"I AM the Way, the Truth and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. If you really knew Me, you would know My Father as well. From now on, you know Him and have seen Him." John 14: 6-7 |
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| Reverend Noreen T. Kevern 520-237-0329 |
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| Searching in the Sermon on the Mount, Part V “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” Matthew 7:1-2 These are probably the most misunderstood verses in Scripture. That is because people do not know the next part of this Scripture. “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? How 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? You 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” (Matthew 7:3-5). Here within lies the rub. Before we can be of any help to others we have to look deep within ourselves. Jesus is stating that our own sins are clearly much larger than that of others. We are so quick to look at another and judge them harshly, but are so slow at judging oneself. And the cold hard fact is this, the thing that usually annoys us about another person is the very “plank” that is in us. Yes, the very thing that we hate is the thing that we are doing, but we don’t see it in ourselves. Jesus wants us to search our inner selves, to make ourselves “plank-less” so that we can go on and help others. And that is why people don’t want to judge others, because they are commanded by Jesus to judge themselves first. Have you judged yourself lately? If not, it’s time for a soul-searching date, to come before God and ask Him to show you all that “needs” to be corrected in your own life. We are all far from perfect so if you think that you can readily judge another beware of the trap of self-acceptance. We have to work out the kinks in ourselves daily for it is hard to be perfect as God is. Have you been angry or upset over something that someone is doing? Then first look to yourself and change, then you will be able to help the other person. Don’t just jump into helping another see their sin, cleanse yourself first. “So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets” (Matthew 7:12). This next section is a key point to the Sermon. Jesus sums it up for us to learn. “Do unto others” does not merely mean to do things that you want to be done to you, but to always think before you act. That’s the hardest point, thinking before you act. Solomon said: “He who trusts in himself is a fool, but he who walks in wisdom is kept safe” (Proverbs 28:26). Are you a fool thinking that you know it all? And acting that way to others? Believe me no one knows it all even the most intelligent person has something to learn. “Ask, seek, and knock” for God’s wisdom, for unless you do so, you will not understand how to do unto others as you would like them to do to you. When your child asks you for food, you don’t give them something bad, but something that will nourish them. Wisdom is nourishment for our souls and we need to ask God for it, seek it in His Word, and open up your mind to let it fill you with what you need. When we have God’s wisdom, our food, we will be able to follow God’s law perfectly. This is our daily bread. “But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it (Matthew 7:14). This is probably the least looked at Scripture because it is a warning from God. Jesus is telling us that our Salvation is in our hands and it is up to us to live it out in our lives. If you can learn this from this Sermon, you will have gained your Salvation. Our lives are a long and winding road, full of pitfalls and curves. We have let far too many of those pitfalls and curves invade our very souls, and have allowed the evil one control over our lives. The devil has put before us the very things that are against God’s law, and has use God’s own words to trap man. Leviticus 18:22, “Do not lie with a man as one lies with a woman, that is detestable. Exodus 20: “You shall not misuse the Name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses His Name. Exodus 20:14, “You shall not commit adultery. Exodus 20:16, “You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor. God said; “Be holy because I, the Lord your God, AM holy.” We learned that Jesus said the same thing in the Sermon in Matthew 5:48, “Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” Holy is perfect and perfect is holy, all else falls far below. We have allowed a slow fade, a creeping in of all that God does not want us to do. We have allowed Satan to gain control over areas in our lives that God says “NO!” to. We cannot change God’s law, it is holy and perfect, but we can change ourselves. We can stop accepting the things that the evil one says is all right. Marriage is between a man and a woman. Committing adultery is never right, and the sin of homosexuality is just as much a sin as adultery. Lying is a sin as much as using the Name of the Lord in vain. What don’t you understand about what God says, His laws are simply stated, but we have put the “blinders” on away from what God says, and allow the evil one to keep us from learning God’s wisdom. This Scripture is a warning to each one of us, we must live our lives as Christ did, ever having temptation before us, but choosing not to fall into temptation. You cannot allow evil into your lives and go to heaven. It’s that simple. This one verse is the whole reason that we must learn God’s Word and live our lives in fear, fear that if we don’t follow the way of the Lord, we will end up in hell. We can’t just pick and choose which of God’s commands that we are going to follow. We have to follow all of them. “Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them (Matthew 19-20). We are known by what we do, what we say and how we live our lives. We cannot sit in judgment, telling others what they need to do, unless we first cleanse ourselves of all sin. Our fruits are how God will know we are showing others, His way. This next verse, reinforces the Gate: “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 (Matthew 7:21). We can claim to be Christians, but God is going to judge us on how we followed His way. He will not force you to follow, but in His mercy, He has given us His very Word to guide us and to teach us the Way, the Truth and the Life. Anything less, will not get us into heaven. But by living our lives in reverent fear, we can chose to work each day at being holy, being perfect. When we fail, we have to pick ourselves up and work out in our lives the things that God requires, and not allow our eyes to be on anything but God. The key is to surrender our very self to God and allow Him to be first in our lives. Our focus is Jesus, the Way, the Truth and the Life. If we don’t understand Who Jesus is, and what Jesus said, and know that He is the “perfector of life,” that through learning God’s Word we will come to His truth, we will live our lives in vain. But if you can come to God each day, learning from Him, eating His daily bread, and daily working out in your life, His Way, His Truth and His Life, you will be able to stand before God and be judged to enter the “small gate” into the kingdom of heaven. Any other road leads to hell. “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. The 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. But 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. The rain came down and the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash” Matthew (7:24-27). Jesus brings us to this: we have to depend on God, living our lives firmly planted in the rock of God, only then will we be able to withstand the winds and storms of our lives. If our foundation is weak, if we allow the evil one to plant us in quicksand, we will crash into the pit of hell. |
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