Thank you for tuning us in. Wednesday in the Word, I'm Darrell Bailey, Servants for Christ. As we get into our Wednesday in the Word message, as we talk about the sin we all indulge in, and if you're trying to guess what that is, judging. Every one of us can be critical of someone and we are all indulging this sin at some time or another when we judge somebody, criticize somebody. We'll be talking about four truths Jesus taught on judging here in Wednesday in the Word. Take your Bibles over to Matthew chapter seven, verses one through six. Matthew chapter seven, verses one through six. This is Wednesday, August the 29th, 2023, the 13th of Elul, 5783 of the Hebrew calendar. As we get into our message, let's have a word of prayer. before we go into our message. Heavenly Father, we ask that you would, Lord, take our eyes, that we might see the truth that would be the spirit that, Lord, that would bring truth to penetrate our hearts, that we would see ourselves as we are, and that we would not fool ourselves into thinking that we are more righteous than we are, and that we might see those areas which our eyes lives displease you. And so, Father, may we not fool ourselves into thinking that we are somebody that we're not. Lord, encourage us by your word to be resolved, to be conformed into the image of Christ in an attitude, in a thought, in a speech. And, oh Lord, teach us by your word this Wednesday in the word as we pray all for Christ's glory and for your people's good. May you receive all the glory and honor, everything that's said and done. Lord, we also pray for Rusty for his upcoming knee surgery. Lord, I pray for many of our family, Barbara Yarborough and all the Clintons. Lord, I pray for them, Lord, as they're still grieving. I pray for the Jenkins family. as well. Lord, I pray God that you will just continue to wrap your loving arms around them. Lord, for Shelva Baker, Lita's aunt, Lord, that has cancer. And Lord, I also pray God for our church, Bethel Crossroads, and for all those that are having surgeries as well. Lord, I pray God for the many prayer requests that have been sent across. Lord, we may not go into all the details, but you know each and every area of those. And I lift them up in the name of Jesus Christ. And I asked you, Father, to do what no one else can do. And Lord, we just give them into your care and hands. In Jesus' marvelous mighty name. Amen. All right. Now. As we get into this passage, Matthew chapter 7, we'll be reminded of the area of how that we relate to people because how we relate to people or who are at fault in our lives sometimes, the Lord is speaking of an issue, how that We learn some great things about how we speak about our neighbor, and it reveals how our experiences of grace are. Because if we're quick to condemn someone, then perhaps we've not been refreshed by the freedom of God's mercy. And so here, as we speak on in Wednesday in the Word, the sin we all indulge in, if we're not ready to be merciful, then perhaps we ourselves have not known the mercy and the love of God that's been shed abroad in all of our hearts. So here, Christ's directives is about how we ought to speak and correct those who are at fault, that we have an opportunity to learn about our own hearts and learn if we have grasped God's grace in the way that we ought to grasp it. And so here tonight, we look at the Sermon on the Mount. in the Sermon on the Mount, here in the area of the Beatitudes. Here when I was there in 2008 with John Hagee Ministries, we began to realize that out of all of this, Jesus is telling us that there's a final court of judgment. He's reminding us that one day we're going to face this final judgment as we stand before God, who is the righteous judge and the judge of all. And so, the sin that we all indulge in, Jesus himself is our best representative of this living, of not judging others, because he shows us by his life, by his speech, how important it is to link what we say with the way that we live. And so the Apostle Paul, the greatest apostle of them all, was oh so in persuasion, in writing to the believers in Rome, that he talked about, he says, you therefore have no defense. You who sit in judgment, whoever you may be, for in judging your fellow man, you condemn yourself since you, the judge, are equally guilty. And so Paul is telling us, later on in Romans 14, 4, he says, who are you to pass judgment on someone else, his servant? Whether he stands or falls is his own master's business. And so every one of us, We've all met and known those who were always judging and criticizing others. I heard about an evangelist that was standing at the back door with the pastor after the service, and he was shaking hands with the people as they were leaving. And this little boy, he walked up and he said, that was the poorest sermon I've ever heard. And in a few minutes, that little boy came through the line again and he said, you'll never preach in this church again. And a few minutes later, he came through a third time and he said, you won't get much of an offering from here. And so, you know what? The pastor told him, he says, listen, that little boy, don't pay no attention to him. He's only saying what he's heard somebody else say. So don't pay no attention to him. And so, you know what? The Jewish rabbis in Jesus' day taught that there were like six great works. And I'll talk about that in just a minute. But Dietrich Bonhoeffer said, judging others makes us blind, whereas love is illuminating. And by judging others, we blind ourselves to our own evil and to the grace which others are just as entitled to as we are. And so, As I was saying, the Jewish rabbis in Jesus' day taught that there were six great works. Well, I tell you what, before I do get into that, let me hold off for a minute, but basically there are several reasons why people tend to judge and criticize, and that is they criticism boosts their own self-image. They like to point out someone else's failures and tear them down and all. So it adds to their own pride and ego and self-criticism is simply enjoyed by some people. It's a tendency in human nature to take pleasure in hearing and sharing bad news and shortcomings. That's terrible the way people do those things. Criticism makes us feel that our own lives morally and behavior are better than the person who failed. Criticism helps us justify the decisions that we've made and the things that we've done throughout our lives. We've rationalized our decisions and acts by pointing out the failures of others. And then criticism points out to our friends how strong we are. because criticism gives good feeling because our rigid beliefs and strong lives are proven again. But how are they proven? By our failures. And so here is several reasons why a lot of people tend to judge and criticize. And that is, criticism is an outlet for hurt and revenge. We feel that he or she deserves it. And subconsciously, consciously we think, He hurt me or she hurt me and they deserve to hurt too. And so we criticize those who we failed. And so there are several reasons why no person should ever criticize. And that is all the circumstances and all the facts are never known. You know, somebody going to tell their side of the story. They're going to leave out every bit of the facts and they're going to tell it the way they want it to be told. All people, religious as well as non-religious, come short. They fail and they fall. Listen, every one of us, there's nobody that's perfect out there. And it does not mean that we have license to sin nor that our sin is excused. We are not to continue in sin, not by criticizing nor by doing any other evil, but we must acknowledge our weakness and remember that the person who really knows God is the person who is ever seeking God. The writer of Hebrews says, he that cometh to God must believe that he is and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. All there is to know about a person is never known. You'll never know all the truth about why somebody did what they did, of all the things that took place. But certainly we can never know one another well enough to pass a judgment. But also judging others up shows God's authority. And when a person criticizes another, he's saying that he or she has the right to be the judge over their lives. And he's claiming the right to be God, which mostly claimed to the right at one time or another. And you know what? None of us has the right to exercise that. And so as we look and realize that here, The Bible says in Matthew 7.1, Judge not that you be not judged. For with that what judgment you judge, you shall be judged and with what measure you meet it shall be measured to you again. Now, don't worry. I'm reading the scripture and then I'm going to go back and put that scripture up and then I'm going to go through it. So don't worry if it seems like I'm going very quickly through this. I'm going to take time to go through the sin that we all indulge in. And so, makes me think of the old saying back when I was growing up, here comes the judge, here comes the judge. Somebody's always judging us, but we need to get the beam out of our own eye. And why? Beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but consider not the beam that is in thine own eye? Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, let me pull out the mote out of thy eye, and behold, a beam is in thine own eye. And so, Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thy own eye, and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye. Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye pearls before the swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again, and rend you. And so, As I said earlier, the Jewish rabbis in Jesus' day taught that there were six great works that brought a man credit in this world and profit in the world to come. Number one, to study, to visit the sick, hospitality, devotion, and prayer, the education of children, and law of the Old Testament, of the Pentateuch, thinking the best of other people. Here, these are some of the things that a lot of them thought, you know what, If we do these, how quick we are to think the worst of others and how slow to think the best. It's been said that in judging others, that people will work overtime for no pay. And, you know, it's sad that people want to downtrodden people. And so when we continue looking at the Sermon on the Mount, we see that Jesus talks to us about judging others. The word judge that Jesus used is to make a decision about something or someone. And so, you know, as we look and realize that Jesus used it to make a decision about something or or someone else to come to a certain conclusion about something or someone. But the word was used to describe someone condemning another in a censorous way, he was talking about coming to a certain conclusion about someone being critical of that person. Now when it comes to judging others, there was a story about a dog named August and the dog was always jumping to conclusions and one day he jumped at the conclusion of a mule and that was the last day of August. When Jesus talks about judging others, he's talking about us coming to hasty conclusions. And so we look and we begin to realize that how quick we are to think the worst of others and how slow to think the best. It's been said that judging others, folks will work overtime for nothing. And so. When we look, one of the first things that what Jesus said about judging others is, is the responsibility that we take individually. Because what is it that we say? He says, judge not that you be not judged, for with what judgment you judge, you shall be judged. And with what measure you meet, it shall be measured to you again. Now, Jesus described how when we judge others, we take on individuality, a certain responsibility that is not our responsibility. Because a judgment that we await, Christ's words that we see is a judgment that all of us await. Embedded in what Jesus said is the thought of a judgment that awaits us. Jesus made it clear that there's a future judgment that's awaiting each and every one of us because in verse 2, ye shall be judged. And listen, he didn't say may, but he says, for with what judgment ye judge, ye shall. There's no may to it. He says you gonna be judged. It may not be a subject that you like to think about, but the simple truth of the matter is that one day each of us are going to stand before God. I'm glad the Hebrew writer says in Hebrews 12, 23, it speaks of God as the judge of all. 2 Timothy 4, 8, the Lord called the righteous judge. Hebrews 10.30, the Lord shall judge his people. And Paul said in Romans 2.16, a day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ. So there's coming a day when we'll be personally standing before God, giving an account of our lives. And when each of us will personally stand before God as we do this, Paul said in 2 Corinthians 5.10, that it tells us that we're going to give an account of the things done in our life that are good or bad. Matthew 12 36 tells us that the day of judgment will even give an account for all the idle words that we spoken in this body. And you know, when you went to school, you get in trouble by the teacher. Hey, that's no big deal. But if you ended up in the principal's office, you were in some dire trouble. You done something that took you all the way up to the front office where the principal is. And man, I'm going to tell you, that's not a good thing. Imagine what it'll be like when we stand before God. Think about that for just a minute. Jesus is telling us that there's a final court of judgment. He's reminding us that one day we're going to face that final judgment and we're going to stand, excuse me, before God and the righteous judge, the judge of all. And so Jesus' words speak of the judgment that we assume because Jesus described how when we judge others, we're taking upon ourselves the responsibility of judge and jury. And when Jesus spoke of that judgment that awaits us, he was reminding us that the responsibility of judge and judgment belongs to God and not to man. And so every one of us, that's solely reserved for God only. He's telling us that when we sit in judgment on others, we are assuming the responsibility that is reserved only for God. And so that's why Jesus said in verse one, judge not that you be not judged. Jesus was telling us that if we judge others, God is going to judge us for judging others. And so in the simple words, he said, if you want to play God, you just go ahead. But one day you're going to meet the God and when you do, you're going to learn right fast who is God. And with that same measure, you judged others. He's going to judge you. And so we need to think about that every time when we're passing judgment on someone. That we must judge ourselves before we judge others. And by what standard we use in judging others will be the same standard by which we will be judged. And so the disciples of Jesus, they needed to know that these religious Pharisees did not judge themselves before judging others. And because of their hypocritical judgment, they would now be judged by their own standard they used against others. Very, very strong warning. and language that Jesus is using here as he's critical in pointing out the flaws in others. Every one of us, you can be certain that Jesus says that your failures will be pointed out. And so, for with what judgment you judge, you shall be judged. The words, the moat and the beam that are used in the King James in verses three and four in just a minute and verse five are rendered speck and log. You know, and so G. Campbell Morgan said, when men look for moats, the passion that makes them do so is a beam more guilty in the sight of heaven than the moat for which they look. There's nothing more ungodly than a critical spirit, nothing more unChristly than that false righteousness, which is always looking for a moat. Once let the beam be removed, then will come Christ-like spirit that knows how with gentle delicate touch to remove the moat that the brother's vision may be clear." And so the difference between a log of wood in my own eye, which is a major fault and a splinter of wood in the eye of another is a minor fault. So we instantly catch something of the righteous indignation of Jesus as he describes this, amen. And so when we look and we begin to realize that The question that needs to be asked is who made us the judge? You know, because every one of us, when we look and find ourselves passing judgment on others, we ought to stop and remind ourselves individually that we're not God. Think with me of not only the responsibility that we take on ourselves, but when we see this, individually but also the review that we take individually because here as we instead of being a judge in a jury of others we're to be concerned with our own lives and so we see that Jesus spoke of the failures that we criticize in others the review we take individually because in verses three and four and why beholdest thou the moat that is in thy brother's eye but consider us not the beam that is in thy own eye Hmm. He's describing someone finding a fault or a failure in another person based on his or her own standards and opinions and then sitting in judgment on that person. He's talking about judging and criticizing things in the lives of others. He says, behold us. It carries the idea of staring at. It speaks of someone looking for something to criticize in another person. And so the words of Jesus and the moat in another's eye, something in that person's life that they don't like, they disagree with, etc. And in a self-righteous attitude, they criticize and even attack the person for what they think is wrong. But then, or how will thou say to thy brother, let me pull out the mote out of thine own eye? And behold, a beam is in thine own eye. You know, he's telling us that even we go so far as to confront that person, telling him what is wrong and what they need to get right. And the simple, plain, honest truth is that we can always find something wrong in a person if we look for it. It may surprise one or two of you, but there's no perfect people out there in the world. There's no perfect preachers. There's no perfect pastors. There's no perfect deacons. There's no perfect church because we've got this fleshly nature that we contend with, you know. And so As we all look and realize that a preacher asked his congregation one Sunday if anybody knew of someone that was perfect. And one man raised his hand and the preacher said, and who would that be? And the man replied, my wife's first husband. There was a perfect man. There was a perfect woman. They met each other at a perfect party. They dated for two perfect years. They had a perfect wedding, a perfect honeymoon. They had two perfect children. One day, the perfect man and the perfect woman were driving into their perfect car and they saw Santa Claus at the side of the road being the perfect people they were. They picked him up because they didn't want to make their children, their perfect children who were at home with their perfect babysitter, mad because it was close to Christmas. Well, as that perfect man and Perfect Woman were driving with Santa Claus, somehow they got into an accident. Two people died and one lived. Who died and who lived? The question. It was the Perfect Woman because the Perfect Man and Santa Claus aren't real. You see? And so, I hate to disappoint, ladies, but there's no one who is perfect. If you look hard enough you'll find someone or somebody to criticize and the failures that we criticize and others but also the failures we consider in ourselves because in verses 3 and 4 Jesus described the one who judges as having a beam in their eye and one who is being judged as having a moat in their eye. The word moat that Jesus used speak of a speck of dust or dirt. Sometimes used to speak of a splinter, but on the other hand, the word beam, it speaks of a plank. We might say a two by four. Jesus was saying, you're judging someone because they have a splinter in the eye and all the time there's a two by four in your own eye. Hey, you like my picture I found. And so every one of us as we go through life, we realize that T. DeWitt Talmadge says, I lay this down as a rule without exception that those people who have the most faults themselves are the most merciless in their watchings of others from the scalp of head to soles of feet. They're full of jealousies and hypercriticism. They spend their life hunting for muskrats and mud turtles instead of hunting for Rocky Mountain creatures and soaring eagles. And they are always looking for something mean instead of something grand. And so every one of us, you know what? I'm glad that as we look and realize that the sin that we all indulge in, people make themselves judges of others. And splinters are in their eyes when they have two by fours in their own eyes. Jesus was making it that first of all, it's not our place to judge people. And so instead of acting as if we are God, we should be reviewing our own life, understanding that every one of us, as we look at this, that as we move along, what Jesus said about judging others is the responsibility that we take individually, the review that we take individually, and then the response that we take individually. Because here in verse 5, thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thy own eye, and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the moat out of thy brother's eye. You see, Jesus describes a response that we should take for ourselves individually, instead of sitting in judgment on people, we should take certain personal steps. Because after we applied our principles into our life, how that judging ourselves first as the Holy Spirit brings things to light, we're now ready to begin to deal with the speck or the splinter that is in the eye of another. because we have a moral responsibility to judge the immoral behavior of others who are living in open sin. You see, we are fruit inspectors. We as believers must never take a back seat when it comes to moral teachings of Jesus as on the pages of the New Testament. But in so doing, it must not be done only done after much prayer, but also spiritual wisdom and discernment. to be able to help somebody but not criticize them. And so as we point out the faults in others that while we ignore and say that there's also faults ourselves, but I'm glad that we're not on the jury. And so we need to abstain from reaching a verdict. And before we can evaluate anyone else, we need to evaluate ourselves. This is the application. Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother or sister's eye and pay no attention to the plank that is in your own eye? Now, you know, as we look at this, we're reminded, it says in verse six, give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast you your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet and turn again and rend you. And so, There's always somebody out there slinging mud. And you know what? The ones that are the mud slingers are probably the ones that are probably doing something themselves. A very good illustration of this is we look back at when Bill Clinton was going through the Monica Lewinsky scandal. Well, all of a sudden, two of his most outraged, outspoken critics were Gary Condit and Newt Gingrich. And in the time that we learned that both men were involved in extra activities of their own, is that sad? At the very same time that they were blasting President Clinton, they were doing basically the same thing. And so, can you imagine that's how it is out there in the world? The same thing when Jim Baker was caught up with the Jessica Hahn scandal, his most outspoken critic was Jimmy Swagger. That was blasting Jim Baker and he was involved in his own things. Ain't it sad? Maybe we don't condemn people who make the same mistakes we make. We just condemn people who make different kinds of mistakes, bigger mistakes as far as we're concerned. But I know people who can't control their temper. And maybe they scream and they yell, maybe at their family members and all those. They have a hard time of controlling that. But you know what? If you're not punctual, you know, in their mind, losing your temper is just a little thing. Punctuality is a big thing. And that's the way that people see the world. Your sin is always worse than my sin. And that's why it's so difficult for people to be critical of pastors and ministries sometimes because they know that while they're pointing out their faults and shortcomings, that they may be overlooking their own. And so the guidelines that if you're not on the jury, abstain from reaching a verdict. And before you evaluate anyone else, evaluate yourself. and don't criticize a problem or a person unless you're ready to be a part of that solution. Church members have a bad habit of criticizing areas in the church in which they're not involved. Some people have no connection to the children's ministry. They don't like the way the children's ministry is being done. So what do they do? They volunteer to help, but to make things better? No, not typically. Typically, they just criticize. They just cast their disapproval in the direction of all who sacrifice time and effort to do the children's ministry because it's easier to criticize than it is to get involved. And it's the same with your children. It's the same with your spouse. It's easy to criticize. It's easy to complain. And so every one of us, if we look at ourselves, we'll have nobody to criticize. And so all the sin that every one of us, it's the sin that we all indulge in. Every one of us, as everything began to come out, Jimmy Swagger was the biggest one. That was the voice when he was right in the middle of doing wrong himself. Now, has he got forgiveness? Yes. He's put that behind him. He's moved on with his ministry. And there's ministers that's done the same thing. And praise God for that, you know. And so as when you're dealing with a Christian brother within the fellowship of the church, how many Christians that you know who have not judged and condemned the law in their own eye, and yet they're not humble, they're not understanding, they're not sympathetic, they're not charitable when speaking about another brother's or sister's fault. But mark you, we must speak the truth in love to another only after we have taken Paul's words to heart, who are spiritual, that he says, should restore them gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted." Now, when you go to read this later, go over to the book of Galatians, chapter 6, verse 1, amen, and you'll be able to find something. And so, every one of us, here are three guidelines to follow. If you're not on the jury, abstain from reaching a verdict. That's what I just told you. Before you evaluate anyone else, evaluate yourself. I wanted to make this crystal clear. Thirdly, because this is the third time that I've said this, don't criticize a problem or a person unless you're ready to be a part of the solution. This is your application that you need to put because Every one of us, what first must be done? Jesus said that the first thing that we must do is remove the beam from our own eye, deal with our own faults and failures first. Then it's not a one of us without faults and failures. We all have our own faults. We all have our own failures to be concerned about. And so a word that speaks of that which is first in place, time and importance, the priority of our lives ought to be removing the things from our life That is not right. Before we get on someone else's case, we need to clean up our own life. And once this step has been taken, thank God, you know what? Then what finally can be done is what was said in verse five. And then shall thou see clearly to cast out the moat out of thy brother's eye. Jesus was speaking of helping others deal with their failures. When we've dealt with our own failures, then we're able to see things clearly and help others with their failures. Jesus is not ignoring the fact that there are faults and failures in others. There are always, all there is, the moat that's in our eye, he's saying is that when our heart is right, we will view the faults and failures of others in a different way. And that's exactly what I was saying earlier. Only when we see ourselves individually ourselves as we really are, that we're able to clearly see others. Instead of having a judgmental and critical spirit, we will have the attitude that says, but for the grace of God, there go I. The motive will be to help others rather than to hurt them. And so if you read later on in verses seven and eight, Ask, and it shall be given you. Seek, and ye shall find. Knock, and it shall be opened unto you. For everyone that asketh, receiveth. He that seeketh, findeth. And to him that knocketh, it shall be opened. G. Campbell Morgan believes that in verse 7 through 11, Jesus gives us the answer as how we may accomplish this matter of judging righteously. That's another message for another time. But take it to heart. Read verses 7 all the way to verse 11 of Matthew chapter 7. Because in verses 1 through 6 that we read, Jesus describes the divine attitude we as believers are to have as subjects of his kingdom. And so in verses 7 through 11, he sets the action that we as his disciples are to take in order to fulfill the command he's given us. Give ear again to his words. Ask. Seek. and knock of verse 7. And so as he gets to the end on his Sermon on the Mount, as he begins to sum up everything, praise God, as he encourages his disciples to maintain a continual dependence on God for the needed attitude of wisdom strengthened and carried out of that command, praise God, that he bestows upon us the wisdom and the power both to stop judging the unholy way and to start judging the Christian way. Christians will never walk the road of victory in this area until they reach the place of living up to the golden rule, which is the capstone of the entire discourse that Jesus stated in verse 12. So in everything do to others what you would have them do to you for this sums up the law and the prophets. Such a life is only possible through the indwelling and the in working of God's Holy Spirit. Praise God. So we first examine ourselves and then we take the log out of our own eyes then repent. In other words, as we take the log out of our own eye, how do we do that? Full repentance. You repent. You repent of your own sins, and then you seek to have a broken heart for the sin of others. I'm glad there was a young minister, and the first thing that he wanted to do was to begin establishing public rebukes for the various sins of the members of the congregation. You might imagine the congregation, they blew apart. An older, wiser Presbyterian minister pulled him aside and he said, young man, in the old Southern Presbyterian church, we felt that it was our privilege to first weep with a man before we disciplined him. That was very good advice. We must come to weep for the sins of others. Then we must seek to correct them. And finally, the Lord Jesus teaches us then to correct or reprove the brethren with a view to building them up, not to tearing them down. Thank God. every one of us as we get ready to close out. Disapproval is toxic. It only damages your relationship with others and it damages your relationship with God because it causes you to see yourself as a little bit better than anyone else. And it causes you to focus on your sinless than anyone else. And it causes you to stay uninvolved and distant from everyone else. And I can say with certainly that no one in this world needs your disapproval. You're not helping anyone with your condemnation, but I can certainly say that God has placed in your life needs to bring encouragement. And I'm glad as we close out Wednesday in the word, the sin that we all indulge in. If you're not where you need to be spiritually or professionally or personally, then your challenge is to get involved and help them take the next steps in the right direction. Be the voice in their life that says, I'm not here to knock you down. I am here to build you up and to encourage you. Father, thank you for your word. We ask that you would enable us to hear that word and to become doers of the word. Lord, Do not allow us, O Lord, to slip its application, but to help us, O Lord, to sit under its judgment, to see the mercy of God flow in our own lives and in the way that we treat others. We ask these things in Jesus' mighty, marvelous name. Amen. Thank you for tuning us in. God bless you.