Jesus is in the middle of his Famous Sermon on the Mount. If you notice, many pastors give 3 pt sermons. Jesus is the man. This sermon is like a 15 pt sermon! He talked about murder, adultery, divorce, oaths, revenge, giving, prayer, etc.
Here in Ch. 7, he wraps it up and give two last points, one on Judging, and one on Praying. Then he concludes with final challenges.
Judging Others (v. 1-6)
1"Do not judge, or you too will be judged. 2For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.
3"Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? 4How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? 5You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye.
6"Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and then turn and tear you to pieces.
Paul says in 1 Cor. 5 that we should judge other Christians, and here Jesus says “Do not judge.” Who’s right here? Should we listen to Paul, who’s pretty godly, or should we listen to Jesus, who’s pretty GOD? The answer is: YES.
There’s different kinds of judgment in the Bible.
Judging to correct- making known their wrong so you can help them be right. If you have a bad habit of murdering people, I would bring that up and make it an issue, so you would stop!
Judging to condemn- making known a person’s wrong and looking down on them for it. Before I knew Monica, we always went to this church, and she tells me she always thought I was dumb. Like literally dumb. So she was shocked when she found out that I actually study!
I judged a classmate of mine for missing a week of school. I started giving her a hard time, only to find out her mom died.
So which one is Jesus talking about in this passage? Judging to Condemn or Judging to Restore? Answer: YES!
He’s don’t judge people to condemn them, because you’re guilty too!
If you’re always judging people and looking down on them and pointing out their wrong just to point them out, people will tend to treat you the same.
First, They’re never going to listen to you,
And then they’ll point out your wrong and look down on you. Yeah, they’re a sinner, but so are you!
Jesus doesn’t say don’t judge at all. “Don’t take the speck out of your brothers eye at all”. Jesus says before you take that speck, that little piece of wood from you brothers eye, take that huge plank of wood from yours first.
Jesus says don’t judge a brother and look down on him, but we should care to judge a brother in order to help correct a his wrong,
But we must first correct ourselves before expecting to help him with his problem.
Perhaps this way people will be willing to listen to us, because we’ve gone through it.
Plus, when you struggle to turn from your sin, then you might understand why it’s so hard for them. You’ll start to have more compassion for them because you know that it’s not an easy thing.
Here’s the thing… when something someone does really bothers us, and then we stop to examine ourselves before we go to bring up other people’s wrongs, we’ll find that we are guilty ourselves, and often times it’s the very same things!
EX: David and Nathan.
Do you remember when King David sinned? He sinned by taking Bathsheba, who was married to another man named Uriah. David was the king, he had concubines and could have had any wife he wanted. But he takes Uriahs! And then he gets Uriah killed in battle to cover it up and so that he could marry her.
So his friend Nathan comes to him, and tells him a story:
David was furious! “As surely as the LORD lives! This knuckle head deserves to die! He needs to pay four times over!
And Nathan says, David, you are the man. “Not YOU are the man!”
He didn’t realize that the sin that made him so angry was the sin that he himself was guilty of.
EX: Internet in Class. You know what I hate? When I’m in class, and I see other people checking websites like espn.com, myspace, email. I get so angry. And I would totally raise my hand and tell on them, but I can’t, cuz I need to finish updating my facebook.
A lot of times we are hypocrites, because we see flaws in other people, when we often have the flaws ourselves. We want to get rid of it in others, but fail to recognize our own need.
When someone does something that really bothers us, let’s stop first to let God search us to see if there’s anything we need to correct.
Sometimes God shows us another person’s flaws to get our attention regarding our own.
And when our sin is taken care of and realize the battle involved, then go and help your friend take care of his.
Ask, Seek, Knock (v. 7-12)
7"Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 8For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.
9"Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? 11If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!
12So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.
Did I just read what I think I read? That God will give us whatever we ask? That we just have to ask, and it will be given to us?
EX: When I was in college we were going on our Mexico trip.
We need our DL to go, but the day before as I was going home, I couldn’t find it. It was gone!
Wouldn’t it be great if I open my wallet and BAM! It’s there?
I was praying, God I know you can make it appear. Up to the last minute, after checking everywhere, I got on the freeway and that was it. I went home without it.
Jesus says 7"Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.” Meaning that you just have to ask God, and he’ll answer you.
Is that really true? This is a bold statement by Jesus. If you ask, you will receive?
What’s the catch? Well, did you catch the phrase in this promise?
(V. 11) the “Father in heaven will give good things to those who ask him.
That means if we ask for things that are good in God’s eyes, he’ll give it to you, if not, something better! He won’t give you something bad if you ask for something good!
He won’t give you stone instead of bread, or a snake instead of fish.
Ex: Bible and the Sports Car. The son who wanted a sports car, but got a Bible instead.
His father wanted to give him something good, but not just “good” in his sons eyes, but even greater.
In James 4, he says that we fight and quarrel because we don’t have what we want. He says we don’t have what we want because we don’t ask God!
But then he says, “Sometimes you ask, but you don’t receive. That’s because you asked with the wrong motives.
But Jesus says that when we ask for things that are good, The father loves to give good things to his children!
How do we know what things are good according to God?
The more we spend time with God, and read his word, and talk to him in prayer, the more we know him and the things He likes and dislikes, and the things that please him.
EX: If we pray like ‘God, please provide for us so that we can go on missions this summer to help the needy. We need $5000 so please help me to somehow find a bag of crack so I can sell it on the streets and raise enough money.
Now that’s way out of line. Way out of line of God’s idea of good.
I know it’s kind of silly, but I think we’d be surprised if we play a tape recording of some of our prayers
EX: when I was a Freshmen in high school, this is how mature and profound I was. I used to pray “God, please help all the girls to like me.” He’s still waiting to get back to me on that one.
So how can we know what things are good? The more we study God’s word and the teachings of Christ, the deeper we will understand the heart of God and what is good.
15 years later, I no longer pray prayers like “Please help the girls to like me.”
Come to God and ask, and if it’s good, you will receive, seek and find, knock and it will open.
It might not be in the way you imagined, or even the way you thought was best, but if it’s good according to God, He is faithful and good to give you what you ask for!
EX:
That night I went to church kind of bummed. I Couldn’t help think about it during church worship and BS.
He didn’t make my DL appear. I mean, isn’t missions good? Why wouldn’t he answer my prayer?
After church, about 10:30, I went down to get some food, and my dad was there!
He said, you got a letter in the mail. That’s weird, cuz Dad never checks mail.
I open it, and it’s my DL! Someone found it and mail it to my home address!
Ask, seek, knock. It might not be in the way we expect, but his will be done!
Conclusion
Jesus just finished his famous sermon, which we call the sermon on the mount. He’s talked about the beatitudes, the law, oaths to murder, adultery, divorce, revenge, giving, prayer, fasting, treasures, worrying, judging, asking. And now he’s coming to a close.
And of course every good sermon ends with an invitation. Kind of like “What are you going to do now? How will you respond?
Jesus closes with a series of 2’s: 2 Paths, 2 Prophets, 2 Practices. You gotta choose one.
Two Paths- The Narrow and the Wide (v. 13-14)
13"Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. 14But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.
Ex: Disneyland door. When you go to Disneyland, this is crazy, but I walked through the castle door before. Everyone walks through that big door, and they think they’re going to enjoy everything in there. But there’s a small door that if you look for it, you will find it. If you find it, which few do, you can walk through the beautifully decorated and illustrated tour of the castle, the inside of the Kingdom.
The door to eternal life isn’t the default path that everyone is headed toward. Everyone is headed toward hell, the path of death and destruction. But if there is a door, a path to life. But if you look for the path to life, and you really seek it, you will find it. How?
Ask, it will be given.
Seek and you will find.
Knock, and the door will be opened.
Christ says I am the way. I am the gate. If you ask, you won’t be rejected. You can choose to go the way most people seem to be going, where it seems fun and entertaining.
Or you can go the less popular way, in the way of Christ, and find out there’s much more there than the world can ask for.
Which path will you choose?
Two Prophets- The Good and the Bad (v. 15- -23)
15"Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. 16By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thorn bushes, or figs from thistles? 17Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. 19Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.
21"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' 23Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'
Jesus just finished giving a long sermon, with all kinds of teachings from the law. And people are mesmerized by his teaching.
And as he closes, he says, be careful who you listen to. Many people will come dressed as nice people who want to lead you, but some are really out to devour you.
They want to control you, or take from you, or cause you to do things according to their selfish motives.
Jesus says that not everyone who seems good and seems like they do great things for God are truly known by God. Although they may lead great churches and seem like super Christians, some have never really come to know God.
“But Jesus, wouldn’t that put you on the spot, and make them doubt you? How do they know you’re of God?”
Christ says, by their fruit. By the way that they live. If they bear good fruit and the things they do and say are according to God, then you know that they are a good tree.
A bad teacher cannot live a good Christian life. If he can, he’s probably a good Christian.
But a good Christian isn’t just what you see on Sundays at Church or Friday nights. A good Christian is what you see Monday through Friday, behind the scenes and in front of the scenes.
Be careful who you follow. Watch their life closely, and choose whom you will follow.
Two Practices- The Hearer and the Doer (v. 24-29)
24"Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. 26But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash."
28When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching, 29because he taught as one who had authority, and not as their teachers of the law.
EX: When I was little, I used to love to build sand castles. What’s like the given rule to sand castles? When you build it, it will come, meaning the waves always come and wash it away. Even when you think you’re far enough away, there’s this one way that seems to find you.
I was at a retreat last week, and we stayed in a Beach house. But Beach house is an understatement, because this house was so close to the ocean. When it’s lowtide, the water level is low and you can see the sand and it’s like a beach. But when it’s high tide, the waves are literally crashing against the concrete wall that the house is built on. There’s pictures of massive waves crashing against the house, even reaching to the second story of the house.
But for some reason, we weren’t huddling together and praying that the walls wouldn’t come tumbling down. No, we just worshipped, studied God’s word, played games and hung out. We were on solid ground.
Many of you guys come every Sunday and hear different people teach. Some even come every Friday. Well, I know the other leaders would never say this, but I’d ike to say “BIG WHOOP”.
And I know many of you guys during the small group time after this probably know all the answers to all the questions and know every thing about the bible passage. “BIG WHOOP!”
Jesus says so what if you hear what I teach. If you don’t obey them and put them into practice, you are a foolish little man who builds his house on the sand. It has no foundation. When the tough stuff comes, like rain and wind, that house will fall apart.
Our life, when tough times come, like when you’re not doing well in school, or when you’re not getting along with your parents, or your friends are mad at you, you will come falling apart.
Why? Cuz you haven’t been living out the words of God.
God wants you to hear them, and he wants you to come to church every week.
Don’t just hear, and think that you’re an amazing Christian because you have perfect attendance at church and answer all the questions right.
Do what it says. Live it out, and you’ll be like the strong house.
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