Seeing Clearly

Everyone, it's lovely to be together this morning.

My name is Graham and I'm the pastor here of the church.

And then we're going to pray and we'll get into it together.

So this is me reading from the NIV.

The NIV is also on the screen behind me.

This is Jesus speaking.

Do not judge or you too will be judged.

For in the same way as 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's 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.

Do not give to the dogs what is sacred.

Do not throw your pearls to pigs.

If you do, they may trample them under their feet

and turn and tear you to pieces.

Ask and it will be given to you.

Seek and you will find.

Knock and the door will be opened to you.

For everyone who asks receives.

The one who seeks finds.

And to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.

Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone?

Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake?

If you then, though you are evil,

know how to give good gifts to your children,

how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him?

So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you.

For this sums up the law and the prophets.

And God will bless the reading of his word to us this morning.

Father, we just pray as we think about this passage today,

realizing, Lord, how difficult a subject this is in so many ways.

Father, we pray that what we know not, you would teach us.

What we have not, you would give us.

And particularly what we are not, you would make us.

And we can pray that boldly and expectantly

because we pray it in the wonderful name of your son, Jesus.

Amen.

Amen.

Well, folks, keep that passage open in front of you.

Complete the phrase, popularized by Elton John.

I'm going to go with 1986, but I can't remember off the top of my head.

What seems to be the hardest word?

Question.

Have you ever wondered why that's true?

See, while you're thinking on it,

here's what I reckon on the flip side is the easiest word.

Particularly when it comes to critiquing the motives and the failings of others.

If sorry seems to be the hardest word,

I tell you what, I think guilty seems to be the easiest word.

Same question.

Have you ever wondered why that's true?

And at this point, let me be the first to put my hand up and say,

Hi, my name is Graham and I've got a judging problem.

I'm my own best self-defense lawyer.

I love to play judge and jury.

I cut myself meters worth of slack,

but I offer a shoelace size worth of it to others.

And I desperately need Jesus to change my heart.

And if you're like me, you're thinking the exact same thing.

Do you know the good news?

Is that that's the precise thing that Jesus speaks into today

because he's desperate to heal us of it.

Now, let me give you two bits of context

that will color in the background to these verses.

They're really important.

Here's number one.

Remember the disciples are swimming in the cultural waters

dominated by the Pharisees,

the religious leaders of the day.

Do you know what their favorite hymn is?

The chorus goes like this.

Amazing grace, how sweet the sound,

earned by a star like me.

They get grace in the head,

but they think that God shows them that grace

because of their religious devotion to his law.

And that's why they,

maybe we've tracked with this over the number of weeks

in the Sermon on the Mount.

That is why they are intent on lowering the bar

when it comes to the law.

Therefore, making it easier for people to try and obey it

or for them to feel like they're obeying it.

Because then they can feel really good about themselves

because their good deeds have got themselves

into God's good books.

But the gospel doesn't work like that.

And Jesus unmasks them and says,

they are proud lovers of self.

They are like Snow White's apple.

They look really juicy and life-giving on the outside,

but you take one bite of it

and it's full of poison on the inside.

And because they get grace in the head,

but it hasn't penetrated their hearts,

do you know what's their speciality?

Judging others.

Bit of context number two.

In stark contrast to the inner life of the Pharisees,

Jesus is speaking to his disciples

about how through his death and resurrection,

how united to him,

they can know God as their father.

And that, dear friends,

is the most wonderful privilege that any human being could know.

As the late English theologian D.I. Packer put it,

if you want to judge how well a person understands Christianity,

find out how much he makes of the thought of being God's child

and having God as his father.

And Jesus has been spotlighting,

in light of that privilege,

the things that might trip up disciples

in terms of living out that truth.

And we thought about a few of these things over the last few weeks.

We thought about money,

if you remember that.

We thought about worry last week.

And this morning,

we are thinking about judging.

So Jesus is particularly talking in the context here

about relationships between people in the church.

And he's going to land it,

if you've got it there,

at verse 12.

Have a look at it there if you've got it.

Do you see verse 12?

And do you see the first word of verse 12?

It's the word so,

which tells us that the purpose of everything

that Jesus has just said in the previous 11 verses

is designed to get us there.

So if you like,

that's where the heat of this sermon is.

That bit,

that's where we're aiming today.

And with that verse in mind,

can I tell you what's been in my head all week

what I've been thinking about?

Here's the question.

How would I like to be treated by others?

Particularly when it comes to my failings.

What's on your bingo card?

Can I give you mine?

Here it is.

I'd like people to be patient with me

when I make mistakes.

I'd like people to be quick to forgive me

when I get it wrong.

I'd people to be quick to reach out and say,

I was slightly offended by that comment you made.

I would love to forgive you.

Do you see it?

I'd love people to say that.

I'd love people to give me the benefit of the doubt

again when I get it wrong.

And on and on and on and on,

this list could go about how I would love others

to treat me when it comes to my failings.

It's quite the wish list.

Now I'm going to fly a kite here

and say that your list is probably quite similar to mine.

And here's a thought for you at the start.

Would you not love to be part of a church community like that?

Which means we desperately need to pay attention

to how Jesus gets to that soul.

Yeah?

And so we're going to take in what Jesus is saying here

just under two headings.

If you're a note taker, these are the two headings.

If you're not, just get into the habit of that.

Just try and break it up like an orange.

Just don't bite it all at once.

Just try and break it up.

Here's number one.

We've taken in verses one to six.

Jesus is saying,

you need to work hard to see clearly.

And I think verse one is a prime contender

for being the most misquoted verse in all of the Bible.

You see it?

Because we'll come on to see

that Jesus is all for judging rightly.

What he's dead against is judgmentalism.

And to make his point,

he uses a bit of observational comedy.

Friends, if you're here today

and you think Jesus wasn't funny,

let this prove you wrong.

And he's taking it straight from a setting

that Jesus would be very familiar with,

the carpenter's workshop.

So Bogdan, are you here?

Bogdan, I saw you itching at your eye earlier

and I really don't want you to get conjunctivitis.

So can I just come here

and I'm just going to take it out of your eye.

Okay?

So Bogdan, this is only going to work, bro,

if you stay still.

Okay?

Bogdan, you're making this a lot harder

than it needs to be.

Bogdan, I don't think you're getting this.

You can sit down.

Okay.

So, here's the question.

Do you see how Jesus is using humor

to make a serious point?

And what do they say humor does to people

in terms of receiving really hard things to hear?

It lowers the defenses.

Yeah?

So, in this story,

Jesus probably doesn't even need to say it

as people laugh at what he's saying.

What does everybody hearing this

know needs to happen first?

The man needs to take the log out of his own eye.

Yeah?

That's exactly what he's saying here.

I'd imagine this is a bit like

when you're on a plane

and they tell you to fit your own oxygen mask

first before trying to help others.

It's got that,

those kind of vibes to it.

So, you see what Jesus is saying, right?

If the Chuckle Brothers did a sketch like that,

we'd have been hysterics, wouldn't we?

He's using humor to make a serious point.

And so, here is the serious point.

First diagnostic question of this passage.

Friends, are we willing to see our heart issues?

And it's worth reflecting on that phrase

that Jesus uses there.

Do you see it?

Do not notice.

Again, look at it in the text.

Or pay no attention to.

Do you see that in verse 3?

Now, it could be the things in our lives

we are willfully refusing to face them.

And Jesus is saying that's a problem.

I read one commentator this week

and he put it like this.

I thought it was really interesting.

It's so often the case that

what we condemn in others

are the very weaknesses we know exist in us.

And that we're scared to face up to

in ourselves.

And that's kind of true, isn't it?

How often the failings that I dislike in other people

and are so quick to pick up on

are the exact things that are issues for me.

Some questions for you, friends.

When was the last time that you and I

held our hands up and said,

I think I got it wrong?

When was the last time we owned a mistake?

When was the last time we said,

Fair Cop Gov?

When was the last time we said,

Sorry?

See if the honest answer to those questions is,

I can't remember.

Then can I lovingly suggest

that we shouldn't take that to mean

that in life we're playing a blinder.

It is much more likely to be the case

that that is an indicator of a proud heart.

Where would you love to change?

We always need to remember

that the best looking Christian

is one growing by the Spirit

into the likeness of Jesus.

And so where would you love to change?

But something else do not notice could mean,

if you think about it,

is that we just don't see our problems.

It's one of the first things they teach you

when you're learning to drive, isn't it?

How to use your car mirrors properly

and very quickly,

just before mirror signal maneuver,

what do they say you've got to be aware of?

Your blind spots.

We've all got them.

Problem is, by very definition,

we just don't see them.

And that's why we need people around us

who are lovingly invested in us enough,

who can gently and lovingly point them

out to us in love.

But back to the comedy sketch,

let's assume that the log is out.

What does Jesus say

is now able to happen for that person?

Have a look.

What are they now able to do?

Take the speck out of their brother's eye.

And don't miss how radical a thing that is.

Particularly in our world

where we are bombarded with that slogan,

each to their own.

And that is where it stops.

I mean, who are you to judge others?

Do you not remember Thumper Rabbit from Bambi?

If you can't say nothing nice,

don't say nothing at all.

But according to Jesus,

your brother has still got a speck in his eye.

And if you love him,

you'll speak into the speck.

Which takes us to the second diagnostic question

that this passage asks us.

Friends, are we willing to say the hard things?

Our job is not to be like girls in a hen do

who will only say nice things to the bride-to-be,

or to be like the guys down the pub with their mates

who put the world to rights,

but talking about the serious things of life

is completely out of bounds.

Hear me when I say, friends,

that echo chambers might be comfortable and affirming,

but they are terrible places

for the development of our character.

And that's why the local church,

this network of people,

is the God-given arena for us to grow in godliness.

That's why if you're here today,

maybe you're a student new to the city,

you've literally just arrived,

maybe you're starting a job here,

can I plead with you to prioritize

finding a local church?

Do we have people in our lives

who we have given express permission to

to tell us the things that we might not want to hear,

but that we need to hear?

And do you notice what has happened

by the time we get to the end of this comedy sketch?

Blink and you might miss this.

Look what's happened.

Do you notice

that both people are now seeing clearly?

What a win for the health of the church.

Now listen, really quickly as we move on,

this idea of seeing clearly

carries on to what Jesus talks about

when he says,

throwing pearls before swine.

Don't have an awful lot of time to get this,

but I just wanted us to touch on it.

I take it Jesus is talking about

if the gospel is the pearl

by the swine he's got in mind,

I take it those who continue to reject the gospel.

He's got in mind those people who we speak to

who aren't interested in seeing clearly.

And that can be hugely discouraging

just to own that.

Remember living in halls at uni,

right next door to a girl called Alice.

Alice and I got on great guns,

but she made it very clear from the start,

abundantly clear,

that she just wasn't interested

in any of my God stuff.

And that's fine.

Just kept trying to take opportunities,

kept trying to speak to her.

But then the Lord opened my eyes to say,

there's actually another 600 people in this hall

so you need to keep speaking to.

And so I take it, friends,

that it's true that there is a time

when we need to leave people with the Lord

and perhaps move on

and to start speaking to other people in our lives

who don't know Jesus.

We want to tease that out a bit more.

Just grab somebody who you've come with this morning

or one of the elders.

We'd love to pray into that a bit more with you,

but we need to move on.

Flowing on from seeing clearly.

Second thing that Jesus says is,

verse 7 to 12.

Look up and ask trustingly.

So when Jesus says,

ask, seek, knock,

I think this is Jesus just saying the same thing

three times in complimentary ways.

Why?

Because he knows that we so quickly forget.

What's the key to education?

Repetition.

Do you see how he says it?

Not once, not twice, three times.

Because he knows that we're slow to believe this.

And what this says is ultimately another opportunity

to gaze at the heart of our Father.

And to get us thinking along those lines,

Jesus says,

do you see,

I want you to think about

what kind of parent you are

or perhaps the kind of parent that you had.

And again,

this is where I need to hold my hands up

and say to you

that nothing has revealed my heart issues

quite like being a parent.

And there have been moments

when in the cool of the day

when I've honestly reflected on my actions

and I've thought to myself,

perhaps impatience is a bigger deal in my life

than I think it is.

Perhaps I'm not over anger.

I'm actually,

I still am deep down an angry man.

I go good cop when I should have gone bad cop.

I often go bad cop when I should have gone good cop.

But here's the thing.

See,

despite all the messed up work in progress nature of my heart,

I have never,

ever wanted anything

than to give my children what is good for them.

And that's Jesus' point

is he uses another bit of first century humor.

You know,

if I could translate what Jesus is saying

at verses nine and 10,

have a look at it there into modern terms.

This is the equivalent of wrapping a,

he's saying you would never do this.

You would never wrap a Christmas present,

put it under the tree

and on Christmas morning,

invite your child to open it

and say,

what's that little rosy?

Does it look like a squishmallow?

What is it?

No,

it's a live hand grenade.

Ha ha ha ha.

That's what he's saying,

isn't it?

And here's Jesus' point.

You would never dream of doing that

and you are,

do you see the word he uses?

You are evil.

You would never dream of doing that

and yet you are evil.

How much more then?

And we've seen that logic

that Jesus has been using

over the last number of weeks.

How much more then

will your perfect heavenly father

give you exactly what you need?

And again,

two quick diagnostic questions.

Here's the first one.

Friends,

will we trust his definition of good?

Back to the parent-child thing again.

You know,

there are times

when our kids ask for things

and it's just a no.

Other times,

it's a not now.

Right?

Maybe a mobile phone,

one day,

not when you're 10.

Right?

Not now.

Sometimes,

it's a yes.

But the thing is,

whichever option you choose,

the thing is,

you're trying to communicate

that the answer that we're given

is rooted in the fact

that we love you.

How much more then

does our heavenly father

who is for us

and has his full affection on us

because our lives are united to Christ,

how much more is he the perfect parent

with no speck in his eye?

How much more will he give us

what is good?

And friends,

what if that definition of good

included that which is tough?

How many of us in this room

have stories

that God took us through trials,

trials that we would never have chosen,

but that we came through them

knowing our heavenly father

so much better

than we ever did before.

There'll be a lot of stories

in this room like that.

But maybe just go and pastoral

for a moment.

I know so many of you

are in this room just now

and perhaps you're in the place

or you've been in the place

and you hear me say that,

you read this text

and you think,

not convinced.

Because I've been praying

for something for years

and it just feels like

I'm getting voicemail.

And dear friends,

the only thing I can say

in love

and desiring to walk with you

through life

and that's what church community

is all about.

Just encourage you to see

that Jesus knows

what that is like.

He knows what it is

for him to pray

to his father

and for his father

to stay silent.

Because fast forward

to the end of Matthew's gospel

and I have no idea

when we'll get there

but we will.

On the cusp of the cross

in the garden of Gethsemane,

Jesus would cry out

and remember

the thought before him

of the cross

was utterly terrifying.

That is why he sweats,

he sweats drops of blood

and he prays,

Lord, would this cup

pass from me

and yet silence.

But fully submissive

to the will of his father,

he goes there.

And so the plea,

pastorally,

is all of us

to consider Jesus.

And because he went there,

because he did that

in our Genesis 3

east of Eden world

where evil things happen

and we can call them evil

and life is full of loose ends

and hurts and heartaches,

this word good

means that we can play

the long game

knowing the father's heart.

we can look forward

to heaven

and to him

and not that he's

at the finish line

just waiting for us to come.

He's with us

through every single

heartache and pain

and tear that we shed.

And so second question

and we land with this,

will we embrace

his example

of good?

And perhaps

if that last application

point was wide,

I think this application

point is narrow

and it's probably

where the grain

of the text

is leading us

because I think

in the context

of those verses,

Jesus is still

talking about

relationships

with other people

in the church.

So he's not

changed the subject.

This can so often

read like an AOCB.

We were talking about

that in sermon prep

this week,

an AOCB to the

Sermon on the Mount

where he's just

chucking in things

randomly.

I think there's a lot

more purpose to that

than that.

He's not changed

the subject.

And I think this is

where we need to

close it today

as we think about

our life together.

You know,

I was up in,

we were up in Aberdeen

for John and Ali's

wedding on Thursday.

And it's actually

the first time

that I've been back

in Aberdeen

since I graduated

from there in 2008.

Shocking.

But we're driving

the streets

and I'm giving

Alex the tour.

This big part

of my life

that she never knew

and I'm giving

him the tour.

That's where

our halls

of residence were.

That's where

the lecture halls

were.

And that was

my first flat

when I moved

out of university.

And I scored

a great goal

on that football

pitch as if she

was caring.

But all these

memories come

flooding back to

me of that

season of my life.

But do you know

what else came

flooding back to me

in that same

moment?

It was all

the mistakes I

made.

particularly when

it comes to

how I treated

people.

And it struck

me afresh

because I knew

we were preaching

this this morning.

Just how

patient

our Father

is

with us.

And the thing

is we probably

have no

idea.

And knowing

his patient,

patient

with me

who is

evil

character

should change

how we view

and relate

to other

people.

Do you see it?

Because see if that

word good is

simply about

material things,

if God gives

me the good

things,

that's not

going to help

me love and

treat others

like I want

to be treated,

is it?

And that's

what convinces

me that's the

connection between

these two

things.

However,

what if within

that definition

of good

are the

character

traits that

you and I

need in order

to love

people in

our church

family the

way that

we'd love

to be

treated?

Lord,

help me.

Give me the

good thing

of being

more patient

with people.

Lord,

give me the

good thing

of not being

defensive when

I'm challenged.

Lord,

give me the

good thing

of dropping

my pride,

swallowing it,

and admitting

when I got it

wrong.

Because what's

going to convince

me,

friends,

to get down

off of my

high horse

and face up

to that log

in my eye?

When everything

about the

Pharisees wants

to lurk in

my heart,

that I want

you to think

I'm better

than I am.

What's going

to convince

me to get

off my

high horse

and deal

with that

speck?

What's going

to convince

me to treat

others the

same way

that I'd

like to be

treated,

particularly

when I feel

the sharp

end of the

faults of

others,

and for that

change to be

more than

skin deep?

It's only

knowing that

my father

has always

and will

always treat

me who is

evil with

his good.

You see it?

He is a

God who is

so generous

and patient

even to

those who

are evil.

Do you know

he's a God

so good that

he would give

what?

His one and

only son

to those

who didn't

deserve

anything but

hell and

judgment.

And that

son is the

very one

speaking,

and that

is the

son who

would give

his life

on the

cross as

a ransom

for many.

Friends,

this is the

kind of

father that

we have.

Let me

pray.

Lord,

we just

ask,

Father,

as we

think about

the challenge

of this

passage,

your word

has perhaps

uncomfortably

touched some

nerves in

our hearts,

Lord,

I pray that

you would

give us the

humility to

change.

Lord,

we recognize

our inability,

Father,

often to do

the thing that

we need to

do to change,

but Lord,

thank you that

this is not

about us.

You have

given us

your spirit.

And we

pray that he

would be at

work in

our lives,

pruning,

chipping away

revealing what

is bad,

and that,

Lord,

he would be

about his

work of

forming us

more into

the likeness

of Jesus.

So,

Father,

thank you

for your

commitment

to us.

Thank you

for your

love for

us.

And,

Father,

we pray that

you would

just be with

us now as

we move

into a

time of

communion

together,

as we

savor,

just a bit

more slowly,

savor the

blood and

the body

broken for

us.

So,

Father,

we pray all

these things

in Jesus'

precious name.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.