WEBVTT 00:00:00.640 --> 00:00:04.000 Well, last Sunday, uh Madison did an unbelievable job. 00:00:04.160 --> 00:00:04.959 Can we hear it from Madison? 00:00:05.120 --> 00:00:07.759 He did a great job, uh, phenomenal job. 00:00:07.919 --> 00:00:13.119 If you don't know Madison, he's our youth pastor, gave the greatest message in the history of the world. 00:00:13.439 --> 00:00:14.000 He really did. 00:00:14.080 --> 00:00:17.280 That was our joke because we went through last week the entire Sermon on the Mount. 00:00:17.359 --> 00:00:18.239 He read the entire thing. 00:00:18.399 --> 00:00:21.120 That is Jesus' most famous teaching. 00:00:21.199 --> 00:00:23.519 Uh it's Matthew chapter 5, 6, and 7. 00:00:23.679 --> 00:00:30.800 It is clearly the most impactful, most amazing groupings of words and ideas that has ever been spoken by a human being to anyone everywhere. 00:00:30.879 --> 00:00:34.719 It's the greatest message of all time, and Madison got to deliver that last week in its entirety. 00:00:34.880 --> 00:00:35.840 That was really awesome. 00:00:36.000 --> 00:00:39.200 I had a blast last week just listening to that and letting it hit me. 00:00:39.439 --> 00:00:41.439 Now, if you're new, let me give you some context. 00:00:41.600 --> 00:00:46.320 All of this is in the context of something that we're doing this year called following Jesus. 00:00:46.479 --> 00:00:51.119 We are spending our entire year going through the book of Matthew. 00:00:51.359 --> 00:00:53.280 We are trying to know Jesus better. 00:00:53.359 --> 00:00:55.119 We actually just sang that in one of our songs. 00:00:55.200 --> 00:00:56.960 We sang out, I want to know you more. 00:00:57.359 --> 00:01:07.040 And if that's true in your heart, like if you want to know Jesus more, if you want a closer relationship with Jesus, maybe you've been following Jesus for a long time, and you're like, There's got to be more, I promise you there is. 00:01:07.120 --> 00:01:08.560 There is no end to Jesus. 00:01:08.799 --> 00:01:12.319 There's no limit, there's no place you can ever get to where you're like, I figured it all out. 00:01:12.400 --> 00:01:14.079 I know him as well as I need to know him. 00:01:14.239 --> 00:01:15.280 That will never happen. 00:01:15.519 --> 00:01:19.760 And if you're brand new to church, you're brand new to this whole idea of God and whatnot, welcome. 00:01:20.079 --> 00:01:22.239 Man, there's so much for you to learn. 00:01:22.560 --> 00:01:26.079 Jesus is amazing, and he's not just someone that you can know about. 00:01:26.879 --> 00:01:30.480 He isn't some historical figure that we study. 00:01:31.040 --> 00:01:36.400 It's easy to think of him that way because the things that we're talking about happened thousands of years ago, but Jesus is alive. 00:01:36.719 --> 00:01:38.640 He died and he rose again. 00:01:38.879 --> 00:01:41.040 He's alive and we can actually know him. 00:01:41.439 --> 00:01:49.359 And that may seem strange and odd, but but he said that, and we'll explore this year what he means by that and how that proves true in our lives. 00:01:49.519 --> 00:01:57.519 We're spending our whole year following Jesus so we can know him better, so we can understand him better and have a closer relationship with him. 00:01:57.680 --> 00:01:59.200 And we're doing it in a really simple way. 00:01:59.280 --> 00:02:03.680 We're trying to follow Jesus by following Jesus. 00:02:04.400 --> 00:02:09.520 We're actually trying to tag along his journey and understand where he is and who he's talking to and where he's come from. 00:02:09.680 --> 00:02:10.800 And so we're using a lot of maps. 00:02:10.879 --> 00:02:13.439 I'm going to show you guys sort of the part of the world that we are in. 00:02:13.599 --> 00:02:15.439 This is Jesus' territory, right? 00:02:15.520 --> 00:02:16.400 It's it's Israel. 00:02:16.479 --> 00:02:19.520 Uh, this is kind of our main map that we'll show you uh to get you oriented. 00:02:19.599 --> 00:02:21.439 You've got the Mediterranean Sea up there on the left. 00:02:21.599 --> 00:02:24.240 You've got the Sea of Galilee, the Dead Sea, those are kind of our borders. 00:02:24.319 --> 00:02:32.319 We'll zoom in to the area that Jesus actually spends all of his time, okay, and we'll actually overlay some regions. 00:02:32.479 --> 00:02:37.039 Uh these are not modern borders, but these are sort of the key regions that Jesus is operating in. 00:02:37.120 --> 00:02:44.639 So if you're ever reading your Bible and you see Jesus being in Galilee or he's in Samaria or Judea, this kind of helps orient you there. 00:02:44.719 --> 00:02:47.599 This is where Jesus spends most of his time. 00:02:47.759 --> 00:02:59.360 Uh most recently, he's moved up to the Sea of Galilee, and at the Sermon on the Mount, we have all these people from all of these different places, thousands of people most likely, coming to where Jesus is. 00:02:59.520 --> 00:03:00.479 They've all heard about him. 00:03:00.639 --> 00:03:01.680 His fame has spread. 00:03:01.840 --> 00:03:06.080 People hear the things that he's done, the things that he's said, and they want to know what he's all about. 00:03:06.240 --> 00:03:12.960 And this amazing message that we have called the Sermon on the Mount, that's what we call it, not what he called it, that's what it's been called for generations. 00:03:13.199 --> 00:03:23.360 This is just people in need, many of them desperate, some of them just curious, going to where Jesus is to hear what he has to say. 00:03:23.919 --> 00:03:36.479 And he delivers the most uh convicting, comforting, clarifying, and simultaneously confusing message that's ever been given. 00:03:36.960 --> 00:03:38.400 It's unbelievable. 00:03:39.520 --> 00:03:41.919 And really, it's all of those things at once. 00:03:42.000 --> 00:03:44.080 It's such a difficult message to categorize. 00:03:44.240 --> 00:03:47.199 Like, is the Sermon on the Mount comforting? 00:03:47.360 --> 00:03:48.960 If you need comfort, it is. 00:03:49.439 --> 00:04:01.840 Like if you're someone who feels like you fail and you struggle and you try really hard, and maybe you even try really hard to do all the things you think God would have you to do, but you constantly fall short, the Sermon on the Mount will lift you up. 00:04:02.479 --> 00:04:08.080 It will show you that God sees you, and you're not as far away as you might think that you are. 00:04:09.199 --> 00:04:16.959 And knowing Him, it's not about doing things perfectly, it's not about walking a tightrope, kind of like we talked about earlier this year. 00:04:17.120 --> 00:04:18.560 It's more simple than that. 00:04:18.639 --> 00:04:19.600 And you're gonna feel comforted. 00:04:19.920 --> 00:04:31.040 Now, if you're someone who's prideful and arrogant, maybe someone who's cavalier about your sin, well, the Sermon on the Mount's gonna convict you, it's gonna bring you lower. 00:04:32.079 --> 00:04:35.199 And sometimes we need that, if we're honest with ourselves. 00:04:36.079 --> 00:04:44.399 If you're confused about God and you don't really understand who he is and what he values and what he cares about, the Sermon on the Mount is clarifying. 00:04:44.480 --> 00:04:49.279 You realize this is the heart of God, and it's it's not what you thought. 00:04:49.600 --> 00:04:58.879 He values very different things, and it sort of takes a lot of the red tape and throws it away, and we feel like God is more approachable than he's ever been before. 00:04:59.120 --> 00:05:00.959 It clarifies God for us. 00:05:01.680 --> 00:05:09.600 But if you're someone who thinks you know everything about God and you've got God completely figured out, the Sermon on the Mount is gonna confuse you. 00:05:09.920 --> 00:05:11.920 Because you're gonna be like, wait, I thought God was like this. 00:05:12.000 --> 00:05:12.720 I didn't think that. 00:05:13.120 --> 00:05:15.759 Hold on, you're breaking all the categories, you've broken my box. 00:05:15.839 --> 00:05:19.040 You cannot put God in a box, he will break whatever box you put him in. 00:05:19.920 --> 00:05:27.199 And so it sort of hits all of us in different ways, depending on where we are, which is why you could never stop reading the Sermon on the Mount. 00:05:27.279 --> 00:05:29.759 You could pick up your Bible and read Matthew 5, 6, and 7. 00:05:29.839 --> 00:05:31.199 That's how we've broken it apart. 00:05:31.360 --> 00:05:36.800 You could read it every day, at every season of life, and you're gonna experience something different hitting you. 00:05:36.879 --> 00:05:44.879 Sometimes it will lift you up when you need that, sometimes it'll bring you low and humble you when you need that, and it sort of equalizes all of us, it puts us all in the same place. 00:05:45.439 --> 00:05:52.079 That we are all people created by God to know God, and we need someone to lead us. 00:05:52.399 --> 00:05:55.600 We need someone to teach us, and that someone is Jesus. 00:05:55.759 --> 00:06:01.360 The Sermon on the Mount is like his orientation class for what life with God is really like. 00:06:01.439 --> 00:06:03.199 It's like he's teaching us how to walk. 00:06:03.439 --> 00:06:08.000 And so that's why we're calling these next few weeks as we go through this and examine it, learning to walk. 00:06:08.160 --> 00:06:10.480 This is Jesus teaching us how to walk. 00:06:10.720 --> 00:06:17.839 Because if you know what he says, if you were here last week or just read it later in its entirety, God values things that we don't value. 00:06:18.319 --> 00:06:20.319 God values things like mercy. 00:06:21.519 --> 00:06:24.240 That's not a value that people in the world really have. 00:06:25.279 --> 00:06:30.399 Like he tells us to pray for our enemies and to love our enemies. 00:06:31.040 --> 00:06:34.800 That is not how the world has taught any of us to live. 00:06:35.199 --> 00:06:36.319 They're your enemies. 00:06:36.639 --> 00:06:37.920 You destroy them. 00:06:38.319 --> 00:06:38.560 Right? 00:06:38.639 --> 00:06:46.000 I mean, I coach a second-grade basketball team, and we have to destroy those other eight-year-olds. 00:06:46.160 --> 00:06:47.279 They've got to learn. 00:06:47.519 --> 00:06:47.920 Right? 00:06:48.000 --> 00:06:49.519 Like, but that's how we're wired. 00:06:49.680 --> 00:06:51.120 That's what the world teaches us. 00:06:51.360 --> 00:06:52.319 Love your enemies. 00:06:52.480 --> 00:06:57.040 Jesus says that if someone steals something from you, give them something else. 00:06:57.680 --> 00:06:58.079 Mm-mm. 00:06:58.639 --> 00:06:59.439 Nope. 00:06:59.920 --> 00:07:01.759 That is not the way we do things, Lord. 00:07:01.920 --> 00:07:03.199 That is not the way this world works. 00:07:03.279 --> 00:07:07.199 And it's like Jesus is telling us, I know, but this is the way my world works. 00:07:07.439 --> 00:07:14.160 And it's gonna take you a while to learn how to walk, to sort of get your feet underneath you. 00:07:14.319 --> 00:07:19.600 But the cool thing about Jesus is he is patient and gentle and kind and he gives us a lot of space to learn. 00:07:19.839 --> 00:07:29.439 Now, today we're gonna sort of hyperfocus on this one concept, and we see it pop up in many of the different things that Jesus says. 00:07:29.680 --> 00:07:38.319 We're gonna sort of let him lead us to this one iconic statement that, man, it if you're like me, it just hits you in really powerful ways. 00:07:38.480 --> 00:07:40.560 It challenges you in all kinds of ways. 00:07:40.720 --> 00:07:43.920 And I'll kind of give you the gist of where we're going today. 00:07:44.480 --> 00:07:50.319 To be a Jesus follower means that you have to become a me first person. 00:07:51.120 --> 00:07:52.879 Like you have to be me first. 00:07:53.519 --> 00:07:55.759 You have to be the most me first person you've ever known. 00:07:55.920 --> 00:08:01.439 You have to have the most me first attitude you've ever even heard of, but not in the way that you're probably thinking, right? 00:08:01.519 --> 00:08:06.639 When we say me first, we're usually talking about selfish behavior, people trying to jockey for position. 00:08:06.720 --> 00:08:08.160 I see it all the time in my kids. 00:08:08.319 --> 00:08:11.839 I've got four kids, and kids by nature are selfish and mean. 00:08:11.920 --> 00:08:12.800 They just are. 00:08:13.040 --> 00:08:15.279 And they care about themselves more than they care about others. 00:08:15.360 --> 00:08:17.759 That's the way we have to teach children how to care about other people. 00:08:17.839 --> 00:08:20.720 You don't ever have to teach a kid how to care about himself. 00:08:20.879 --> 00:08:22.160 That comes naturally. 00:08:22.399 --> 00:08:24.639 And so I see it in all kinds of stupid, silly ways. 00:08:24.720 --> 00:08:27.279 Like in the morning, Megan and I have the same routine. 00:08:27.360 --> 00:08:29.519 You know, alarm clock goes off, snooze. 00:08:29.680 --> 00:08:33.519 And then uh and then we like nudge each other. 00:08:33.759 --> 00:08:41.679 I wake up, I don't know how y'all's you know dynamics are, those of you who are married, um, I wake up and I'm like, woo, it's a new day. 00:08:42.000 --> 00:08:45.679 And I'm happy, and I'm like, and I look at Megan, I'm like, I'm in love with her. 00:08:45.759 --> 00:08:48.000 Like it's the first thing I think of when I love, I'm in love with her. 00:08:48.080 --> 00:08:51.679 And so I like to roll over and like snuggle, and she's like, get off of me. 00:08:51.919 --> 00:08:53.440 I'm asleep, what are you doing? 00:08:53.519 --> 00:08:54.240 And I'm like, I love you. 00:08:54.320 --> 00:08:57.120 And she's like, we've been married 20 years, my mom to stop, you know. 00:08:57.279 --> 00:09:00.000 Um, when I die, that's when it stops. 00:09:00.639 --> 00:09:07.840 But after that, you know, nudge, we go, okay, we gotta get up, we got work to do, and we have to divide and conquer because we got four kids and they gotta get to school. 00:09:08.000 --> 00:09:11.200 And so I go upstairs, I also don't even know what Megan does. 00:09:11.279 --> 00:09:13.279 She might still be sleeping now that I think about it. 00:09:13.519 --> 00:09:14.399 Never even thought about that. 00:09:14.559 --> 00:09:19.840 But I go upstairs because I've got I've got my eight-year-old and my six-year-old, and I've got to get them up. 00:09:20.000 --> 00:09:23.919 And they both share a bedroom, they share a bathroom, I've got to get them up, gotta give them a bath. 00:09:24.000 --> 00:09:27.600 And what's weird about the two of them is everything's a competition. 00:09:28.000 --> 00:09:32.720 And so what I do now is I I go first to the bathroom and I turn the bath on. 00:09:32.960 --> 00:09:36.639 And they've gotten to where they they wake up to that sound. 00:09:37.120 --> 00:09:41.039 And it's very important to them, for whatever reason, to be the first one in the bathtub. 00:09:41.360 --> 00:09:42.720 This doesn't matter. 00:09:42.960 --> 00:09:44.639 But it's like a race. 00:09:44.799 --> 00:09:46.720 And so my morning every morning is the same. 00:09:46.799 --> 00:09:52.159 I get up, I go upstairs, I turn on the bath, and then I hear like thud when someone jumps out of bed, and then these are really fast steps. 00:09:52.320 --> 00:10:00.960 And the first thing I see every morning is a a tiny human being stripping naked running toward me to try to get into a bathtub before his brother gets into a bathtub. 00:10:01.120 --> 00:10:04.240 And sometimes there's fights and pushing and all this kind of stuff, and I'm like, stop. 00:10:04.559 --> 00:10:06.399 Because I this is where my mood changes. 00:10:06.559 --> 00:10:09.759 I wake up in the morning happy with Megan, and then I go upstairs and like, stop it. 00:10:09.840 --> 00:10:10.480 What are you guys doing? 00:10:10.559 --> 00:10:11.120 Stop it. 00:10:11.279 --> 00:10:15.679 And so they take the bath, and then it's a big deal who gets out of the bath first, which doesn't matter. 00:10:15.840 --> 00:10:19.919 But they're like yelling and fighting about it, and the way our bathroom's oriented, two at once, doesn't really work. 00:10:20.000 --> 00:10:23.600 So I'm like, one of you has to, there's a fight because they want to be first. 00:10:24.000 --> 00:10:30.399 We get in the car, we go wherever we're going, school, church, wherever it is, and we have a minivan, minivan families. 00:10:30.480 --> 00:10:31.600 Where's the minivan families at? 00:10:31.679 --> 00:10:35.519 Yeah, minivan families, some of you are ashamed, you don't want to admit it. 00:10:35.759 --> 00:10:38.720 I get it, I get it, but I'm one of you. 00:10:38.960 --> 00:10:42.240 So, you know, you'd think that they would exit the vehicle in an orderly fashion. 00:10:42.399 --> 00:10:43.919 People that are sitting closest to the doors first. 00:10:44.000 --> 00:10:44.799 No, no, no, no, no. 00:10:44.960 --> 00:10:47.600 Because it matters to them for some reason who gets out first. 00:10:47.919 --> 00:10:49.279 And so they climb over each other. 00:10:49.360 --> 00:10:58.240 It's like there's a wild animal in the back, and everyone's running for their lives, and there's just injuries and insults and all kinds of things, and I'm doing that thing that dads do, where you turn your mirror and you're like, stop it, stop it. 00:10:58.320 --> 00:10:59.519 You just yell at your kids. 00:10:59.679 --> 00:11:00.559 That's my life. 00:11:00.720 --> 00:11:02.639 And it's just them wanting to be first. 00:11:03.840 --> 00:11:06.720 And if we're honest, that's kind of how we are often as adults. 00:11:06.879 --> 00:11:13.919 We are more subtle, but it's natural for us to want to be first, to have me first attitudes. 00:11:14.000 --> 00:11:19.360 But Jesus is going to teach us an entirely different form of me first. 00:11:19.759 --> 00:11:22.720 It's the way his kingdom works, and it's very different. 00:11:23.039 --> 00:11:25.759 And so with that said, let's go to Matthew chapter 6. 00:11:25.840 --> 00:11:30.080 This is Jesus right in the middle of his message. 00:11:30.399 --> 00:11:31.919 And he says some really interesting things. 00:11:32.080 --> 00:11:33.360 He says, Watch out. 00:11:33.840 --> 00:11:42.000 Don't do your good deeds publicly to be admired by others, for you will lose the reward from your Father in heaven. 00:11:42.240 --> 00:11:48.960 When you give to someone in need, don't do as the hypocrites do, blowing trumpets in the synagogues and streets, to call attention to their acts of charity. 00:11:49.039 --> 00:11:50.080 I tell you the truth. 00:11:50.240 --> 00:11:53.039 They have received all the reward they will ever get. 00:11:53.440 --> 00:11:57.360 But when you give to someone in need, don't let your left hand know what your right hand is doing. 00:11:57.519 --> 00:11:58.799 Give your gifts in private. 00:11:58.960 --> 00:12:01.279 And your father, who sees everything, will reward you. 00:12:01.360 --> 00:12:08.320 And when you pray, don't be like the hypocrites who love to pray publicly on the street corners and in the synagogues where everyone can see them. 00:12:08.399 --> 00:12:09.440 I tell you the truth. 00:12:09.600 --> 00:12:11.679 That is all the reward they will ever get. 00:12:11.919 --> 00:12:18.000 But when you pray, go away by yourself, shut the door behind you, and pray to your father in private. 00:12:18.159 --> 00:12:21.039 And then your father, who sees everything, will reward you. 00:12:21.600 --> 00:12:30.960 A little bit later on, Jesus says, When you fast, don't make it obvious, as the hypocrites do, for they try to look miserable and disheveled so people will admire them for their fasting. 00:12:31.039 --> 00:12:34.960 I tell you the truth, that is the only reward they will ever get. 00:12:35.200 --> 00:12:46.879 But when you fast, comb your hair, wash your face, and then no one will notice that you're fasting, except your father, who knows what you do in private, and your father who sees everything will reward you. 00:12:47.360 --> 00:12:50.320 Now, this is very interesting what Jesus is doing here. 00:12:51.519 --> 00:12:57.120 And it may not be as interesting to us because, you know, if you've grown up in church, you've heard this before, you're familiar with this. 00:12:57.360 --> 00:13:09.519 But Jesus is picking out behaviors to challenge, but they are the behaviors of the most devout people in his community. 00:13:10.480 --> 00:13:13.039 You know, in this part of the world, there were lots of thieves. 00:13:13.120 --> 00:13:19.600 It was dangerous to travel on roads, especially at night, because thieves would just lay waiting in ambush. 00:13:20.080 --> 00:13:28.720 But Jesus doesn't say, hey, don't be like the thieves waiting on the sides of the roads to steal and there were lots of people like that. 00:13:28.879 --> 00:13:30.000 He doesn't say that. 00:13:31.200 --> 00:13:34.320 Prostitution was a major deal in this part of the world at this time. 00:13:34.399 --> 00:13:37.600 And Jesus doesn't say, hey, don't be like the prostitutes. 00:13:38.720 --> 00:13:39.919 Doesn't say that. 00:13:40.480 --> 00:13:43.919 Tax collectors were sort of the main sinners. 00:13:44.000 --> 00:13:54.960 They were like sinners, number one, they outranked everyone else because they stole from people, they extorted money, they had partnered with the Romans and betrayed their fellow Jewish people, so tax collectors were hated more than anyone. 00:13:55.120 --> 00:13:57.759 Jesus doesn't say, hey, don't be like the tax collectors. 00:13:58.559 --> 00:13:59.919 He doesn't point to any of that stuff. 00:14:00.080 --> 00:14:01.120 That's the obvious stuff. 00:14:01.360 --> 00:14:03.519 Maybe he's like, I shouldn't have to point to that stuff. 00:14:03.759 --> 00:14:08.879 But he says, don't be like those people who give to charity. 00:14:09.759 --> 00:14:13.360 Don't be like those people who pray a lot. 00:14:13.679 --> 00:14:15.440 Don't be like those people who fast. 00:14:15.759 --> 00:14:21.200 And not like intermittent fasting to lose a few pounds, fasting where you give up food to focus on spiritual things. 00:14:21.279 --> 00:14:28.480 And no one in the crowd would have been expecting Jesus to pick out these behaviors as the behaviors to challenge. 00:14:29.679 --> 00:14:32.639 And obviously, he's not challenging being generous. 00:14:32.720 --> 00:14:33.840 He's not challenging praying. 00:14:33.919 --> 00:14:36.240 He actually teaches people how to pray if you keep reading. 00:14:36.639 --> 00:14:38.639 And he's not telling people not to fast. 00:14:39.039 --> 00:14:48.399 But what he's doing is he's drawing a line between the activities in our lives, the behaviors that we exhibit, and the status of our heart. 00:14:49.200 --> 00:14:55.360 And he says, look, learn the art of examining your own heart. 00:14:56.159 --> 00:14:57.679 Know your motives. 00:14:59.279 --> 00:15:00.080 Know your motives. 00:15:00.159 --> 00:15:03.360 It reminds me of one of my famous, my favorite teachings of Jesus. 00:15:03.600 --> 00:15:05.919 Just a random line, I love it. 00:15:07.039 --> 00:15:09.120 Matthew chapter 10, verse 16. 00:15:09.679 --> 00:15:14.080 Jesus says, be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves. 00:15:14.799 --> 00:15:17.759 Be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves. 00:15:17.840 --> 00:15:22.000 And the way I like to think about that is do the right thing for the right reason. 00:15:23.200 --> 00:15:25.519 It is possible to do the wrong thing for the wrong reason. 00:15:25.600 --> 00:15:27.279 That's just called being evil. 00:15:27.919 --> 00:15:29.600 And many of us have been evil. 00:15:29.679 --> 00:15:31.120 We've done the wrong thing for the wrong reason. 00:15:31.200 --> 00:15:35.279 I remember when I was uh younger and working with the kids here at the church. 00:15:35.360 --> 00:15:40.000 I used to be the youth pastor here, and then after a couple years of doing that, I was given the elementary school kids. 00:15:40.080 --> 00:15:41.039 I didn't have a say. 00:15:41.200 --> 00:15:45.360 I was told, you are now with the elementary school kids too, and I was like, okay. 00:15:45.679 --> 00:15:50.000 And they terrified me because it was just like this whole energy that I was not used to. 00:15:50.080 --> 00:15:58.080 And I remember this one day early on, there was this boy, and he comes and he's crying, and he says that this other kid bent his finger back. 00:15:58.159 --> 00:15:59.600 And I was like, Well, why do you bend your finger back? 00:15:59.759 --> 00:16:04.159 And he's like, Because I was sitting in a chair that he wanted to sit in, and I was like, that is clearly like not what happened. 00:16:04.240 --> 00:16:05.440 Like, that's not the whole story. 00:16:05.600 --> 00:16:08.159 You weren't just sitting in a chair, and some kid was like, That's my chair. 00:16:08.240 --> 00:16:09.759 Give me your finger, bend it back. 00:16:10.000 --> 00:16:10.960 It's random and weird. 00:16:11.039 --> 00:16:14.320 So I went to this kid that he said did it, and I said, Hey buddy, let's talk. 00:16:14.559 --> 00:16:15.679 And I was like, What happened? 00:16:15.919 --> 00:16:19.200 And he went, Well, he was sitting in my chair, so I bent his finger back. 00:16:20.399 --> 00:16:21.279 I was like, Oh. 00:16:22.320 --> 00:16:25.279 That is an accurate, it was I was told the truth. 00:16:25.519 --> 00:16:26.960 You shouldn't do that, you know. 00:16:27.039 --> 00:16:28.639 You did the wrong thing for the wrong reason. 00:16:28.720 --> 00:16:29.759 That's not a good reason to do that. 00:16:29.840 --> 00:16:31.200 You shouldn't do it anyway. 00:16:31.519 --> 00:16:33.759 I I didn't call him evil to his face. 00:16:34.000 --> 00:16:36.240 Um and he he got better. 00:16:36.399 --> 00:16:37.360 We figured things out. 00:16:37.519 --> 00:16:38.399 But sometimes we do that. 00:16:38.480 --> 00:16:40.000 We do the wrong thing for the wrong reason. 00:16:40.240 --> 00:16:44.559 Sometimes we do the wrong thing for the right reason. 00:16:44.799 --> 00:16:46.639 We actually do that a lot as people. 00:16:46.799 --> 00:16:48.000 And there has to be grace for that. 00:16:48.080 --> 00:16:52.720 Where you make a mistake, you say the wrong thing, you make the wrong decision, but your motives are pure. 00:16:53.679 --> 00:16:58.879 It usually turns into something disastrous, but you didn't mean for it. 00:16:59.200 --> 00:17:02.080 You know, this is like every husband walking behind his wife going, What did I say? 00:17:02.240 --> 00:17:03.200 Like, what did I what? 00:17:03.440 --> 00:17:04.319 I don't know what I said. 00:17:04.400 --> 00:17:05.200 It's that thing. 00:17:05.359 --> 00:17:08.880 You know, you you meant well, but you just didn't execute properly. 00:17:09.599 --> 00:17:10.720 And that's okay. 00:17:10.960 --> 00:17:13.759 You get the impression that Jesus wouldn't mind that stuff so much. 00:17:14.319 --> 00:17:19.440 Then you have people like Jesus is describing here who are doing the right thing but for the wrong reasons. 00:17:19.759 --> 00:17:20.880 They're doing good things. 00:17:21.039 --> 00:17:28.960 They're giving to charity, they're praying to God, they're they're fasting and sacrificing and all kinds of different things, but they're doing it for selfish reasons. 00:17:29.200 --> 00:17:34.799 They're not doing it because they love the Lord, they're not doing it because they love people, they're doing it because they can get something out of it. 00:17:34.960 --> 00:17:44.079 They they get other people's admiration, they feel good about themselves, they look good to other people, and Jesus is saying, Hey, look, I don't really value that. 00:17:44.640 --> 00:17:51.200 Like, cool, you did a good thing, but your heart, it's not, it's not right. 00:17:52.000 --> 00:17:55.839 And the Heavenly Father that we all have, like, the Father, he sees that. 00:17:57.200 --> 00:18:02.240 And what we're called to do is be people who do the right thing for the right reasons. 00:18:02.799 --> 00:18:10.240 But the only way to do that is to actually have the ability, be self-aware enough to reflect on your own heart and know why you're doing what you're doing. 00:18:10.319 --> 00:18:12.480 You ever have those moments in life where you're like, why am I doing this? 00:18:12.640 --> 00:18:19.279 I don't know why I'm doing this, I don't know why I act this way, I don't know why I respond this way in certain situations. 00:18:20.319 --> 00:18:32.559 Jesus is challenging us to like check ourselves, to grow in our ability to be aware enough of our own heart and our own motivations that we can analyze ourselves and go, why am I doing this? 00:18:32.640 --> 00:18:33.279 You know what? 00:18:33.519 --> 00:18:37.119 I'm doing this for an impure reason. 00:18:37.440 --> 00:18:38.880 So I should just not. 00:18:40.079 --> 00:18:41.519 It's hard to do. 00:18:42.000 --> 00:18:48.079 But then Jesus sort of brings it home with this incredibly iconic statement, and this is our me first moment. 00:18:48.799 --> 00:18:53.680 Matthew 7, he says, Do not judge others and you will not be judged. 00:18:54.240 --> 00:18:56.880 For you will be treated as you treat others. 00:18:57.119 --> 00:19:01.039 The standard you use in judging is the standard by which you will be judged. 00:19:01.279 --> 00:19:07.119 Why worry about a speck in your friend's eye when you have a log in your own? 00:19:07.839 --> 00:19:15.039 How can you think of saying to your friend, let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye when you can't see past the log in your own eye, hypocrite. 00:19:15.359 --> 00:19:19.920 First, get rid of the log in your own eye, then you'll see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend's eye. 00:19:20.000 --> 00:19:21.599 That's the me first thing. 00:19:23.440 --> 00:19:24.400 First. 00:19:25.599 --> 00:19:32.960 When you see something that bothers you, someone else does something, you're like, that's bad, that's wrong, they shouldn't do that, they shouldn't be like that, what's wrong with them? 00:19:33.279 --> 00:19:40.000 First, focus on yourself and ask the question, what do I have to deal with? 00:19:40.319 --> 00:19:42.240 What needs to change in me? 00:19:42.559 --> 00:19:59.759 Before I even begin to judge someone else, before I even begin to decide that I'm gonna raise up and put myself above someone and tell them all the things that they ought to do differently, is there anything in me that needs to change? 00:19:59.920 --> 00:20:03.119 Is there anything in me that needs to be corrected? 00:20:03.279 --> 00:20:05.920 You know, that is there any pruning that needs to happen in my life? 00:20:06.000 --> 00:20:09.200 And before I judge someone else, I'm gonna work on that stuff first, me first. 00:20:11.680 --> 00:20:14.079 I'll say this a real quick sidebar. 00:20:14.559 --> 00:20:26.000 Sometimes this statement of Jesus gets taken way out of context, and it's almost used to tell Jesus' followers that we're not supposed to be people who have the ability to look at something that is bad or evil and say that is bad and evil. 00:20:26.319 --> 00:20:27.680 Because that's judging. 00:20:27.920 --> 00:20:29.279 That's not what this is talking about. 00:20:29.440 --> 00:20:32.640 Jesus is not saying that we have to be like, well, I guess everything's okay. 00:20:32.720 --> 00:20:35.200 If it just makes you happy and feels good, then fine, it's fine. 00:20:35.279 --> 00:20:36.079 That's not what he's saying. 00:20:36.240 --> 00:20:38.400 There are many times where Jesus calls things out. 00:20:38.720 --> 00:20:43.440 Read the rest of the New Testament, there's many times where the Apostle Paul and the other church leaders say, hey, this is not okay. 00:20:43.519 --> 00:20:46.400 This as Jesus followers, we have a moral compass. 00:20:46.640 --> 00:20:55.519 Our moral compass is, should be directed by the values of Scripture, not the values of our world, and we do have to have the ability to look at the values of our world and go, that's not quite right. 00:20:56.319 --> 00:20:58.160 But we're not the judge. 00:20:58.640 --> 00:21:00.160 That's where it gets tough. 00:21:00.400 --> 00:21:03.039 Is we have to be able to look at the world and be like, that's not good. 00:21:03.599 --> 00:21:07.440 But I'm not the one that is qualified to judge the world. 00:21:08.319 --> 00:21:10.000 So I can look at the world and go, that's bad. 00:21:10.079 --> 00:21:14.319 I'm not gonna do that, I'm not gonna go along with that, I'm not gonna endorse that, I'm not gonna celebrate that. 00:21:16.000 --> 00:21:30.799 But I'm gonna resist that temptation to step into a place of judgment and to tell all of the people who might be enveloped in that that they're wrong, evil, or whatever. 00:21:31.200 --> 00:21:32.799 We're just not the judge. 00:21:33.839 --> 00:21:37.119 But it's fun to judge people, it's so fun. 00:21:37.359 --> 00:21:38.799 Can we just admit that? 00:21:39.039 --> 00:21:43.680 Like, how many of us are old enough to remember when reality TV shows like uh American Idol were new? 00:21:43.839 --> 00:21:44.640 Like it was a new thing. 00:21:44.720 --> 00:21:46.000 Like most of us are like, what? 00:21:46.160 --> 00:21:47.759 Uh some of us, yeah. 00:21:48.000 --> 00:21:52.079 Do you remember how fun it was to watch Simon Cow in those early seasons? 00:21:52.400 --> 00:21:59.519 Like, I didn't care about the singing at all, but just to watch people get up and audition and just be like, oh, they're bad. 00:22:00.240 --> 00:22:01.839 I'm so excited, they're bad. 00:22:02.000 --> 00:22:07.039 Because you knew that the judgment that was about to come, and you sat there and you were like, This is amazing. 00:22:07.279 --> 00:22:08.960 And then you're like, What's wrong with me, God? 00:22:09.039 --> 00:22:09.519 You know, whatever. 00:22:09.599 --> 00:22:10.640 But we're all works in progress. 00:22:10.720 --> 00:22:11.119 But it's fun. 00:22:11.200 --> 00:22:16.480 There's something about judging people that is enjoyable, makes us feel good, but it's not our role. 00:22:16.640 --> 00:22:18.799 Jesus tells a parable in Matthew chapter 13. 00:22:18.880 --> 00:22:22.240 We don't have this up on the screens, but I'll just kind of give you the gist of it. 00:22:22.400 --> 00:22:27.200 In Matthew chapter 13, Jesus tells this parable of a landowner and he sows seed. 00:22:27.359 --> 00:22:28.720 And it's good, it's good stuff. 00:22:28.960 --> 00:22:29.839 Good stuff's growing. 00:22:30.000 --> 00:22:34.160 But then his enemy comes and also sprinkles in some bad seed, and now you've got weeds growing up. 00:22:34.240 --> 00:22:39.359 And his servants ask him, Should we go and root out the bad stuff? 00:22:39.519 --> 00:22:40.880 And he says, No. 00:22:41.839 --> 00:22:43.279 You'll mess it up. 00:22:45.039 --> 00:22:46.799 You'll do it wrong, essentially. 00:22:46.960 --> 00:22:52.799 You're gonna end up pulling out a lot of the good stuff along with the bad, because you're just not, it's not what I need you to do. 00:22:53.279 --> 00:22:54.240 It's not your role. 00:22:54.400 --> 00:22:59.759 And the truth of the matter is, we are supposed to have good judgment. 00:22:59.920 --> 00:23:05.920 We are supposed to be sober in our minds and have the ability to look at the world and see things and go, not good. 00:23:07.519 --> 00:23:13.119 But when we look at people, we can simultaneously say, I don't agree with this person. 00:23:13.200 --> 00:23:14.319 I don't believe what they're doing is right. 00:23:14.480 --> 00:23:20.799 In fact, I fully believe that this behavior is wrong and it goes against God's word and all of that, but I'm not their judge. 00:23:21.759 --> 00:23:29.200 And Jesus makes it really clear before I even think about telling them what they need to deal with in their life, is there anything in my life that needs to change? 00:23:30.559 --> 00:23:34.000 And what we find is that if we live that way, we keep ourselves plenty busy. 00:23:34.559 --> 00:23:36.400 We got lots of stuff to work on. 00:23:36.960 --> 00:23:40.480 There's so many reasons why we have to resist this temptation to judge. 00:23:40.720 --> 00:23:42.559 One is that it's not our role, it's just not. 00:23:42.640 --> 00:23:43.680 It's the role of Jesus. 00:23:43.839 --> 00:23:45.039 Like he will judge the world. 00:23:45.119 --> 00:23:46.640 And I'm glad it's him and not me. 00:23:46.880 --> 00:23:49.680 I'm definitely glad it's it's him and not any of you. 00:23:49.839 --> 00:23:50.480 Like any of us. 00:23:50.559 --> 00:23:54.400 I mean, can you imagine if you got to be judged by anyone else but Jesus? 00:23:54.559 --> 00:23:55.440 Like, I trust him with that. 00:23:55.519 --> 00:23:57.200 I don't trust anybody else with that. 00:23:59.039 --> 00:24:02.799 You know, we we shouldn't judge, just like Jesus said to his servants, you'll get it wrong. 00:24:02.880 --> 00:24:04.240 We are so often wrong. 00:24:04.480 --> 00:24:06.079 Like majorly wrong. 00:24:06.400 --> 00:24:09.039 I was even reminded of that in a funny way this morning. 00:24:09.359 --> 00:24:12.960 So, uh, mid-stage, right here this morning, leading us in worship, was Eliza. 00:24:13.039 --> 00:24:14.960 She sang the first song, if you were here for the first song. 00:24:15.039 --> 00:24:18.240 And I have known Eliza since she was in the sixth grade. 00:24:18.480 --> 00:24:22.000 I did Eliza's wedding to Matt, who was standing right here. 00:24:22.319 --> 00:24:22.880 Great thing. 00:24:22.960 --> 00:24:24.400 If uh you anyone at that wedding? 00:24:24.559 --> 00:24:26.400 Anyone in the room was at Matt and Eliza's wedding? 00:24:26.559 --> 00:24:27.680 All right, you guys will remember this. 00:24:27.759 --> 00:24:29.440 I forgot Matt's last name. 00:24:29.759 --> 00:24:31.519 Uh I panicked. 00:24:31.759 --> 00:24:35.680 And I announced at the end, I said, ladies and gentlemen, for the first time, Mr. 00:24:35.759 --> 00:24:36.079 and Mrs. 00:24:36.240 --> 00:24:38.319 Matt, and I just couldn't think of his last name for a second. 00:24:38.400 --> 00:24:40.160 I blanked and I just left it at Matt. 00:24:40.319 --> 00:24:40.880 So, Mr. 00:24:41.039 --> 00:24:41.440 and Mrs. 00:24:41.680 --> 00:24:42.240 Matt. 00:24:43.680 --> 00:24:44.799 They still go to church here. 00:24:44.880 --> 00:24:45.359 Think about that. 00:24:45.440 --> 00:24:46.400 They still go to church here. 00:24:46.480 --> 00:24:47.599 That's amazing. 00:24:48.240 --> 00:24:49.279 They shouldn't. 00:24:50.720 --> 00:25:00.640 But I remember Eliza, I remember her as a sixth grader, and just this adorable little girl, and we had this junior high Christmas party. 00:25:01.119 --> 00:25:07.440 And and I was I was super young, I was like 23, 24 years old, and so I was kind of figuring stuff out. 00:25:07.519 --> 00:25:12.160 And one of the things I I had just learned is middle school kids can be the meanest human beings on the planet. 00:25:12.319 --> 00:25:23.039 Like they have middle school kids have an ability, it's like a superpower that they can figure out in seconds the thing about you that you don't like about yourself. 00:25:23.599 --> 00:25:27.759 And they can just like you feel so exposed in front of middle school kids. 00:25:27.920 --> 00:25:36.480 And so there was this other girl in the youth group, and we're at this Christmas party, and and she was like, Hey, can I go like sing a Christmas song on the stage? 00:25:36.559 --> 00:25:38.960