Who do I sit in judgment over? S31e88 Matt7:1

Oh that we could all be so spiritually sensitive as to cry out "Oh, I've got something in my eye! Can you help me?"

The ridiculous picture is this: There are some with a TIMBER in their eye, yet they have no real awareness of it.  

Join me for a 7 minute wonder about who should  I sit in judgment over? I'd be interested in your thoughts as you watch.

https://youtu.be/_UpX_ld8SRE

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

And sisters. Big question today is who do I sit in judgment over? Or as the passage will talk to us about, is I've got something in my eye. Now, here's the picture I want to leave with you today. Have you ever been to a timber lodge, maybe like a ski lodge or something? And you look up in the main room and you see this great big timber connecting and holding everything up. And you wonder, hey, well, how did they get that thing up there? And you can't help but notice it. It's meant to be noticed. The guys that put it there, when they put it up on that day, they were quite proud of their work, trust me. So similarly, our passage today hints at how did you feel to notice this big, huge thing, this massive thing, similar in size? And where is it? It's in your sensitive eye. So it's a place where it should be most noted. It's in your eye, and and the size of it merits noticing. Here's our passage. It's from Matthew chapter 7, verse 1. Judge not that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. Then our idea for today why do you see the speck that's in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log, the timber, the massive thing that's in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, so now you volunteer, uh, let me take that speck out of your eye when you already have this log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first, take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye. So in this passage, Jesus does not prohibit judging of any sort. So you always, how do you how do you know that? Well, you in good Bible teaching and reading is you look at the local context and then you look in the the rest of the context of the Bible. Well, of interest, verse 6, the very next verse proves it. It says, Don't give to dogs what is holy. Don't throw your pearls before pigs, lest they trample them underfoot and turn to attack you. So literally, in the very, you don't have to look very far, it's in the very next verse which calls for discernment and the application of that discernment in a real life situation, we could call that wisdom or judgment. Okay, let's get back to our passage. So the standards that we apply to others may apply to us. So the Lord warns us about judging others in a way we wouldn't want to be applied to ourselves. So why might we be cautioned with being careful towards this judgment of our fellow planet mates? Well, number one, we do it poorly, so we can't see others' motives and causes and the engine that makes activity, all we see is the activity. So secondly, we also do it too harshly, and thirdly, we may interfere on the territory of God. So it is not that you ultimately will not be judged, you will. The problem here today that I'd like to address, at least in our thoughts today, is you didn't notice the log. So this word again meets this very large, large bare, bearing beam timber. And here's what the passage warns: that there could be something potentially big, very big, that remains unseen by you, so unseen that you engage in this hypocrisy, this pretending, this acting a role of you're not self. So here's the scenario: you've got a timber in your eye, your brother, somebody close to you, known to you, and also knows that you have a timber, he's got this little speck in his eye, a particle of dust or something in his eyeball, and he's got this sensitive thing. And perhaps he says, Hey, can somebody help me get this look and look in my eye? And he gets this volunteer from you. So let me take that speck out of your eye while you got this timber. It's kind of like the Holiday Express commercial where the guy says, Hey, I'm not a timber splinter splinter surgeon or a splinter surgeon, but I pretend to be one, so let me do some eyeball surgery on you. So, would this timber-bearing brother of yours be your first choice to assess and treat this you know medical condition? So he who requires major surgery and is unaware or chooses to be unaware of the timber in his own eye. So here's the challenge for today. Lord, is there is there something in my eye that I can't see or or that I choose not to see? So, Lord, here's the prayer today. It's a bold one, it's courageous. Lord, show me the log in my eye, the blind spot, so to speak, this big thing. And there's this humble approach to this passage, which is help me to see. Am I that guy? Am I ready for splinter surgery? Or maybe timber, major timber removal surgery. The way I say it to myself is Lord, keep me on a short leash, which means in the context of our passage, let me be spec sensitive. Don't let me stray too far. Like it says in Psalm 129, you've searched me and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise, you discern my going out and lying down. And before a word is on my tongue, Lord, you know it completely. And then here's the part you hem me in behind and before you lay your hand upon me. So if the Lord, Lord's hand laid upon me in a reminder or in a pre-rebuke, so think about what you are about to do, like going through your life today, and imagine that you want to say, let's say, an unholy, harsh word to somebody, and just before you do, the Lord lays his hand upon you. Would that serve to increase your awareness of your your speck in your eye, or in this case your mouth? The Psalm 139 ends see if there's any offensive way in me and lead me in the way everlasting. So this passage really calls us to judgment, not away from judgment. Keep us in our right sense, know our place, know that God is the ultimate judge, I less so. We do this humbly. I could be wrong about this. And then ask this big question that we started with. Who do I sit in judgment over? Is it my is it my neighbor? You know, we're we're very tempted to do that, but really the answer is me. I need to feel that speck or that timber, and so Lord, keep me aware, keep me sensitive. And then if there's any offense in my words or conduct or zipper or pride, nip that in the bud. And know that I am tempted to harshly judge other. That's our proclivity, and we give ourselves a pass. So help me see first, and then please be with me, as perhaps I can offer in community help with others' specks and splinters. Galatians 6, chapter chapter 6, verse 1 says that brothers, if anyone's caught in a transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. But keep watch over yourself, lest you too be tempted. So let's be grateful. Jesus has been the the bearer of this harsh judgment in our place, and we should be generally happy, and proclivity should to should be towards mercy towards other. So as we finish here today, who do I sit in judgment over? The real answer is just me. Help me do that right, Lord. Thanks for listening.