise.

803
00:44:31,360 --> 00:44:32,360
Right?

804
00:44:32,360 --> 00:44:36,320
But if this was Jess and I'm trying to correct her, look, and I'm leading with a log, that

805
00:44:36,320 --> 00:44:37,560
would hurt, wouldn't it?

806
00:44:37,560 --> 00:44:39,000
Darn right it would.

807
00:44:39,000 --> 00:44:40,880
But that's what we do to people.

808
00:44:40,880 --> 00:44:45,360
When we lead with judgment, right, we are cracking people in the head with this log

809
00:44:45,360 --> 00:44:47,160
and it's painful.

810
00:44:47,160 --> 00:44:49,640
And it pushes people away.

811
00:44:49,640 --> 00:44:51,400
It makes our marriages not thrive.

812
00:44:51,400 --> 00:44:54,640
It makes our relationship with our kids not good.

813
00:44:54,640 --> 00:44:59,380
It makes our relationship with the church painful because we're living in this judgment.

814
00:44:59,380 --> 00:45:02,040
And Jesus says, pull it out.

815
00:45:02,040 --> 00:45:03,040
So what are we going to do?

816
00:45:03,040 --> 00:45:04,740
We're going to pull it out.

817
00:45:04,740 --> 00:45:05,740
Can we do that?

818
00:45:05,740 --> 00:45:08,020
Five simple steps to pulling out the plank.

819
00:45:08,020 --> 00:45:11,320
Number one, hey, just search your heart.

820
00:45:11,320 --> 00:45:12,880
Notice what Jesus says.

821
00:45:12,880 --> 00:45:16,480
How can you, how can you think of saying to your friend, let me help you get rid of the

822
00:45:16,480 --> 00:45:21,320
speck in your eye when you can't see past the log in your own eye, hypocrite.

823
00:45:21,320 --> 00:45:24,280
Hypocrite get rid of the log in your own eye.

824
00:45:24,280 --> 00:45:27,000
And my point is, what does that mean?

825
00:45:27,000 --> 00:45:31,760
Daily examine what the Holy Spirit is revealing to you about how you're living your life.

826
00:45:31,760 --> 00:45:38,120
Examine, right, as you're reading the Bible, is my life lining up with what I'm reading?

827
00:45:38,120 --> 00:45:39,760
Right, am I addicted?

828
00:45:39,760 --> 00:45:40,760
Am I struggling?

829
00:45:40,760 --> 00:45:42,100
Is there pornography?

830
00:45:42,100 --> 00:45:45,760
Is there temptation to be with someone outside of my marriage?

831
00:45:45,760 --> 00:45:47,480
Is there, am I rude?

832
00:45:47,480 --> 00:45:48,480
Am I angry?

833
00:45:48,480 --> 00:45:53,440
Am I, as you're reading the Bible, the Holy Spirit is going to convict you as you're in

834
00:45:53,440 --> 00:45:58,320
prayer, he's speaking to you because when we're in a relationship with Jesus, what does,

835
00:45:58,320 --> 00:45:59,860
what does God promise?

836
00:45:59,860 --> 00:46:02,480
We are filled with his spirit.

837
00:46:02,480 --> 00:46:05,760
I mean, the Bible tells us that when we begin a relationship with Jesus, we're filled with

838
00:46:05,760 --> 00:46:06,760
the spirit.

839
00:46:06,760 --> 00:46:09,320
That's the same spirit that rose Jesus from the grave.

840
00:46:09,320 --> 00:46:12,700
That's the living spirit of God inside of us.

841
00:46:12,700 --> 00:46:16,580
And when we're reading the Bible and we're praying, he's revealing where we're struggling,

842
00:46:16,580 --> 00:46:18,920
it's up to us to respond.

843
00:46:18,920 --> 00:46:21,800
It's up to us to go to him for forgiveness.

844
00:46:21,800 --> 00:46:26,160
It's up to us to lay down our life and say, God, forgive me and change me.

845
00:46:26,160 --> 00:46:30,640
Right, and it's not just about you and God.

846
00:46:30,640 --> 00:46:32,480
That's where accountability comes in.

847
00:46:32,480 --> 00:46:38,560
We need others to help us in this journey called life change.

848
00:46:38,560 --> 00:46:40,600
Right, we need others.

849
00:46:40,600 --> 00:46:41,600
We need friends.

850
00:46:41,600 --> 00:46:44,080
We need people to hold us accountable.

851
00:46:44,080 --> 00:46:47,080
And so many people in today's culture, they're afraid of accountability.

852
00:46:47,080 --> 00:46:51,640
For example, in two weeks, we're going to have Jersey Sunday and growth group kickoff.

853
00:46:51,640 --> 00:46:54,240
Right, it's an exciting time here at Hub City.

854
00:46:54,240 --> 00:46:56,160
We closed down that parking lot out there.

855
00:46:56,160 --> 00:46:59,080
It might be a little bit harder this year because we don't have any parking.

856
00:46:59,080 --> 00:47:01,600
So if we close parking, where are we going to park people?

857
00:47:01,600 --> 00:47:02,880
But we'll figure that out.

858
00:47:02,880 --> 00:47:06,480
Okay, we'll have you all drive your four wheel drive and we'll park in the woods.

859
00:47:06,480 --> 00:47:07,920
Okay, we'll figure it out.

860
00:47:07,920 --> 00:47:12,480
So anyway, we're going to close down a parking lot and we're going to have a tailgate and

861
00:47:12,480 --> 00:47:18,280
all of our growth groups are going to serve you hot dogs and chili and meatballs and cheese

862
00:47:18,280 --> 00:47:21,320
sticks and just all of the appetizer foods.

863
00:47:21,320 --> 00:47:22,920
I'm making you guys hungry, right?

864
00:47:22,920 --> 00:47:24,280
Yeah, yeah, yeah.

865
00:47:24,280 --> 00:47:29,680
And I'm going to say, hey, when you leave here, walk down the parking lot, get some

866
00:47:29,680 --> 00:47:31,720
food, meet some people and get in a group.

867
00:47:31,720 --> 00:47:33,840
And you know what half of you are going to do?

868
00:47:33,840 --> 00:47:34,840
You're going to leave.

869
00:47:34,840 --> 00:47:35,840
You're going to leave.

870
00:47:35,840 --> 00:47:39,840
You're going to be like, I don't want cheese stick.

871
00:47:39,840 --> 00:47:42,400
I don't want a meatball.

872
00:47:42,400 --> 00:47:43,760
I'm good.

873
00:47:43,760 --> 00:47:45,480
I don't need that food.

874
00:47:45,480 --> 00:47:46,480
Guess what?

875
00:47:46,480 --> 00:47:47,800
I know you don't need the food.

876
00:47:47,800 --> 00:47:49,800
I'm not telling you to go there to get the food.

877
00:47:49,800 --> 00:47:52,240
I'm telling you to go there because you need to grow and change.

878
00:47:52,240 --> 00:47:55,520
And we grow and change when we're around others and held accountable.

879
00:47:55,520 --> 00:47:57,120
And we are afraid of that.

880
00:47:57,120 --> 00:47:59,260
And church, we need to change that.

881
00:47:59,260 --> 00:48:03,340
So when you come in two weeks, wear your purple because we're a purple church and it may have

882
00:48:03,340 --> 00:48:06,280
a number eight on it.

883
00:48:06,280 --> 00:48:08,680
Oh, that's right.

884
00:48:08,680 --> 00:48:09,680
That's right.

885
00:48:09,680 --> 00:48:10,680
That's right.

886
00:48:10,680 --> 00:48:11,680
I forgot.

887
00:48:11,680 --> 00:48:12,680
Some of you guys like to quilt.

888
00:48:12,680 --> 00:48:16,480
So wear your quilt quilting blanket and, and show your support for the quilters.

889
00:48:16,480 --> 00:48:17,480
Right.

890
00:48:17,480 --> 00:48:22,400
Or you could wear your purple number eight.

891
00:48:22,400 --> 00:48:23,820
I'm just kidding.

892
00:48:23,820 --> 00:48:24,820
You can wear whatever you want.

893
00:48:24,820 --> 00:48:26,880
It makes no difference to me.

894
00:48:26,880 --> 00:48:27,880
Okay.

895
00:48:27,880 --> 00:48:34,120
The point is when you wear your Jersey, be prepared to meet people and get in a group.

896
00:48:34,120 --> 00:48:35,120
Right.

897
00:48:35,120 --> 00:48:36,760
Because that's where accountability happens.

898
00:48:36,760 --> 00:48:39,920
Number two, focus on the good in others.

899
00:48:39,920 --> 00:48:41,760
You know what judgment does?

900
00:48:41,760 --> 00:48:45,040
Judgment focuses on the negative in a person.

901
00:48:45,040 --> 00:48:48,480
We dehumanize, we label, we accuse, we judge.

902
00:48:48,480 --> 00:48:51,880
What if we just simply begin to focus on the positives in other people?

903
00:48:51,880 --> 00:48:52,880
Right.

904
00:48:52,880 --> 00:48:55,680
Yesterday I did a, I did a wedding here in the, in the chapel.

905
00:48:55,680 --> 00:48:56,680
It was beautiful.

906
00:48:56,680 --> 00:48:57,680
It was a small wedding.

907
00:48:57,680 --> 00:48:59,600
And guess what, guess what verse I read.

908
00:48:59,600 --> 00:49:00,600
First Corinthians 13.

909
00:49:00,600 --> 00:49:06,040
I read first Corinthians 13 because you always hear that at a wedding, but here's the reality.

910
00:49:06,040 --> 00:49:09,060
That letter wasn't written about a marriage or a wedding.

911
00:49:09,060 --> 00:49:12,280
That letter was written to a church that was tearing each other apart and judging each

912
00:49:12,280 --> 00:49:13,280
other.

913
00:49:13,280 --> 00:49:14,280
And this is what it says.

914
00:49:14,280 --> 00:49:17,920
Hey, hey church, love is patient and kind.

915
00:49:17,920 --> 00:49:20,800
Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude.

916
00:49:20,800 --> 00:49:22,120
It does not demand its own way.

917
00:49:22,120 --> 00:49:23,120
It's not irritable.

918
00:49:23,120 --> 00:49:24,280
It keeps no record of being wrong.

919
00:49:24,280 --> 00:49:28,920
It does not rejoice about injustice, but rejoices whenever the truth wins out.

920
00:49:28,920 --> 00:49:33,440
Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful and endures through every circumstance.

921
00:49:33,440 --> 00:49:40,200
And if we lived that way, we would experience an overwhelming amount of people, lives being

922
00:49:40,200 --> 00:49:42,920
changed and being saved and being baptized.

923
00:49:42,920 --> 00:49:48,380
If we, if we just live that way, if we love that way, if that's the type of people we

924
00:49:48,380 --> 00:49:50,040
were.

925
00:49:50,040 --> 00:49:56,080
If we don't operate out of love, it says we're a clanging symbol.

926
00:49:56,080 --> 00:49:59,680
And I don't know about you, but a clanging symbol makes a lot of noise and it doesn't

927
00:49:59,680 --> 00:50:02,320
sound good.

928
00:50:02,320 --> 00:50:05,480
And God is saying, Hey, it's time for you to change.

929
00:50:05,480 --> 00:50:10,460
There are people in your sphere of influence and living in our world that we struggle to

930
00:50:10,460 --> 00:50:11,460
find good in.

931
00:50:11,460 --> 00:50:15,320
But Jesus says, no, you have to work at it and find good.

932
00:50:15,320 --> 00:50:18,160
From now on, I've determined and I've learned.

933
00:50:18,160 --> 00:50:19,160
Okay.

934
00:50:19,160 --> 00:50:23,640
So if I'm following someone that's driving slow in the left hand side of the lane, guess

935
00:50:23,640 --> 00:50:27,080
what I'm going to start doing to, I'm just going to start praying for them.

936
00:50:27,080 --> 00:50:30,680
I'm going to start praying for them and I'm going to pray hard, right?

937
00:50:30,680 --> 00:50:34,480
Because I don't want to judge them because I know when I pass them on the right, the

938
00:50:34,480 --> 00:50:38,080
shadow of my car is going to hit their car.

939
00:50:38,080 --> 00:50:45,640
And just like Peter, their life is going to be radically changed.

940
00:50:45,640 --> 00:50:47,160
I'm just kidding about that.

941
00:50:47,160 --> 00:50:48,160
That's not biblical.

942
00:50:48,160 --> 00:50:49,880
I'm just making that up.

943
00:50:49,880 --> 00:50:54,360
But I am going to pray for them because I don't want to live in judgment of them anymore.

944
00:50:54,360 --> 00:50:59,840
And for those of you on social media, when you're about to make that post, choose not

945
00:50:59,840 --> 00:51:01,120
to.

946
00:51:01,120 --> 00:51:06,960
If it's not, if it's not lifting people up, if it's not being positive, just delete it.

947
00:51:06,960 --> 00:51:07,960
Just delete it.

948
00:51:07,960 --> 00:51:13,360
Don't share a TikTok that's full of negativity and judgment and condemnation of women, right?

949
00:51:13,360 --> 00:51:19,800
Just share positive Jesus stuff so that we can impact others, which leads us to our next

950
00:51:19,800 --> 00:51:20,800
step.

951
00:51:20,800 --> 00:51:24,120
Move toward others with openness, right?

952
00:51:24,120 --> 00:51:26,920
The log in our eye, you know what this does?

953
00:51:26,920 --> 00:51:29,040
It quickly labels people.

954
00:51:29,040 --> 00:51:31,900
This log labels people.

955
00:51:31,900 --> 00:51:33,120
We label their mistakes.

956
00:51:33,120 --> 00:51:34,760
We label what they're doing.

957
00:51:34,760 --> 00:51:36,080
We label why they're doing it.

958
00:51:36,080 --> 00:51:37,320
Here's the reality.

959
00:51:37,320 --> 00:51:40,680
We don't know half of what people are going through.

960
00:51:40,680 --> 00:51:44,480
Our natural human tendency is to assume we have all the facts, but I love this quote

961
00:51:44,480 --> 00:51:51,040
from the Reverend John Watson, be kind because everyone you meet is fighting a great battle.

962
00:51:51,040 --> 00:51:53,520
Isn't that a great quote?

963
00:51:53,520 --> 00:51:57,540
Be kind because everyone you meet is fighting a great battle.

964
00:51:57,540 --> 00:52:02,320
And if we simply begin to air in grace, then we're going to get rid of this.

965
00:52:02,320 --> 00:52:07,520
This is going to come out of our eyes if we, if we just are, or James, I love James 1

966
00:52:07,520 --> 00:52:08,520
19.

967
00:52:08,520 --> 00:52:15,160
Be quick to listen, be slow to speak and be slow to get angry.

968
00:52:15,160 --> 00:52:18,880
You know, James didn't write, be quick to judge, be quick to criticize, be quick to

969
00:52:18,880 --> 00:52:19,880
condemn.

970
00:52:19,880 --> 00:52:20,880
He didn't write that.

971
00:52:20,880 --> 00:52:27,800
He says, no, he says, listen, listen, don't speak until you, you need to, and don't get

972
00:52:27,800 --> 00:52:28,800
angry.

973
00:52:28,800 --> 00:52:29,800
Right?

974
00:52:29,800 --> 00:52:32,080
And God is simply challenging us to change, right?

975
00:52:32,080 --> 00:52:33,080
Be a people.

976
00:52:33,080 --> 00:52:35,560
That's a reflection of Jesus to the world.

977
00:52:35,560 --> 00:52:36,560
Right?

978
00:52:36,560 --> 00:52:40,400
So Jesus means open and listens for what people are struggling with.

979
00:52:40,400 --> 00:52:44,360
So we then have the opportunity to communicate it, which is our next step.

980
00:52:44,360 --> 00:52:48,680
We shouldn't be quick to speak because we have to request permission to share.

981
00:52:48,680 --> 00:52:49,680
Right?

982
00:52:49,680 --> 00:52:53,640
Matthew 7 6, don't waste what is holy on people who are unholy.

983
00:52:53,640 --> 00:52:55,480
Don't throw your pearls to pigs.

984
00:52:55,480 --> 00:52:58,680
They will trample the pearls, then turn and attack you.

985
00:52:58,680 --> 00:53:01,760
I did a little studying on that scripture.

986
00:53:01,760 --> 00:53:05,520
Scholars referenced that a pearl is not digestible to a pig.

987
00:53:05,520 --> 00:53:09,640
But yet it's our natural human tendency that we have all the answers.

988
00:53:09,640 --> 00:53:10,640
Right?

989
00:53:10,640 --> 00:53:14,200
We have all the answers and we know how to fix people's problems.

990
00:53:14,200 --> 00:53:15,460
And here's the reality.

991
00:53:15,460 --> 00:53:18,760
We have to be careful because we don't know all the answers.

992
00:53:18,760 --> 00:53:23,480
And quite often when we speak out and we try to encourage people, right, they receive it

993
00:53:23,480 --> 00:53:26,800
with judgment because we don't have permission.

994
00:53:26,800 --> 00:53:29,800
We have to have permission to speak into people's lives.

995
00:53:29,800 --> 00:53:30,800
Right?

996
00:53:30,800 --> 00:53:34,760
Especially when we're addressing sin and struggles.

997
00:53:34,760 --> 00:53:35,760
Ask the people.

998
00:53:35,760 --> 00:53:39,440
If you're in a relationship with someone and you don't know, ask them before you give feedback.

999
00:53:39,440 --> 00:53:40,440
Right?

1000
00:53:40,440 --> 00:53:41,440
Ask them.

1001
00:53:41,440 --> 00:53:42,440
Invite.

1002
00:53:42,440 --> 00:53:43,440
Can I share my point of view?

1003
00:53:43,440 --> 00:53:45,040
Can I give input?

1004
00:53:45,040 --> 00:53:46,920
And when you do it, do it with what?

1005
00:53:46,920 --> 00:53:48,840
Grace and love.

1006
00:53:48,840 --> 00:53:50,680
Which leads us to our final step.

1007
00:53:50,680 --> 00:53:53,320
Church, stand with others.

1008
00:53:53,320 --> 00:53:54,320
Stand with others.

1009
00:53:54,320 --> 00:53:59,560
Our natural human tendency is to have an arrogance toward others and an ignorance towards ourselves.

1010
00:53:59,560 --> 00:54:00,560
Right?

1011
00:54:00,560 --> 00:54:01,960
We have an arrogance towards others.

1012
00:54:01,960 --> 00:54:03,360
We know everything they're going through.

1013
00:54:03,360 --> 00:54:05,080
We say, oh no, I'm good.

1014
00:54:05,080 --> 00:54:09,240
And we see this in Luke 18, 9 when Jesus throws out this parable.

1015
00:54:09,240 --> 00:54:11,280
Two men went to the temple to pray.

1016
00:54:11,280 --> 00:54:14,080
One was a Pharisee, the other was a tax collector.

1017
00:54:14,080 --> 00:54:17,800
Notice the Pharisee standing by himself, prayed this prayer.

1018
00:54:17,800 --> 00:54:20,080
I thank you God, I'm not like other people.

1019
00:54:20,080 --> 00:54:22,520
Cheaters, sinners, adulterers, I certainly not like this.

1020
00:54:22,520 --> 00:54:25,120
You can only see him looking at this tax collector.

1021
00:54:25,120 --> 00:54:27,440
Just judging him up and down.

1022
00:54:27,440 --> 00:54:28,800
I fast twice a week.

1023
00:54:28,800 --> 00:54:31,120
I give you a tenth of my income.

1024
00:54:31,120 --> 00:54:35,480
But this tax collector, he's standing in the distance, stared not even to lift his eyes

1025
00:54:35,480 --> 00:54:36,800
to heaven and prayed.

1026
00:54:36,800 --> 00:54:40,360
He beat his chest in sorrow saying, God be merciful on me for I am a sinner.

1027
00:54:40,360 --> 00:54:46,520
I tell you this sinner, this sinner, that tax collector, not the Pharisee, returned

1028
00:54:46,520 --> 00:54:49,700
home justified before God.

1029
00:54:49,700 --> 00:54:54,080
For those who exalt themselves to be humbled and those who humble themselves to be exalted.

1030
00:54:54,080 --> 00:54:59,880
When we judge, right, our log is the lie that Jesus and I are good.

1031
00:54:59,880 --> 00:55:02,840
Oh, oh, God and I were good.

1032
00:55:02,840 --> 00:55:03,840
Why we're judging others?

1033
00:55:03,840 --> 00:55:05,720
No, you're not good.

1034
00:55:05,720 --> 00:55:08,400
When we judge others, we're living in sin, church.

1035
00:55:08,400 --> 00:55:11,560
We're living in sin and God is saying, stop.

1036
00:55:11,560 --> 00:55:17,520
Just be a person that's humble and loving because when Jesus came, when Jesus came into

1037
00:55:17,520 --> 00:55:20,800
this world, John 1, 14, he came full of what?

1038
00:55:20,800 --> 00:55:23,120
Grace and truth.

1039
00:55:23,120 --> 00:55:29,520
Churches should be safe places for the wounded, the hurting, the addicted, and those struggling

1040
00:55:29,520 --> 00:55:30,520
in life.

1041
00:55:30,520 --> 00:55:36,360
We should welcome them in and be a community of faith that challenges people to experience

1042
00:55:36,360 --> 00:55:37,960
God through the Holy Spirit.

1043
00:55:37,960 --> 00:55:38,960
Amen.

1044
00:55:38,960 --> 00:55:43,520
Be empowered and be changed through God moving in your life.

1045
00:55:43,520 --> 00:55:48,880
All right, can we stand together?

1046
00:55:48,880 --> 00:55:53,160
Don't worry, I'm not going to ask you to move.

1047
00:55:53,160 --> 00:55:54,800
Okay.

1048
00:55:54,800 --> 00:55:56,800
So I just want to end.

1049
00:55:56,800 --> 00:55:58,360
Listen.

1050
00:55:58,360 --> 00:56:04,140
I just want to end by praying a simple prayer because I don't know about you, but this message

1051
00:56:04,140 --> 00:56:07,240
is for all of us, including myself.

1052
00:56:07,240 --> 00:56:08,240
You know that.

1053
00:56:08,240 --> 00:56:13,800
I mean, I shared with you what I did yesterday and my outlook and my struggle and my judgment.

1054
00:56:13,800 --> 00:56:15,280
We all do it.

1055
00:56:15,280 --> 00:56:18,680
And until we come to that realization, we're not going to change.

1056
00:56:18,680 --> 00:56:19,680
Right?

1057
00:56:19,680 --> 00:56:24,640
Until we come to the realization that we judge every single day, we're not going to change.

1058
00:56:24,640 --> 00:56:30,640
And in a divisive culture, the church is called to rise above it and be a what?

1059
00:56:30,640 --> 00:56:33,160
A light on the hill.

1060
00:56:33,160 --> 00:56:38,520
And I tell you, as we enter the fall, it's only going to get uglier.

1061
00:56:38,520 --> 00:56:39,520
There's going to be divisiveness.

1062
00:56:39,520 --> 00:56:41,080
There's going to be finger pointing.

1063
00:56:41,080 --> 00:56:42,360
There's going to be name calling.

1064
00:56:42,360 --> 00:56:44,000
It's going to be ugly.

1065
00:56:44,000 --> 00:56:47,400
And my challenge to you is, rise above it.

1066
00:56:47,400 --> 00:56:49,540
Don't succumb to it.

1067
00:56:49,540 --> 00:56:52,920
Be a light for others to go to.

1068
00:56:52,920 --> 00:56:57,960
Because when you're a light and you're not living in judgment, people want what you have.

1069
00:56:57,960 --> 00:56:58,960
Amen.

1070
00:56:58,960 --> 00:57:01,960
There's no impossible.

1071
00:57:01,960 --> 00:57:08,480
I believe that you are working now.

1072
00:57:08,480 --> 00:57:11,480
Pour it out.

1073
00:57:11,480 --> 00:57:23,920
Oh, pour it out.