So I rode my bicycle for a year in 2010 from Canada to Columbia. And as part of that journey, I discovered that basically a billion people in the world didn't have access to clean drinking water. So I began this journey and did some higher level education and then on a series of trips with my friends in the last six years. That's all led us to this spot now we've become very interested in small scale decentralized desalinization projects. It's really the future.
Hi everyone. Welcome to Ocean Water Church. I'm stoked you could be with us for today's beach talk. I want to help you understand every word of God that's in the word of God. God has so many amazing things that he wants to say to us every day. If we'll just take the time to listen. That's the heart behind our beach talks that God will speak to us every day. And so our objective is simple.
It's disciples making disciples who plant churches that plant churches so that we can see a grassroots movement of Jesus continue all over the world. Now today, we're looking at Matthew chapter seven, verses one and two says, judge not that you will be judged for in the judgment that you judge, you'll be judged. And with the measure that you use, it'll be measured unto you. Now here Jesus moved to another idea in the Sermon on the Mount.
Now before this, he had connected themes that had mostly to do with the inside of our hearts, prayer and fasting and materialism, anxiety over material things. Now he touches on the more important related themes of how we treat and deal with other people. Now remember that Jesus called for righteousness that was greater than that of the scribes and the Pharisees in Matthew five. Now in the same way, some people think that we're made to be more self righteous is to be more judgmental of others.
Now Jesus here rebukes this type of thinking. He says judge not that you won't be judged. Now with this command, Jesus warned against passing judgment upon other people because when we do so, we will be judged in a similar manner. That's a scary thought. Now among those who seem to know nothing of the Bible, this is the verse that seems to be the most popular or it just makes the most sense to them. Now the people who quote this verse don't understand what Jesus said.
They seem to think or hope that Jesus commanded a universal acceptance of any lifestyle or teaching. That's not what he's saying. A little later in the sermon, Jesus commands us to know ourselves and others by the fruit of their life and some sort of assessment is necessary for that. Now the followers of Jesus are called to show unconditional love to everyone, but not unconditional approval. We can love people for everything, but not necessarily approve of everything.
So it certainly prohibits doing it in a spirit that it is often done. An example of an unjust judgment was the disciples condemnation of the woman who came to anoint the feet of Jesus with oil. They thought that she was wasting something that was valuable, an asset. Jesus said that she'd done a good work that would always be remembered. They had a rash, harsh, unjust judgment. Now we break this command when we think the worst of others.
We break this command when we only speak to others of their faults. We break this command when we judge an entire life only by looking at its worst moments. We certainly wouldn't want that done to us. We break this command when we judge, when we think we know the hidden motives of others. We break this command when we judge others without considering ourselves in the same circumstances. We break this command when we judge others without being mindful that we ourselves will be judged by God.
It says for with the judgment that you judge, you'll be judged. Jesus did not prohibit judgment of others. He only requires that our judgment be completely fair and that we only judge others by a standard we would also want to be judged by. Now when our judgment in regard to others is wrong, it's often because we judge according to a standard, but because we are hypocritical in the application of that standard. We ignore the standard in our own life.
It is common to judge others by one standard and we judge ourselves by another. And this is what Jesus is trying to warn us about. Now with the measure that you use, it will be measured back to you. This is the principle upon which Jesus built the command, judge not, that you will be judged. God will measure unto us according to the same measure that we use for others. Now this is a powerful motivation for us to be generous in our love and our dealings with everyone around us.
If we want more of those things from God, we should give more of them to others. Now according to the teaching of some rabbis in Jesus' time, God had two measures that he used to judge people. One was a measure of justice and the other was a measure of mercy. Now whichever measure you want God to use with you, you should use the same measure with other people. You're getting what he's trying to say.
We should only judge another's behavior when we are mindful of the fact that we ourselves will be judged by that same standard. We should consider if we want to be judged by that standard. Now verses 3 and 5, why do you look at the speck in your brother's eye but you don't consider the plank coming out of your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, let me remove the speck from your eye and look, a plank is in your own eye. You hypocrite.
First remove the plank from your own eye and then you'll see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye. What's going on here? Why do you look at the speck in your brother's eye but you don't consider the plank in your own eye? The figures of a speck and a plank are real figures yet they're used in a funny way. Jesus shows how we are generally far more tolerant of our own sin than we are of the sin of other people.
Now though there might be a literal speck in someone's eye, there obviously would not be a literal pleck or a board in an eye, Jesus used these exaggerated humorous pictures to make his message easier to understand and make it more memorable. It is a humorous picture, a man with a board in his eye trying to help a friend remove a speck from the friend's eye. Now you can't think of the picture without smiling and being amused by it.
An example of looking at a speck in the eye of another ignoring the plank in one's own when the religious leaders brought the woman taking an adultery to Jesus, she had certainly sinned. There was sin much worse than Jesus exposed it and with the statement, he who is without sin among you, let him be the first to cast a stone in John 8-7. So look, a plank is in your own eye. Jesus indicates that the one with the plank in his own eye would not immediately be aware of it.
He's blind to his own obvious faults. It's an attempt to correct the fault of someone else when we ourselves have the same or actually a greater fault. That earns the accusation hypocrite. Charles Spurgeon said Jesus is gentle but he calls the man a hypocrite who fusses about small things and others and pays no attention to great matters in his own person. Our hypocrisy in these matters is almost always more evident to others than it is to us.
We may find a way to ignore the plank in our own eye but others notice it immediately. A good example of this kind of hypocrisy was David's reaction to Nathan's story about a man who unjustly stole and killed another man's lamb. David quickly condemned the man but was blind to his own sin which was far greater in 2 Samuel 12. First remove the plank from your own eye and then you'll see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye.
Now Jesus didn't say that it was wrong for us to help our brother with the speck in his eye. He said it's a good thing for you to help your brother with the speck but not before dealing with the plank in our own eyes, in our own lives, our own shortcomings. Now verse 6 it says, Do not give what is holy to the dogs, nor cast your pearls before the swine, lest they trample them under their feet and turn and tear you in pieces. What does this say? Do not give what is holy to the dogs.
Now after he warned us against judgmental attitudes and self-blind criticism, Jesus here reminds us that he did not mean to imply that the people of his kingdom suspend all discernment. They must discern that there are some good, precious things that should not be given to those who will receive them with contempt. We might say that Jesus means don't be judgmental. Don't throw out all of your discernment either.
The dogs and swine here are often understood as those who are hostile to the kingdom of God and the message that announces it. Our love for others must not be blind to their hardened rejection of the good news of the kingdom of Jesus. We must also see in this context of the previous words against hypocrites. It may be that in Jesus' mind the dogs and swine represent hypocritical judgmental believers.
These sinning hypocrites should not be offered the pearls that belong to the community of the saints. Now Jesus also spoke in the context of correcting another brother or sister. Godly correction is a pearl, though it may sting for a moment. That must not be cast before a swine, those who were determined not to receive it. Nor cast your pearls before the swine are pearls of the previous gospel.
The precious gospel may only confuse those who do not believe, but are truth that are blinded by the God of this age and they only be exposed to the gospel at their own expense. Now of course Jesus did not say this to discourage us from sharing the gospel. Previously in this very sermon Jesus told us that our lights shine before the entire world. Jesus said this to call us to discernment and to encourage those who have prepared hearts that are ready to receive.
Now when we find such open hearts we can trust that God has already been working in them. Now verses seven and eight, ask and it will be given to you, seek and you will find, knock and it will be open to you. For everyone who asks receives and he who seeks finds and to him who knocks it will be open. Ask, seek and not. We see a progressive intensity going from ask to seek to not. Jesus told us to have intensity, passion and persistence in prayer.
Now the fact that Jesus came back to the subject of prayer already dealt with in some depth in Matthew six shows the importance of prayer. He's giving us another little lesson. Prayer is like asking in that we simply make our requests known to God and everyone who asks receives, receiving is the reward of asking. Prayer is like seeking in that we search after God, his word and his will and he who seeks finds, finding is the reward of seeking.
Prayer is like knocking until the door is open and we seek entrance into the great heavenly palace of our great King. Entering through the door open into his palace is the reward of knocking and the best reward of all. Now the idea of knocking also implies that we sense resistance. After all, if the door were already open there'd be no need to knock. Yet Jesus encouraged us, even when you sense that the door is closed and you must knock, then do so and continue to do so and you will be answered.
It's about persistence. We came to God's door and we all must knock. If we were locked, if it were locked against us we would need a burglar's tools to break in but that isn't necessary. All we must do is knock and even if I don't have a burglar's skills I can still knock, enough to know that I can do that. Charles Spurgeon. Ask and it will be given to you. God promises an answer to the one who diligently seeks it.
Now many of our passionless prayers are not answered for good reason because it's almost as if we're to ask God to care about something that we care very little about or actually not at all. God values persistence and passion in prayer because they show that we share his heart. It shows that we care about the things that he cares about. Persistence prayer does not overcome God's stubborn reluctance. It gives him glory, expresses dependence upon him and aligns our heart more with his.
Now verses 9 and 11, or what is man that he asks you for bread and you give him a stone or he asks you for a fish and you'll give him a serpent, if you then being evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your father in heaven give those good things to those who ask him? Wow. Or what is man there among you if he asks for bread will give him a stone? Jesus made it clear that God doesn't have to be persuaded or appeased in prayer.
He wants to give us not just bread, but more than what we ask for. Thankfully, the times we ask for something as bad as a serpent without knowing like a loving parent, God mercifully spares us the just penalty of our ignorance or asking for the wrong thing. If you then being evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your father who is in heaven? Now it's blasphemous to deny God's answer to the seeking heart. We then imply that God is even worse than an evil man is.
Verse 12, in a summation of Jesus's ethical teaching regarding our treatment of others, the golden rule, he says, therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the law and the prophets. Whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, the negative way of stating this command was known long before Jesus. It had been said, you should not do to your neighbor what you would not want him to do to you.
But it is significant advance for Jesus to put this in a positive way to say that we should do unto others what we would want them to do to us. Jesus reframes it. Now in doing so, Jesus makes the command much broader. It is the difference between not breaking traffic laws and in doing something positive like helping a stranded motorist.
Under the negative form of the rule, the goats, Matthew 25, were found not guilty, yet under the positive form of the golden rule, Jesus's form, they're indeed found guilty. Now this especially applies to those of us who follow Jesus, if we would experience love and have people reach out to us, we must love and reach out to others, for this is the law of the prophets.
Jesus shows that this simple principle, the golden rule, summarizes all of the law and the prophets say about how we should treat others. If we would simply treat others the way that we want to be treated, we would naturally obey all of the law says about our relationships with others. Now this makes the law easier to understand, but it doesn't make it any easier to obey. No one has ever consistently done unto others as they would have them do unto them, because none of us are perfect.
Now verses 13 and 14 say, enter by the narrow gate, for wide is the gate and broad is the path that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it, because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it. Enter by the narrow gate, now Jesus did not speak at this gate as our destiny, but as the entrance to a path, there's a right way and a wrong way. Jesus appealed to his listeners to decide to go the more difficult way which leads to life.
Now Jesus understood and taught that not all ways and not all destinations are equally good. One leads to destruction, the other leads to life. Adam Clarke explained, he said, the straight gate signifies literally what we would call a little door in a large gate. D.A. Carson says, Jesus is not encouraging committed disciples to press on along the narrow way and be rewarded in the end, he is rather commanding his disciples to enter the marked way by persecution and rewarded in the end.
It's about persevering through difficulty. Now the true gate is both narrow and difficult. If your road has a gate that is easy and well traveled, you would do well to watch out. Everyone would be doing it. Verses 15 through 20 says, but where are false prophets who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly they're ravenous wolves, you would know them by their fruits.
Do men gather in groups, grapes from thorn bushes and figs from thistles even so every good tree bears good fruit but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A tree cannot bear bad fruit nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that is not bear good fruit is cut out and thrown into the fire. Therefore they're fruits, buy your fruits that will know them. Now Jesus just warned us of a path that leads to destruction.
Now he reminds us that there are many who would try to guide us along the broad path that leads to destruction. The first step to combating these false prophets is to simply be aware of them, to know they exist. Who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. Now it is in the nature of these false prophets to deceive and deny their true character. Even when they deceive even themselves believing themselves to be sheep when in fact they're ravenous wolves.
William Barclay said the basic fault of the false prophet is self interest. Now it can be expressed by a desire for gain or an easy life, a desire for prestige or the desire to advance one's own ideas and not God's ideas. You will know them by their fruits. Now we guard ourselves against false prophets by taking heed to their fruits. This means paying attention to several aspects of their life and ministry. Now we should pay attention to the manner of living a teacher shows.
Do they show righteousness, humility and faithfulness in the way that they live? We should pay attention to the content of their teaching. Is it true from God's word or is it man centered and celebrity driven, appealing to ears that want to be tickled and telling everyone what they want to hear? We should pay attention to the effect of their teaching. Are people growing in Jesus or merely being entertained and eventually falling away?
Even so every good tree bears good fruit but a bad tree bears bad fruit. This fruit is the inevitable result of those who are. Eventually though it may take a time for the harvest to come the good fruit and the bad fruit is evident revealing what sort of tree they are. Now earlier in the chapter Jesus warned us to judge ourselves first to look for the speck in our own eye before turning our attention to the beam in our neighbor's eye.
Therefore before asking if anyone else we should first ask do I bear fruit that brings God glory? Verse 21 through 23, not everyone who says to me Lord, Lord shall enter the kingdom of heaven but he who does the will of my father who is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day Lord, Lord have we not prophesied in your name, cast out demons in your name and done many wonders in your name? And then I'll declare to them I never knew you. Depart from me you who practice lawlessness.
What's happening here? Not everyone who says to me Lord, Lord shall enter the kingdom of heaven. Jesus spoke here of a proper verbal confession where these ones called Jesus Lord there is vital but it's not enough. We misuse the language of Lord, Lord. We cannot be saved if we do not though hypocrites may say it we should not be ashamed to say it yet it alone is not enough. This warning of Jesus applies to people who speak or say things to Jesus or about Jesus but don't really mean it.
It isn't that they believe Jesus is a devil they simply say the words very superficially. Their mind is elsewhere but they believe there is value in the bare words and fulfilling some kind of religious duty with no heart, no soul, no spirit only bare words and passing thoughts. Who says to me? Well say to me in that day it is staggering that Jesus claimed he is the one that people must stand before on the final day of judgment and he is the one rightly called Lord.
This obscure teacher in a backwater part of the world claimed to be the judge of all men in the final day. Lord Lord have we not the people Jesus speaks of here had impressive spiritual accomplishments. They prophesied they cast out demons they did wonders wonderful things they meant nothing without true fellowship and true connection with Jesus. Jesus did not seem to doubt their claims doing the miraculous he didn't say you didn't really prophesy or cast out demons or do miracles.
This leads us to understand that sometimes miracles are granted through pretending believers. Miracles prove nothing significantly they even did these things in the name of Jesus yet they never really had a relationship of love and fellowship with Jesus.
I never knew you depart from me you who practice lawlessness in the end there is one basis of salvation it isn't mere verbal confession it's not spiritual works but knowing Jesus and being known by him it's our connection to him by the gift of faith that gives it to us that secures our relationship with him. Connecting to Jesus we're secure without connection to Jesus all the miracles and the great works prove absolutely nothing.
In addition these are not people who lost their salvation instead they never truly had it.
Now verse 24 through 27 therefore whoever hears these sayings of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock the rain descended the floods came the winds blew and beat on that house but it did not fail for it was founded on the rock but everyone who hears these sayings of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand like the beach behind me and the rain descended
and the floods came and the winds blew and beat on that house and it fell and great was its fall. Now I will liken him to a wise man who built on his rock. Now in Jesus' illustration of the two builders each house looked the same from the outside. The real foundation of our life is usually hidden and is only proven in the storm.
We could say that the storms come from both heaven the rain and the earth the floods and the rain descended the floods came and the winds blew and beat on the house a storm was the ultimate in power to generations that didn't have nuclear weapons. Jesus warns us that the foundations of our lives will be shaken at one time or another and totally dismantled. It is in that moment we find out what our house is built of.
It's better that we test the foundation of our life now rather than at the judgment before it's too late when we can't change our destiny. Now everyone who hears these sayings of mine and does not do them merely hearing God's word isn't enough to provide a secure foundation it is necessary that we're also doers of his word. If we're not we commit the sin that will surely find us out. The sin of doing nothing and great will be our fall.
Yet no one can read this without seeing that they have not do not and will never completely do that even if we do them in a general sense in which we should. The revelation of the kingdom of God the sermon on the mount drives us back again and again as people who need Jesus to help us live for him and his teachings. 28 and 29 and so it says when Jesus ended these sayings that the people were astonished at his teaching for he taught them as one having authority and not as the scribes.
Now his audience could all but notice that Jesus taught as one who had authority not like the people who had taught before him. There's a difference between somebody who has authority and someone who has a fear. The people were astonished at his teachings. Now whenever whenever God's word is presented as it truly is with its inherent power it will astonish people and set itself apart from mere opinions and ideas. When we really understand Jesus's sermon on the mount we should be astonished also.
If we are not astonished then we probably really haven't read it or understood it correctly as Jesus has said. To have the hearers astonished was a good thing but it was not good if that was the extent of the effect. A good teacher always wants to do far more than admonish his listeners. Now this wraps up our time together looking at Matthew chapter 7. Maybe you've never prayed before that was mentioned in this chapter. Prayer is just talking to God.
Maybe you need to ask God to help you with your life. Maybe you need to quit doing some things that are disconnecting you from God. You know we can always ask for God's help for a fresh start. Let's pray together and you can just say God would you give me a fresh start today? Would you change my life? Would you help me to follow you? In Jesus name, Amen. Hope you join us tomorrow and as always have a great day. Thank you for your time. We would love to partner with you.
Water is a global problem. It's going to take as many partners as we can to help solve this problem. We'd love for you to partner with us. You can go to our website at www.oceanwater.com. That's O-C-N-W-T-R dot com. We'd love that. Thanks a lot.