The speaker introduces the central section of the sermon and its significance.

Introduction

Explanation of the law, prophets, and Jesus' fulfillment of them.

Understanding the Law and Prophets

Discussion on the common and complicated nature of judging others.

Judging Others

Exploration of the need for self-improvement before judging others.

Plank Pulling and Spec Picking

Guidance on discerning when and with whom to share valuable teachings.

Sharing Truth Wisely

Encouragement to seek and receive from the Heavenly Father.

Seeking and Receiving from God

Understanding the context and importance of seeking, asking, and knocking for important things highlighted in the sermon.

The Importance of Seeking, Asking, and Knocking

Encouragement to insistently ask God's help for overcoming barriers to a flourishing life in Christ, and actively pursuing the desired outcomes.

Insistently Asking God's Help

Considering actions combined with prayer to achieve desired outcomes and seeking answers in the Word.

Actions Combined with Prayer

Being intentional about incorporating spiritual practices, seeking support from the Christian community, and confessing sins openly.

Spiritual Practices and Support

Understanding the metaphor of knocking and the importance of persisting in prayer.

The Metaphor of Knocking

Being persistent in prayer for unsaved relatives and the strength it brings to our faith.

Persistence in Prayer

Understanding the significance of treating others as you want to be treated and reflecting the love and grace of God to others.

The Golden Vision

- The speaker discusses the importance of not judging others and the challenges of managing our hearts when it comes to judging
- The central section of the sermon spans from chapter 5 verse 17 to chapter 7 verse 12 and focuses on the law and the prophets
- Jesus clarifies the meaning of the law and the prophets and emphasizes the importance of fulfilling them
- The Golden Rule, "do to others what you would have them do to you," is highlighted as a powerful summary statement of the central section
- The sermon is broken down into three sections: exegesis, piety, and daily life applications
- The speaker will focus on judging others, sharing truth, seeking guidance, and the Golden Rule in the upcoming sections of the sermon

- The speaker discusses how people often judge others based on regional, cultural, and personal differences
- He shares a story about not rushing to judgment, as people may be going through difficult times
- The speaker explains the responsibility of discernment and the importance of judging gently and lovingly
- He emphasizes the need to focus on personal growth before critiquing others
- The speaker concludes by highlighting the role of the Holy Spirit in helping us live according to God's will and flourish in life

- The piece discusses the relationship between race and virtue, emphasizing the importance of judging or discerning fairly.
- It highlights the need for understanding, being aware of biases, humility, and refraining from judgmentalism when judging others.
- The consequences of judging unfairly are discussed, with a focus on reaping what is sown.
- The importance of discerning wisely when sharing truth is emphasized, with a reminder to treat others the way you want to be treated.
- The piece concludes with a reminder of the availability of the Heavenly Father to help and provide for us.

- The speaker discusses the importance of seeking, asking, and knocking in prayer for important things highlighted in the sermon
- Emphasizes the need to actively pursue the results of prayer through action and persistence
- Encourages confession of sins and persistent prayer for unsaved relatives
- Highlights the importance of treating others with respect and consideration, embodying virtues of goodness and mercy
- Concludes with a prayer for guidance and growth in applying the teachings discussed

- The sermon focuses on not judging others and the challenges of managing our hearts
- Jesus clarifies the meaning of the law and the prophets, emphasizing the Golden Rule
- The sermon is divided into exegesis, piety, and daily life applications
- The importance of fair judgment, seeking guidance, and the role of the Holy Spirit is emphasized
- The piece discusses the relationship between race and virtue, consequences of unfair judgment, and the importance of discerning wisely
- It concludes with a reminder to seek, ask, and knock in prayer, pursue results through action, and treat others with respect and consideration

Being of judging, judging wisely, and that's the title of my message.

I know this probably doesn't apply to Rosemount because people at Rosemount really don't judge, right, a lot of judging type of people.

It is a challenge for us to understand and to kind of manage our hearts when it comes to judging.

So as I mentioned, we're concluding the series and today we're kind of ending the central section of the sermon.

And the section, the central section of the sermon spans from chapter 5 verse 17 to chapter 7 verse 12.

So this is the central part of the sermon, this is an introduction.

Then next week, Les will cover the conclusion.

And they're kind of like 2 bookends that mark this particular section that begins and ends with Jesus making reference to the law and the prophets.

So the first verse 517 in the first book end says this, do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets.

I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.

Now 3 things that we know from that verse.

1 is there's a clarification here about what the law is, okay, and the prophets.

So the law really is the creation of humanity, the establishment of the Jewish nation, and the reception of the laws.

Now, often you'll hear different variations of what is the law.

That's a Jewish translation of the word law.

Sometimes you'll hear it called the Pentateuch, which is the first 5 books.

So the law is the first 5 books, and then the prophets is the rest of the Old Testament and the Jewish history that eventually played itself out.

So when Jesus uses law and the prophets, he's talking about all the Old Testament.

So this is important when he says he fulfills.

He's not discontinuing it, but he's simply clarifying it.

He wants to underscore what is at the heart of the law?

What was God's full meaning of his commands that accord with his will for us, his nature, and his kingdom that is yet to come?

It simply means to point to Jesus in his nature and in divinity.

It's like in Luke 4 21 when Jesus is quoting Isaiah in the temple and he says, today the scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.

He's confirming the prophecy of Isaiah about the coming Messiah.

It's a statement about himself, fulfilling the prophecies and Christological statements in the Old Testament of a coming Messiah that would reconcile all of humanity to himself.

So it's not only significant what is being said in the central section, but what's important and more important is who is saying it.

It is the Son of the Living God breathing eternal words into the life of his disciples and us by extension who are listening today.

Now the second bookend verse 7 to 12 also has the law and the prophets and it says, so Whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the law and the prophets.

This is arguably the best known verse in the Bible.

Not only to us as Christians, but even to people outside the Christian world.

It's a powerful summary statement to the whole central section of the sermon.

It is otherwise known as the Golden Rule.

Other religions and philosophies state it in a negative form.

The golden rule is much more impactful because it's proactive.

Take for example a relationship between a husband and a wife.

If you were to do things to your spouse, ask not to irritate them, right?

Don't do to others what you don't want done to yourself, right?

You'd probably not talk too much, be on time, watch less TV, just not to irritate them.

It might be helpful to their relationship, but how much more impactful is it when you do things that actually encourage them and build them up?

There is a significant difference between these 2.

And so when framed positively, it has considerable effect on our building into our interpersonal relationships.

So now I want to do a quick review of what we found between these 2 bookends that I've just mentioned.

And I'm quoting here a kind of breakdown from a book, The Sermon on the Mountain, given to flourishing by Jonathan Pennington, that those who have been preaching this series have been sharing as a resource.

So he breaks it down like this in 3 different sections.

That's another big fancy word which simply means he explains.

Okay, like if you take a biblical passage and you exegete it, it means you explain it.

So that's what Jesus does in the first section.

He's explaining with some of these bigger, these commands that were given, like murder.

It really has more to do with anger than murder.

It's just as bad and it's at the root of somebody who would then murder.

That's why he explains it a different way he said your hearts were hardened and therefore Moses made an exception for you but I say this except for this reason you should divorce.

The Old Testament was oats, but Jesus said, listen, don't make oats.

Just let your yeses be yeses and your noes be noes.

And at the end of these exegesis he says be perfect as your heavenly father is perfect.

Now that doesn't mean we have to do all these things perfectly.

What he's saying here, when he's speaking to the people who are listening, would usually be attuned to the words, be holy as I am holy, which we find in Leviticus.

But Jesus turns it around to get their attention because they would have considered themselves to be holy.

But Jesus wants them to understand it in a different way.

And that means not having a moral perfection, but having a wholehearted orientation to where God, which makes a difference.

In the second column he talks about piety, giving, praying, fasting, and he mentions avoiding doing these things to be seen by others for your own pride, that we should have integrity in our devotional practices.

And finally in the last column it's about daily life applications, handling possessions, trusting God, which Chris shared last week, and then judging others, sharing truths, seeking guidance, and treating others, which today I will be talking about.

So the first 2 are oriented towards God, and the 4 are oriented towards people.

And so as I move on today and into this is going to be my order, we are going to, this was my introduction, but the first part is going to be judging others and then talking about sharing truth, seeking guidance, and in the conclusion about the Golden Rule.

So let me read for you Matthew chapter 7 verses 1 to 5.

It says, 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.

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.

When we come to the issue of judging, we get into a very common and yet complicated subject.

It is common because we are born to have preferences, likes and dislikes.

We are all exposed to cultural, religious or environmental factors that form prejudices in us.

We develop a certain lens from which we see the world through.

It gets complicated when we use that lens as a gauge from which to judge others.

For example, growing up as a second generation Italian, we would hear the unique negative traits from other Italian regions that they suffered from.

Not surprisingly, my friends were also being taught the same thing from their parents.

So when you would make a new friend, you would say, oh, good to meet you.

And they would say whatever they were from.

And depending on what they would say, you would either say, oh okay, all right.

But if it was they lived in the same town as your parents, you'd say, oh me too.

Even in Canada, the West doesn't like the East.

I talked to my African brothers and sisters.

They talk to me about challenges in Africa, the regional differences.

I talk to my brothers and sisters in India.

You remember Nathaniel When somebody said, talked about Jesus, what did the Daniel say when they heard he was from Nazareth?

It's like judging a book by its cover, as the old proverbial saying goes.

Chuck Swindle told the story of how dangerous it is to judge others through maturity.

He was speaking at a camp in California, and a gentleman came to him and said, oh, Mr.

Swindle, I've been waiting so long for this week.

I'm going to eat up everything you have to say." And so Swindoll thanks him and shows his appreciation.

And so the camp starts on the Sunday night.

The gentleman is sitting in the front row and Swindle starts to speak.

And 5 minutes into a sermon, the guy falls asleep.

And so sermon and Swindle just keeps going on.

The next night, the Monday night, the gentleman again sits in the front seat.

And then, and then Chuck Swindle starts his sermon.

5 minutes later, boom, the guy falls asleep.

Chuck Swindle's wondering what's going on with this guy.

Same routine, he sits in the front row with his wife and Chuck Swindle is paying attention and looking at his direction, trying to be exciting and everything.

5 minutes, boom, the guy falls asleep again.

And by this time, Chuck Swindle is getting irritated.

So on the Friday on the last day of the conference the wife comes up to Chuck Swindle and she says I'm sorry Mr.

Swindle we're gonna have to leave early but I just want to share with you how we've appreciated hearing you.

And I'm sorry about my husband sleeping throughout most of your sermons.

But he's been told He's got 2 weeks to live.

And 1 of the last things he wanted to do before he died was to come and hear you preach because of the impact you had on his life.

Sometimes we don't know what people are going through and so it's important not to rush the judgment.

As a matter of fact, when the situation appears strange or offensive to us, we are called to respond differently as Christians.

Our reaction should be tempered with patience and godly wisdom.

James says it this way, be quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger.

To give an example, we can sometimes have the experience of walking into a restaurant, sitting down, and getting served by a very rude and unhappy waiter or waitress.

It's easy in our flesh to respond in the same way.

But a more proactive way to be in a situation like that is to think that this person may be going through a difficult time and needs encouragement.

You'll be surprised of such an attitude to turn the situation around.

You would be a good ambassador for God when you offer a smile to 1 who cannot, who can't give 1.

At times, however, we have the responsibility to judge.

There is a translation issue when we read do not judge in the verse 7.1.

Because of the semantic range of the Greek word, it should be understood as do not judge unfairly.

Today's use of the word judge is usually interpreted as condemning.

Oh you can't judge me, don't judge me, you're condemning me and that's a wrong application.

That was not the proper interpretation of the text in the Bible.

And actually it hasn't been the case historically, even in the English language.

Century, this is just a new thing where people interpreted this condemning.

You will notice in the passage, Jesus is not saying we should never discern.

He takes, he says, take the plank out of your own eye before you take the speck out of the, of the, of the psalmist out of your brother's eye.

It would also not be consistent with other parts of scripture in Matthew that teach very explicitly about discerning.

So for example, which we're going to look at soon, Jesus will say to discern who to share spiritual truths with, avoiding those who are not receptive.

In 715, he's going to say, discern between false teachers, some who may be wolves and sheep's clothing.

In chapter 10, verses 11 to 15, the disciples needed to render a judgment on who is worthy in every village or town that they visit.

In chapter 18 verses 15 to 18, the church is called upon to discern on issues that arise within the church.

There is a formula for doing that, and it needs to be done.

Elders are responsible not only for leading, teaching, and caring, but also to exercise discipline when the situation calls for it.

More mature believers are expected to speak into the lives of younger believers.

I like these comments written in the book of human flourishing where the author quotes theologian T.W.

He says, the whole business of judging persons is in God's hands, for he alone knows the secrets of men's hearts.

This doesn't mean that we are not to use all the moral insight we possess in order to discover what is right and what is wrong, but we are to confine ourselves to that field and refrain from passing judgment on persons.

For our judgment is itself a factor in shaping their lives.

And a harsh judgment may help a fellow creature on the road to perdition.

So you can either build somebody up or you can tear somebody down.

So that's why I say it's a big responsibility.

So yes, we judge, but we must do it gently and lovingly.

However, Before we start judging, we need to work on our own thoughts, right?

We need to do some plank pulling before we do some spec picking.

Jesus uses hyperbolic language to make the point easy to understand with first century culture, but also relatable to us, point 2,000 years later.

How can you see a speck if you have this big plank in your eye?

Plank pulling requires us to focus on our own self-improvement so we can approach others with humility.

Practical judgment comes from a place of understanding and empathy, not superiority.

Often people judge to feel better about themselves.

This is usually linked to having a low self-esteem of oneself.

So That's why Jesus uses the future tense in verse 5 where he says, first take out the plank out of your own eye and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye.

Our first priority is to focus on our own personal growth before assessing or critiquing others.

We see this sequence even in the Lord's Prayer, forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who have trespassed against us.

In referring back to Pennington's breakdown of the central section of the sermon we've covered over the last few weeks in our series, there are a lot of things in this that could act as planks that impair our ability to discern things well and live more truthfully for God.

If you're like me, you know that there's always room for improvement.

Of course, we'll never get it perfectly right, so that's why we need to be reminded and be thankful to God for giving us this assurance to His Son Jesus, who is atoned for all our sins.

We can only truly be righteous in this sight because of the righteous imputed on us through Christ.

And with that we receive the Holy Spirit that helps us to live according to His will.

But once we do that, the Lord wants us to flourish.

Race and virtue work together for the believing person to enjoy a positive experience of God and of others.

I would ask us to consider this morning when it comes to the issue of judging or discerning fairly, in what areas is God calling you and I to focus on when we ponder this list?

Where do we find ourselves compromised in our ability to see clearly, to remove a speck in a brother or sister's eye?

Where are some of the proverbial points that need to be pulled out in order for us to have a clear view of things.

Are we holding on to resentments against other brothers and sisters who have hurt us in the past?

Are we unwilling to forgive others as Jesus forgave us?

Do we routinely entertain lustful thoughts as a normal part of our everyday lives?

Do we need to be more truthful and honest in our dealings and our relationships with others.

When we think of acts of piety or service, do we do them to get the praise of men or unto God and for God alone?

And are we giving enough, praying enough, and fasting enough?

Brothers and sisters, the teaching and the sermon of the mound is so important for us to understand and apply to live a victorious Christian life that it requires us to camp here for a while before we move on to other things.

We can easily get tripped up by gaining more and more knowledge at the expense of prioritizing, living out these fundamental principles that focus on truly loving God and loving 1 another.

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Flourishing in the Kingdom of Heaven