1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:05,640 So I rode my bicycle for a year in 2010 from Canada to Columbia. 2 00:00:05,640 --> 00:00:10,520 And as part of that journey, I discovered that basically a billion people in 3 00:00:10,520 --> 00:00:13,240 the world didn't have access to clean drinking water. 4 00:00:13,240 --> 00:00:17,960 So I began this journey and did some higher level education and 5 00:00:17,960 --> 00:00:21,280 then on a series of trips with my friends in the last six years. 6 00:00:21,280 --> 00:00:26,080 That's all led us to this spot now we've become very interested in 7 00:00:26,080 --> 00:00:30,520 small scale decentralized desalinization projects. 8 00:00:30,520 --> 00:00:31,440 It's really the future. 9 00:00:31,440 --> 00:00:42,880 Hi everyone. 10 00:00:42,880 --> 00:00:44,480 Welcome to Ocean Water Church. 11 00:00:44,480 --> 00:00:47,360 I'm stoked you could be with us for today's beach talk. 12 00:00:47,360 --> 00:00:51,240 I want to help you understand every word of God that's in the word of God. 13 00:00:51,240 --> 00:00:55,680 God has so many amazing things that he wants to say to us every day. 14 00:00:55,680 --> 00:00:57,520 If we'll just take the time to listen. 15 00:00:57,520 --> 00:01:01,520 That's the heart behind our beach talks that God will speak to us every day. 16 00:01:01,520 --> 00:01:03,200 And so our objective is simple. 17 00:01:03,200 --> 00:01:07,840 It's disciples making disciples who plant churches that plant churches so 18 00:01:07,840 --> 00:01:12,760 that we can see a grassroots movement of Jesus continue all over the world. 19 00:01:12,760 --> 00:01:17,360 Now today, we're looking at Matthew chapter seven, verses one and two says, 20 00:01:17,360 --> 00:01:21,840 judge not that you will be judged for in the judgment that you judge, 21 00:01:21,840 --> 00:01:22,760 you'll be judged. 22 00:01:22,760 --> 00:01:25,760 And with the measure that you use, it'll be measured unto you. 23 00:01:27,040 --> 00:01:31,880 Now here Jesus moved to another idea in the Sermon on the Mount. 24 00:01:31,880 --> 00:01:37,320 Now before this, he had connected themes that had mostly to do with the inside of 25 00:01:37,320 --> 00:01:42,080 our hearts, prayer and fasting and materialism, anxiety over material things. 26 00:01:42,080 --> 00:01:46,800 Now he touches on the more important related themes of how we treat and 27 00:01:46,800 --> 00:01:48,240 deal with other people. 28 00:01:48,240 --> 00:01:49,680 Now remember that Jesus called for 29 00:01:49,680 --> 00:01:53,400 righteousness that was greater than that of the scribes and the Pharisees in 30 00:01:53,400 --> 00:01:54,560 Matthew five. 31 00:01:54,560 --> 00:02:00,120 Now in the same way, some people think that we're made to be more self righteous 32 00:02:00,120 --> 00:02:02,120 is to be more judgmental of others. 33 00:02:02,120 --> 00:02:04,880 Now Jesus here rebukes this type of thinking. 34 00:02:04,880 --> 00:02:07,200 He says judge not that you won't be judged. 35 00:02:07,200 --> 00:02:12,040 Now with this command, Jesus warned against passing judgment upon other people 36 00:02:12,040 --> 00:02:16,680 because when we do so, we will be judged in a similar manner. 37 00:02:16,680 --> 00:02:18,360 That's a scary thought. 38 00:02:18,360 --> 00:02:20,840 Now among those who seem to know nothing of the Bible, 39 00:02:20,840 --> 00:02:24,000 this is the verse that seems to be the most popular or 40 00:02:24,000 --> 00:02:26,480 it just makes the most sense to them. 41 00:02:26,480 --> 00:02:29,400 Now the people who quote this verse don't understand what Jesus said. 42 00:02:29,400 --> 00:02:33,960 They seem to think or hope that Jesus commanded a universal acceptance of 43 00:02:33,960 --> 00:02:36,000 any lifestyle or teaching. 44 00:02:36,000 --> 00:02:37,400 That's not what he's saying. 45 00:02:37,400 --> 00:02:41,560 A little later in the sermon, Jesus commands us to know ourselves and 46 00:02:41,560 --> 00:02:47,720 others by the fruit of their life and some sort of assessment is necessary for that. 47 00:02:47,720 --> 00:02:53,120 Now the followers of Jesus are called to show unconditional love to everyone, 48 00:02:53,120 --> 00:02:56,560 but not unconditional approval. 49 00:02:56,560 --> 00:03:03,160 We can love people for everything, but not necessarily approve of everything. 50 00:03:03,160 --> 00:03:09,240 So it certainly prohibits doing it in a spirit that it is often done. 51 00:03:09,240 --> 00:03:13,640 An example of an unjust judgment was the disciples condemnation of the woman who 52 00:03:13,640 --> 00:03:16,920 came to anoint the feet of Jesus with oil. 53 00:03:16,920 --> 00:03:21,080 They thought that she was wasting something that was valuable, an asset. 54 00:03:21,080 --> 00:03:25,600 Jesus said that she'd done a good work that would always be remembered. 55 00:03:25,600 --> 00:03:29,160 They had a rash, harsh, unjust judgment. 56 00:03:29,160 --> 00:03:32,520 Now we break this command when we think the worst of others. 57 00:03:32,520 --> 00:03:38,160 We break this command when we only speak to others of their faults. 58 00:03:38,160 --> 00:03:42,960 We break this command when we judge an entire life 59 00:03:42,960 --> 00:03:46,160 only by looking at its worst moments. 60 00:03:46,160 --> 00:03:48,320 We certainly wouldn't want that done to us. 61 00:03:48,320 --> 00:03:53,440 We break this command when we judge, when we think we know the hidden motives of others. 62 00:03:53,440 --> 00:04:00,600 We break this command when we judge others without considering ourselves in the same circumstances. 63 00:04:00,600 --> 00:04:06,240 We break this command when we judge others without being mindful that we ourselves will 64 00:04:06,240 --> 00:04:08,080 be judged by God. 65 00:04:08,080 --> 00:04:11,360 It says for with the judgment that you judge, you'll be judged. 66 00:04:11,360 --> 00:04:14,400 Jesus did not prohibit judgment of others. 67 00:04:14,400 --> 00:04:21,200 He only requires that our judgment be completely fair and that we only judge others by a standard 68 00:04:21,200 --> 00:04:23,560 we would also want to be judged by. 69 00:04:23,560 --> 00:04:30,280 Now when our judgment in regard to others is wrong, it's often because we judge according 70 00:04:30,280 --> 00:04:36,080 to a standard, but because we are hypocritical in the application of that standard. 71 00:04:36,080 --> 00:04:38,160 We ignore the standard in our own life. 72 00:04:38,160 --> 00:04:44,000 It is common to judge others by one standard and we judge ourselves by another. 73 00:04:44,000 --> 00:04:47,520 And this is what Jesus is trying to warn us about. 74 00:04:47,520 --> 00:04:51,300 Now with the measure that you use, it will be measured back to you. 75 00:04:51,300 --> 00:04:58,400 This is the principle upon which Jesus built the command, judge not, that you will be judged. 76 00:04:58,400 --> 00:05:02,760 God will measure unto us according to the same measure that we use for others. 77 00:05:02,760 --> 00:05:09,120 Now this is a powerful motivation for us to be generous in our love and our dealings with 78 00:05:09,120 --> 00:05:11,340 everyone around us. 79 00:05:11,340 --> 00:05:15,780 If we want more of those things from God, we should give more of them to others. 80 00:05:15,780 --> 00:05:21,040 Now according to the teaching of some rabbis in Jesus' time, God had two measures that 81 00:05:21,040 --> 00:05:22,640 he used to judge people. 82 00:05:22,640 --> 00:05:26,700 One was a measure of justice and the other was a measure of mercy. 83 00:05:26,700 --> 00:05:32,440 Now whichever measure you want God to use with you, you should use the same measure 84 00:05:32,440 --> 00:05:33,440 with other people. 85 00:05:33,440 --> 00:05:35,480 You're getting what he's trying to say. 86 00:05:35,480 --> 00:05:40,880 We should only judge another's behavior when we are mindful of the fact that we ourselves 87 00:05:40,880 --> 00:05:42,800 will be judged by that same standard. 88 00:05:42,800 --> 00:05:47,360 We should consider if we want to be judged by that standard. 89 00:05:47,360 --> 00:05:51,240 Now verses 3 and 5, why do you look at the speck in your brother's eye but you don't 90 00:05:51,240 --> 00:05:54,360 consider the plank coming out of your own eye? 91 00:05:54,360 --> 00:05:59,880 Or how can you say to your brother, let me remove the speck from your eye and look, a 92 00:05:59,880 --> 00:06:01,640 plank is in your own eye. 93 00:06:01,640 --> 00:06:03,200 You hypocrite. 94 00:06:03,200 --> 00:06:09,080 First remove the plank from your own eye and then you'll see clearly to remove the speck 95 00:06:09,080 --> 00:06:10,400 from your brother's eye. 96 00:06:10,400 --> 00:06:11,400 What's going on here? 97 00:06:11,400 --> 00:06:17,000 Why do you look at the speck in your brother's eye but you don't consider the plank in your 98 00:06:17,000 --> 00:06:18,440 own eye? 99 00:06:18,440 --> 00:06:22,920 The figures of a speck and a plank are real figures yet they're used in a funny way. 100 00:06:22,920 --> 00:06:28,840 Jesus shows how we are generally far more tolerant of our own sin than we are of the 101 00:06:28,840 --> 00:06:31,000 sin of other people. 102 00:06:31,000 --> 00:06:36,740 Now though there might be a literal speck in someone's eye, there obviously would not 103 00:06:36,740 --> 00:06:43,520 be a literal pleck or a board in an eye, Jesus used these exaggerated humorous pictures to 104 00:06:43,520 --> 00:06:47,560 make his message easier to understand and make it more memorable. 105 00:06:47,560 --> 00:06:52,100 It is a humorous picture, a man with a board in his eye trying to help a friend remove 106 00:06:52,100 --> 00:06:54,440 a speck from the friend's eye. 107 00:06:54,440 --> 00:07:01,120 Now you can't think of the picture without smiling and being amused by it. 108 00:07:01,120 --> 00:07:08,200 An example of looking at a speck in the eye of another ignoring the plank in one's own 109 00:07:08,200 --> 00:07:14,080 when the religious leaders brought the woman taking an adultery to Jesus, she had certainly 110 00:07:14,080 --> 00:07:15,180 sinned. 111 00:07:15,180 --> 00:07:20,320 There was sin much worse than Jesus exposed it and with the statement, he who is without 112 00:07:20,320 --> 00:07:25,040 sin among you, let him be the first to cast a stone in John 8-7. 113 00:07:25,040 --> 00:07:27,920 So look, a plank is in your own eye. 114 00:07:27,920 --> 00:07:34,400 Jesus indicates that the one with the plank in his own eye would not immediately be aware 115 00:07:34,400 --> 00:07:36,560 of it. 116 00:07:36,560 --> 00:07:39,240 He's blind to his own obvious faults. 117 00:07:39,240 --> 00:07:46,000 It's an attempt to correct the fault of someone else when we ourselves have the same or actually 118 00:07:46,000 --> 00:07:47,400 a greater fault. 119 00:07:47,400 --> 00:07:50,520 That earns the accusation hypocrite. 120 00:07:50,520 --> 00:07:55,880 Charles Spurgeon said Jesus is gentle but he calls the man a hypocrite who fusses about 121 00:07:55,880 --> 00:08:02,360 small things and others and pays no attention to great matters in his own person. 122 00:08:02,360 --> 00:08:07,600 Our hypocrisy in these matters is almost always more evident to others than it is to us. 123 00:08:07,600 --> 00:08:12,800 We may find a way to ignore the plank in our own eye but others notice it immediately. 124 00:08:12,800 --> 00:08:18,080 A good example of this kind of hypocrisy was David's reaction to Nathan's story about 125 00:08:18,080 --> 00:08:21,680 a man who unjustly stole and killed another man's lamb. 126 00:08:21,680 --> 00:08:28,040 David quickly condemned the man but was blind to his own sin which was far greater in 2 127 00:08:28,040 --> 00:08:29,480 Samuel 12. 128 00:08:29,480 --> 00:08:34,840 First remove the plank from your own eye and then you'll see clearly to remove the speck 129 00:08:34,840 --> 00:08:36,280 from your brother's eye. 130 00:08:36,280 --> 00:08:41,200 Now Jesus didn't say that it was wrong for us to help our brother with the speck in his 131 00:08:41,200 --> 00:08:42,200 eye. 132 00:08:42,200 --> 00:08:47,080 He said it's a good thing for you to help your brother with the speck but not before 133 00:08:47,080 --> 00:08:52,360 dealing with the plank in our own eyes, in our own lives, our own shortcomings. 134 00:08:52,360 --> 00:08:57,400 Now verse 6 it says, Do not give what is holy to the dogs, nor cast your pearls before the 135 00:08:57,400 --> 00:09:02,960 swine, lest they trample them under their feet and turn and tear you in pieces. 136 00:09:02,960 --> 00:09:04,040 What does this say? 137 00:09:04,040 --> 00:09:06,320 Do not give what is holy to the dogs. 138 00:09:06,320 --> 00:09:12,720 Now after he warned us against judgmental attitudes and self-blind criticism, Jesus here 139 00:09:12,720 --> 00:09:18,720 reminds us that he did not mean to imply that the people of his kingdom suspend all discernment. 140 00:09:18,720 --> 00:09:24,200 They must discern that there are some good, precious things that should not be given to 141 00:09:24,200 --> 00:09:28,320 those who will receive them with contempt. 142 00:09:28,320 --> 00:09:32,640 We might say that Jesus means don't be judgmental. 143 00:09:32,640 --> 00:09:36,440 Don't throw out all of your discernment either. 144 00:09:36,440 --> 00:09:41,120 The dogs and swine here are often understood as those who are hostile to the kingdom of 145 00:09:41,120 --> 00:09:44,200 God and the message that announces it. 146 00:09:44,200 --> 00:09:49,760 Our love for others must not be blind to their hardened rejection of the good news of the 147 00:09:49,760 --> 00:09:51,880 kingdom of Jesus. 148 00:09:51,880 --> 00:09:57,120 We must also see in this context of the previous words against hypocrites. 149 00:09:57,120 --> 00:10:05,440 It may be that in Jesus' mind the dogs and swine represent hypocritical judgmental believers. 150 00:10:05,440 --> 00:10:10,560 These sinning hypocrites should not be offered the pearls that belong to the community of 151 00:10:10,560 --> 00:10:11,560 the saints. 152 00:10:11,560 --> 00:10:16,080 Now Jesus also spoke in the context of correcting another brother or sister. 153 00:10:16,080 --> 00:10:19,640 Godly correction is a pearl, though it may sting for a moment. 154 00:10:19,640 --> 00:10:25,480 That must not be cast before a swine, those who were determined not to receive it. 155 00:10:25,480 --> 00:10:31,120 Nor cast your pearls before the swine are pearls of the previous gospel. 156 00:10:31,120 --> 00:10:36,800 The precious gospel may only confuse those who do not believe, but are truth that are 157 00:10:36,800 --> 00:10:42,520 blinded by the God of this age and they only be exposed to the gospel at their own expense. 158 00:10:42,520 --> 00:10:47,560 Now of course Jesus did not say this to discourage us from sharing the gospel. 159 00:10:47,560 --> 00:10:52,400 Previously in this very sermon Jesus told us that our lights shine before the entire 160 00:10:52,400 --> 00:10:54,160 world. 161 00:10:54,160 --> 00:11:01,740 Jesus said this to call us to discernment and to encourage those who have prepared hearts 162 00:11:01,740 --> 00:11:03,120 that are ready to receive. 163 00:11:03,120 --> 00:11:08,800 Now when we find such open hearts we can trust that God has already been working in them. 164 00:11:08,800 --> 00:11:14,160 Now verses seven and eight, ask and it will be given to you, seek and you will find, knock 165 00:11:14,160 --> 00:11:15,760 and it will be open to you. 166 00:11:15,760 --> 00:11:22,360 For everyone who asks receives and he who seeks finds and to him who knocks it will 167 00:11:22,360 --> 00:11:23,840 be open. 168 00:11:23,840 --> 00:11:27,160 Ask, seek and not. 169 00:11:27,160 --> 00:11:31,200 We see a progressive intensity going from ask to seek to not. 170 00:11:31,200 --> 00:11:36,680 Jesus told us to have intensity, passion and persistence in prayer. 171 00:11:36,680 --> 00:11:40,720 Now the fact that Jesus came back to the subject of prayer already dealt with in some depth 172 00:11:40,720 --> 00:11:44,560 in Matthew six shows the importance of prayer. 173 00:11:44,560 --> 00:11:46,920 He's giving us another little lesson. 174 00:11:46,920 --> 00:11:52,320 Prayer is like asking in that we simply make our requests known to God and everyone who 175 00:11:52,320 --> 00:11:56,740 asks receives, receiving is the reward of asking. 176 00:11:56,740 --> 00:12:02,880 Prayer is like seeking in that we search after God, his word and his will and he who seeks 177 00:12:02,880 --> 00:12:06,600 finds, finding is the reward of seeking. 178 00:12:06,600 --> 00:12:12,040 Prayer is like knocking until the door is open and we seek entrance into the great heavenly 179 00:12:12,040 --> 00:12:14,080 palace of our great King. 180 00:12:14,080 --> 00:12:19,760 Entering through the door open into his palace is the reward of knocking and the best reward 181 00:12:19,760 --> 00:12:21,040 of all. 182 00:12:21,040 --> 00:12:25,720 Now the idea of knocking also implies that we sense resistance. 183 00:12:25,720 --> 00:12:29,480 After all, if the door were already open there'd be no need to knock. 184 00:12:29,480 --> 00:12:35,600 Yet Jesus encouraged us, even when you sense that the door is closed and you must knock, 185 00:12:35,600 --> 00:12:39,440 then do so and continue to do so and you will be answered. 186 00:12:39,440 --> 00:12:41,480 It's about persistence. 187 00:12:41,480 --> 00:12:46,080 We came to God's door and we all must knock. 188 00:12:46,080 --> 00:12:50,140 If we were locked, if it were locked against us we would need a burglar's tools to break 189 00:12:50,140 --> 00:12:52,920 in but that isn't necessary. 190 00:12:52,920 --> 00:12:58,000 All we must do is knock and even if I don't have a burglar's skills I can still knock, 191 00:12:58,000 --> 00:13:00,240 enough to know that I can do that. 192 00:13:00,240 --> 00:13:01,240 Charles Spurgeon. 193 00:13:01,240 --> 00:13:03,880 Ask and it will be given to you. 194 00:13:03,880 --> 00:13:08,280 God promises an answer to the one who diligently seeks it. 195 00:13:08,280 --> 00:13:13,960 Now many of our passionless prayers are not answered for good reason because it's almost 196 00:13:13,960 --> 00:13:19,120 as if we're to ask God to care about something that we care very little about or actually 197 00:13:19,120 --> 00:13:20,540 not at all. 198 00:13:20,540 --> 00:13:26,380 God values persistence and passion in prayer because they show that we share his heart. 199 00:13:26,380 --> 00:13:30,640 It shows that we care about the things that he cares about. 200 00:13:30,640 --> 00:13:34,480 Persistence prayer does not overcome God's stubborn reluctance. 201 00:13:34,480 --> 00:13:40,760 It gives him glory, expresses dependence upon him and aligns our heart more with his. 202 00:13:40,760 --> 00:13:47,120 Now verses 9 and 11, or what is man that he asks you for bread and you give him a stone 203 00:13:47,120 --> 00:13:52,300 or he asks you for a fish and you'll give him a serpent, if you then being evil know 204 00:13:52,300 --> 00:13:59,000 how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your father in heaven give 205 00:13:59,000 --> 00:14:02,360 those good things to those who ask him? 206 00:14:02,360 --> 00:14:03,360 Wow. 207 00:14:03,360 --> 00:14:09,280 Or what is man there among you if he asks for bread will give him a stone? 208 00:14:09,280 --> 00:14:15,280 Jesus made it clear that God doesn't have to be persuaded or appeased in prayer. 209 00:14:15,280 --> 00:14:20,840 He wants to give us not just bread, but more than what we ask for. 210 00:14:20,840 --> 00:14:27,240 Thankfully, the times we ask for something as bad as a serpent without knowing like a 211 00:14:27,240 --> 00:14:33,440 loving parent, God mercifully spares us the just penalty of our ignorance or asking for 212 00:14:33,440 --> 00:14:34,440 the wrong thing. 213 00:14:34,440 --> 00:14:38,800 If you then being evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will 214 00:14:38,800 --> 00:14:41,320 your father who is in heaven? 215 00:14:41,320 --> 00:14:46,360 Now it's blasphemous to deny God's answer to the seeking heart. 216 00:14:46,360 --> 00:14:50,640 We then imply that God is even worse than an evil man is. 217 00:14:50,640 --> 00:14:56,720 Verse 12, in a summation of Jesus's ethical teaching regarding our treatment of others, 218 00:14:56,720 --> 00:15:03,080 the golden rule, he says, therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, 219 00:15:03,080 --> 00:15:06,680 for this is the law and the prophets. 220 00:15:06,680 --> 00:15:12,880 Whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, the negative way of stating this 221 00:15:12,880 --> 00:15:16,640 command was known long before Jesus. 222 00:15:16,640 --> 00:15:21,680 It had been said, you should not do to your neighbor what you would not want him to do 223 00:15:21,680 --> 00:15:22,680 to you. 224 00:15:22,680 --> 00:15:29,760 But it is significant advance for Jesus to put this in a positive way to say that we 225 00:15:29,760 --> 00:15:34,600 should do unto others what we would want them to do to us. 226 00:15:34,600 --> 00:15:36,200 Jesus reframes it. 227 00:15:36,200 --> 00:15:40,640 Now in doing so, Jesus makes the command much broader. 228 00:15:40,640 --> 00:15:46,960 It is the difference between not breaking traffic laws and in doing something positive 229 00:15:46,960 --> 00:15:49,140 like helping a stranded motorist. 230 00:15:49,140 --> 00:15:56,000 Under the negative form of the rule, the goats, Matthew 25, were found not guilty, yet under 231 00:15:56,000 --> 00:16:01,400 the positive form of the golden rule, Jesus's form, they're indeed found guilty. 232 00:16:01,400 --> 00:16:07,360 Now this especially applies to those of us who follow Jesus, if we would experience love 233 00:16:07,360 --> 00:16:13,040 and have people reach out to us, we must love and reach out to others, for this is the law 234 00:16:13,040 --> 00:16:14,040 of the prophets. 235 00:16:14,040 --> 00:16:20,920 Jesus shows that this simple principle, the golden rule, summarizes all of the law and 236 00:16:20,920 --> 00:16:24,000 the prophets say about how we should treat others. 237 00:16:24,000 --> 00:16:29,580 If we would simply treat others the way that we want to be treated, we would naturally 238 00:16:29,580 --> 00:16:34,800 obey all of the law says about our relationships with others. 239 00:16:34,800 --> 00:16:40,120 Now this makes the law easier to understand, but it doesn't make it any easier to obey. 240 00:16:40,120 --> 00:16:45,560 No one has ever consistently done unto others as they would have them do unto them, because 241 00:16:45,560 --> 00:16:47,840 none of us are perfect. 242 00:16:47,840 --> 00:16:52,440 Now verses 13 and 14 say, enter by the narrow gate, for wide is the gate and broad is the 243 00:16:52,440 --> 00:16:57,640 path that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it, because narrow is 244 00:16:57,640 --> 00:17:05,240 the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it. 245 00:17:05,240 --> 00:17:10,520 Enter by the narrow gate, now Jesus did not speak at this gate as our destiny, but as 246 00:17:10,520 --> 00:17:14,600 the entrance to a path, there's a right way and a wrong way. 247 00:17:14,600 --> 00:17:20,920 Jesus appealed to his listeners to decide to go the more difficult way which leads to 248 00:17:20,920 --> 00:17:21,920 life. 249 00:17:21,920 --> 00:17:27,920 Now Jesus understood and taught that not all ways and not all destinations are equally 250 00:17:27,920 --> 00:17:28,920 good. 251 00:17:28,920 --> 00:17:31,320 One leads to destruction, the other leads to life. 252 00:17:31,320 --> 00:17:36,960 Adam Clarke explained, he said, the straight gate signifies literally what we would call 253 00:17:36,960 --> 00:17:39,720 a little door in a large gate. 254 00:17:39,720 --> 00:17:40,720 D.A. 255 00:17:40,720 --> 00:17:46,720 Carson says, Jesus is not encouraging committed disciples to press on along the narrow way 256 00:17:46,720 --> 00:17:52,600 and be rewarded in the end, he is rather commanding his disciples to enter the marked way by 257 00:17:52,600 --> 00:17:56,160 persecution and rewarded in the end. 258 00:17:56,160 --> 00:17:59,880 It's about persevering through difficulty. 259 00:17:59,880 --> 00:18:03,320 Now the true gate is both narrow and difficult. 260 00:18:03,320 --> 00:18:08,640 If your road has a gate that is easy and well traveled, you would do well to watch out. 261 00:18:08,640 --> 00:18:10,720 Everyone would be doing it. 262 00:18:10,720 --> 00:18:14,760 Verses 15 through 20 says, but where are false prophets who come to you in sheep's clothing 263 00:18:14,760 --> 00:18:19,240 but inwardly they're ravenous wolves, you would know them by their fruits. 264 00:18:19,240 --> 00:18:24,360 Do men gather in groups, grapes from thorn bushes and figs from thistles even so every 265 00:18:24,360 --> 00:18:28,240 good tree bears good fruit but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 266 00:18:28,240 --> 00:18:32,400 A tree cannot bear bad fruit nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. 267 00:18:32,400 --> 00:18:38,600 Every tree that is not bear good fruit is cut out and thrown into the fire. 268 00:18:38,600 --> 00:18:42,680 Therefore they're fruits, buy your fruits that will know them. 269 00:18:42,680 --> 00:18:46,880 Now Jesus just warned us of a path that leads to destruction. 270 00:18:46,880 --> 00:18:52,800 Now he reminds us that there are many who would try to guide us along the broad path 271 00:18:52,800 --> 00:18:54,720 that leads to destruction. 272 00:18:54,720 --> 00:19:00,120 The first step to combating these false prophets is to simply be aware of them, to know they 273 00:19:00,120 --> 00:19:01,120 exist. 274 00:19:01,120 --> 00:19:05,440 Who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. 275 00:19:05,440 --> 00:19:12,440 Now it is in the nature of these false prophets to deceive and deny their true character. 276 00:19:12,440 --> 00:19:18,200 Even when they deceive even themselves believing themselves to be sheep when in fact they're 277 00:19:18,200 --> 00:19:20,080 ravenous wolves. 278 00:19:20,080 --> 00:19:26,240 William Barclay said the basic fault of the false prophet is self interest. 279 00:19:26,240 --> 00:19:31,960 Now it can be expressed by a desire for gain or an easy life, a desire for prestige or 280 00:19:31,960 --> 00:19:36,680 the desire to advance one's own ideas and not God's ideas. 281 00:19:36,680 --> 00:19:38,680 You will know them by their fruits. 282 00:19:38,680 --> 00:19:43,480 Now we guard ourselves against false prophets by taking heed to their fruits. 283 00:19:43,480 --> 00:19:47,880 This means paying attention to several aspects of their life and ministry. 284 00:19:47,880 --> 00:19:52,360 Now we should pay attention to the manner of living a teacher shows. 285 00:19:52,360 --> 00:19:58,120 Do they show righteousness, humility and faithfulness in the way that they live? 286 00:19:58,120 --> 00:20:00,880 We should pay attention to the content of their teaching. 287 00:20:00,880 --> 00:20:07,840 Is it true from God's word or is it man centered and celebrity driven, appealing to ears that 288 00:20:07,840 --> 00:20:11,280 want to be tickled and telling everyone what they want to hear? 289 00:20:11,280 --> 00:20:13,880 We should pay attention to the effect of their teaching. 290 00:20:13,880 --> 00:20:19,520 Are people growing in Jesus or merely being entertained and eventually falling away? 291 00:20:19,520 --> 00:20:23,440 Even so every good tree bears good fruit but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 292 00:20:23,440 --> 00:20:28,280 This fruit is the inevitable result of those who are. 293 00:20:28,280 --> 00:20:32,720 Eventually though it may take a time for the harvest to come the good fruit and the bad 294 00:20:32,720 --> 00:20:36,320 fruit is evident revealing what sort of tree they are. 295 00:20:36,320 --> 00:20:41,560 Now earlier in the chapter Jesus warned us to judge ourselves first to look for the speck 296 00:20:41,560 --> 00:20:46,560 in our own eye before turning our attention to the beam in our neighbor's eye. 297 00:20:46,560 --> 00:20:53,420 Therefore before asking if anyone else we should first ask do I bear fruit that brings 298 00:20:53,420 --> 00:20:55,460 God glory? 299 00:20:55,460 --> 00:21:00,360 Verse 21 through 23, not everyone who says to me Lord, Lord shall enter the kingdom of 300 00:21:00,360 --> 00:21:04,280 heaven but he who does the will of my father who is in heaven. 301 00:21:04,280 --> 00:21:09,340 Many will say to me in that day Lord, Lord have we not prophesied in your name, cast 302 00:21:09,340 --> 00:21:15,120 out demons in your name and done many wonders in your name? 303 00:21:15,120 --> 00:21:18,120 And then I'll declare to them I never knew you. 304 00:21:18,120 --> 00:21:22,040 Depart from me you who practice lawlessness. 305 00:21:22,040 --> 00:21:23,300 What's happening here? 306 00:21:23,300 --> 00:21:27,400 Not everyone who says to me Lord, Lord shall enter the kingdom of heaven. 307 00:21:27,400 --> 00:21:35,320 Jesus spoke here of a proper verbal confession where these ones called Jesus Lord there is 308 00:21:35,320 --> 00:21:37,120 vital but it's not enough. 309 00:21:37,120 --> 00:21:39,720 We misuse the language of Lord, Lord. 310 00:21:39,720 --> 00:21:45,680 We cannot be saved if we do not though hypocrites may say it we should not be ashamed to say 311 00:21:45,680 --> 00:21:49,160 it yet it alone is not enough. 312 00:21:49,160 --> 00:21:55,840 This warning of Jesus applies to people who speak or say things to Jesus or about Jesus 313 00:21:55,840 --> 00:21:57,760 but don't really mean it. 314 00:21:57,760 --> 00:22:04,480 It isn't that they believe Jesus is a devil they simply say the words very superficially. 315 00:22:04,480 --> 00:22:09,560 Their mind is elsewhere but they believe there is value in the bare words and fulfilling 316 00:22:09,560 --> 00:22:15,520 some kind of religious duty with no heart, no soul, no spirit only bare words and passing 317 00:22:15,520 --> 00:22:17,120 thoughts. 318 00:22:17,120 --> 00:22:18,120 Who says to me? 319 00:22:18,120 --> 00:22:23,920 Well say to me in that day it is staggering that Jesus claimed he is the one that people 320 00:22:23,920 --> 00:22:30,840 must stand before on the final day of judgment and he is the one rightly called Lord. 321 00:22:30,840 --> 00:22:36,880 This obscure teacher in a backwater part of the world claimed to be the judge of all men 322 00:22:36,880 --> 00:22:40,000 in the final day. 323 00:22:40,000 --> 00:22:46,640 Lord Lord have we not the people Jesus speaks of here had impressive spiritual accomplishments. 324 00:22:46,640 --> 00:22:53,600 They prophesied they cast out demons they did wonders wonderful things they meant nothing 325 00:22:53,600 --> 00:22:56,920 without true fellowship and true connection with Jesus. 326 00:22:56,920 --> 00:23:02,080 Jesus did not seem to doubt their claims doing the miraculous he didn't say you didn't really 327 00:23:02,080 --> 00:23:05,000 prophesy or cast out demons or do miracles. 328 00:23:05,000 --> 00:23:13,880 This leads us to understand that sometimes miracles are granted through pretending believers. 329 00:23:13,880 --> 00:23:19,240 Miracles prove nothing significantly they even did these things in the name of Jesus 330 00:23:19,240 --> 00:23:24,040 yet they never really had a relationship of love and fellowship with Jesus. 331 00:23:24,040 --> 00:23:30,000 I never knew you depart from me you who practice lawlessness in the end there is one basis 332 00:23:30,000 --> 00:23:35,760 of salvation it isn't mere verbal confession it's not spiritual works but knowing Jesus 333 00:23:35,760 --> 00:23:41,520 and being known by him it's our connection to him by the gift of faith that gives it 334 00:23:41,520 --> 00:23:45,760 to us that secures our relationship with him. 335 00:23:45,760 --> 00:23:51,240 Connecting to Jesus we're secure without connection to Jesus all the miracles and the great works 336 00:23:51,240 --> 00:23:53,080 prove absolutely nothing. 337 00:23:53,080 --> 00:23:58,400 In addition these are not people who lost their salvation instead they never truly had 338 00:23:58,400 --> 00:23:59,400 it. 339 00:23:59,400 --> 00:24:05,720 Now verse 24 through 27 therefore whoever hears these sayings of mine and does them 340 00:24:05,720 --> 00:24:10,720 will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock the rain descended the floods 341 00:24:10,720 --> 00:24:17,280 came the winds blew and beat on that house but it did not fail for it was founded on 342 00:24:17,280 --> 00:24:23,800 the rock but everyone who hears these sayings of mine and does not do them will be like 343 00:24:23,800 --> 00:24:29,560 a foolish man who built his house on the sand like the beach behind me and the rain descended 344 00:24:29,560 --> 00:24:36,160 and the floods came and the winds blew and beat on that house and it fell and great was 345 00:24:36,160 --> 00:24:37,160 its fall. 346 00:24:37,160 --> 00:24:40,920 Now I will liken him to a wise man who built on his rock. 347 00:24:40,920 --> 00:24:49,400 Now in Jesus' illustration of the two builders each house looked the same from the outside. 348 00:24:49,400 --> 00:24:55,480 The real foundation of our life is usually hidden and is only proven in the storm. 349 00:24:55,480 --> 00:25:01,840 We could say that the storms come from both heaven the rain and the earth the floods and 350 00:25:01,840 --> 00:25:07,400 the rain descended the floods came and the winds blew and beat on the house a storm was 351 00:25:07,400 --> 00:25:13,320 the ultimate in power to generations that didn't have nuclear weapons. 352 00:25:13,320 --> 00:25:19,360 Jesus warns us that the foundations of our lives will be shaken at one time or another 353 00:25:19,360 --> 00:25:21,000 and totally dismantled. 354 00:25:21,000 --> 00:25:26,000 It is in that moment we find out what our house is built of. 355 00:25:26,000 --> 00:25:33,080 It's better that we test the foundation of our life now rather than at the judgment before 356 00:25:33,080 --> 00:25:35,840 it's too late when we can't change our destiny. 357 00:25:35,840 --> 00:25:41,360 Now everyone who hears these sayings of mine and does not do them merely hearing God's 358 00:25:41,360 --> 00:25:47,680 word isn't enough to provide a secure foundation it is necessary that we're also doers of his 359 00:25:47,680 --> 00:25:48,680 word. 360 00:25:48,680 --> 00:25:52,880 If we're not we commit the sin that will surely find us out. 361 00:25:52,880 --> 00:25:59,040 The sin of doing nothing and great will be our fall. 362 00:25:59,040 --> 00:26:06,600 Yet no one can read this without seeing that they have not do not and will never completely 363 00:26:06,600 --> 00:26:11,360 do that even if we do them in a general sense in which we should. 364 00:26:11,360 --> 00:26:17,320 The revelation of the kingdom of God the sermon on the mount drives us back again and again 365 00:26:17,320 --> 00:26:22,760 as people who need Jesus to help us live for him and his teachings. 366 00:26:22,760 --> 00:26:28,040 28 and 29 and so it says when Jesus ended these sayings that the people were astonished 367 00:26:28,040 --> 00:26:35,520 at his teaching for he taught them as one having authority and not as the scribes. 368 00:26:35,520 --> 00:26:43,520 Now his audience could all but notice that Jesus taught as one who had authority not 369 00:26:43,520 --> 00:26:45,720 like the people who had taught before him. 370 00:26:45,720 --> 00:26:52,600 There's a difference between somebody who has authority and someone who has a fear. 371 00:26:52,600 --> 00:26:55,560 The people were astonished at his teachings. 372 00:26:55,560 --> 00:27:00,640 Now whenever whenever God's word is presented as it truly is with its inherent power it 373 00:27:00,640 --> 00:27:06,680 will astonish people and set itself apart from mere opinions and ideas. 374 00:27:06,680 --> 00:27:12,960 When we really understand Jesus's sermon on the mount we should be astonished also. 375 00:27:12,960 --> 00:27:18,680 If we are not astonished then we probably really haven't read it or understood it correctly 376 00:27:18,680 --> 00:27:20,220 as Jesus has said. 377 00:27:20,220 --> 00:27:24,920 To have the hearers astonished was a good thing but it was not good if that was the 378 00:27:24,920 --> 00:27:26,800 extent of the effect. 379 00:27:26,800 --> 00:27:34,440 A good teacher always wants to do far more than admonish his listeners. 380 00:27:34,440 --> 00:27:38,780 Now this wraps up our time together looking at Matthew chapter 7. 381 00:27:38,780 --> 00:27:42,040 Maybe you've never prayed before that was mentioned in this chapter. 382 00:27:42,040 --> 00:27:43,600 Prayer is just talking to God. 383 00:27:43,600 --> 00:27:46,440 Maybe you need to ask God to help you with your life. 384 00:27:46,440 --> 00:27:50,240 Maybe you need to quit doing some things that are disconnecting you from God. 385 00:27:50,240 --> 00:27:54,360 You know we can always ask for God's help for a fresh start. 386 00:27:54,360 --> 00:27:58,880 Let's pray together and you can just say God would you give me a fresh start today? 387 00:27:58,880 --> 00:28:00,360 Would you change my life? 388 00:28:00,360 --> 00:28:02,240 Would you help me to follow you? 389 00:28:02,240 --> 00:28:05,040 In Jesus name, Amen. 390 00:28:05,040 --> 00:28:11,720 Hope you join us tomorrow and as always have a great day. 391 00:28:11,720 --> 00:28:12,720 Thank you for your time. 392 00:28:12,720 --> 00:28:14,840 We would love to partner with you. 393 00:28:14,840 --> 00:28:15,840 Water is a global problem. 394 00:28:15,840 --> 00:28:19,560 It's going to take as many partners as we can to help solve this problem. 395 00:28:19,560 --> 00:28:20,560 We'd love for you to partner with us. 396 00:28:20,560 --> 00:28:21,560 You can go to our website at www.oceanwater.com. 397 00:28:21,560 --> 00:28:22,560 That's O-C-N-W-T-R dot com. 398 00:28:22,560 --> 00:28:23,560 We'd love that. 399 00:28:23,560 --> 00:28:50,480 Thanks a lot.