Different: Following Jesus in a World That Isn't | Sermon 6 | Pastor Derek Berry

Different, you know, for you and I, uh, following Jesus in a world that is not.

And today we'll find our place in Matthew chapter number seven, and look at really the first twelve verses of the chapter.

And the really the big idea that I've jotted down as I was studying was following Jesus changes the way we see people, but it also changes the way that we treat people.

And so when we thought on this different word, because we're following Jesus in a world that is not following Christ, and we've seen time and time again how we should be different.

And today he's gonna speak specifically about how you and I uh treat others, right?

So it's different relationships, is sort of the the mindset behind it.

And I'll read the first twelve verses here in a moment.

But I started thinking that relationships with people would be a lot easier if it didn't involve people, right?

Of course, we understand that.

Why?

Because at times people can be difficult, at times people can disappoint us, at times people can misunderstand us.

Um at times um people say that some things that they should not say.

At times people make decisions that you and I do not agree with.

And at times, sometimes people can actually hurt us.

And we think about those thoughts, and I want to be honest and open.

Sometimes those people are us.

I could put my name over my life in one of those categories or another, and so can you, if you want to be honest.

So so here's the question, the large question, the big question that Christ is dealing with in this sort of text here is how should followers of Jesus Christ treat other people?

Now he doesn't say if we're treated well, this is what you do, and we'll read the verses, but before we ever know how somebody's gonna treat us, I need to determine how I'm gonna treat others, and that's what Christ is dealing with right here.

How should followers of Jesus Christ treat other people?

It's an important question because I think one of the clearest evidences of a changing heart is how people treat other people.

I'm telling you that people that treat somebody wrong intentionally over and over, the fruit of their uh Christian life is not good.

And so I want to make sure that I'm treating people well.

And so I want to set this text up and then I'll read it.

Remember the Sermon on the Mount.

Jesus is preaching to the disciples.

He's they've walked up, he's set them down, and we've been looking since chapter 5, verse number one, and he's it's a continuation.

He's preaching word by word, he's saying it to them.

And what we're gonna find in chapter number seven is that Jesus uh deals with probably the hardest parts of relationships.

What'll I do when somebody does me wrong?

We've all been there.

He's gonna deal with it.

Um, can I confront sin in my friend or my brother or sister in Christ's life?

Can I do that?

He's gonna deal with that right here.

What does Jesus mean in the first word when he says, judge not, because we hear that all the time.

What does he mean by that?

What will I do if somebody needs to be corrected as a follower of Christ, as a brother and sister in Christ?

What do I do?

I mean, he answers all of this.

And Jesus is gonna show you and I that relationships with others need not only truth and grace.

I have to be truthful, but I have to be gracious.

They also need some level of humility, humbleness from us, and discernment.

So those things are balanced out that Jesus uses in these 12 verses together.

So let's read them and then we'll preach through them.

And as I read them, I want you to notice how often Christ uh forces you and I to stop looking at others and to look at ourselves.

Notice that.

Verse number one, Jesus said, Judge not that you be not judged.

For with uh what judgment you judge, you will be judged.

And with the measure of uh the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.

And why do you look at the speck in your brother's eyes, but do not consider the plank in 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.

Hypocrite, remember the word hypocrite, mask, an actor, imitator.

Verse 5, hypocrite, first remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye.

And do not give what is holy to dogs, nor cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under the feet, and tur uh and turn and tear you in pieces.

Verse 7, ask, and it will be given to you.

Seek, and you will find, knock, and it will be open to you.

Or what man is there among you, who if his son Oh, I skipped verse eight, didn't I?

Hey, I just said if y'all was paying attention, okay?

Verse eight, for everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be open.

Verse nine, or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone, or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent?

If you do then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your father who is in heaven, give good things to those who ask him?

Therefore, because of everything I've just said, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them.

For this is the law and the prophets.

So Jesus lays out what you and I know of as the first twelve verses here in chapter number seven.

Time and time again, he r reminds you and I to stop looking at others and look at yourself.

And what we find right off the bat is that really Jesus, before we can fix somebody else, we've got to first fix ourselves.

And that's sort of the mindset as he sort of walks into this.

So let me give you, I got four things to give you this morning.

Here's the first thing that we're gonna see.

We're gonna look at this in really the first uh five verses.

And it's real simple.

Look at yourself before you look at others.

Look at yourself before we look at others.

Now that's sort of sounds very simple, and it's sort of maybe even common sense-wise, but yet all too often we point like this rather than this.

Somebody says something, I think of how it applies to their life before I think of how it applies to my life.

It's a human nature thing, and Jesus knows that, and that's why he's addressing it right here in this uh sermon.

So in the first five verses, Jesus reminds you and I to not just we have to look at ourselves, look in the mirror, look internally, and see something before I want to try to go fix somebody else.

And what I think I love about this verse is that Jesus begins with probably one of the most recognized verses that I have ever been quoted.

People quote to me all the time.

If they know one verse in the Bible, they know Matthew chapter number seven, verse number one, judge not lest you be judged.

I mean, I've heard it my entire Christian life.

It's said, now, they they often forget about the other zillion commandments in the Bible, but yet they they specifically get on this one and sort of interpret it in a way as if it's not connected to the verses before it or connected to the verses after it.

And they sort of take it as if it is the sole principle to understand.

But yet there's so much more with that.

And that's what I love about the Word of God, is we can expound upon it.

And so this statement is used all too often.

And if anybody uses it, they may not even realize that Jesus is in the middle of preaching and it's just one sentence within it.

But yet I want to look at it and see what he's talking about.

Why does he say it this way and why is it worded that way?

Because usually when it's quoted back to me, it's somebody saying, the Bible tells us, Derek, that you're not supposed to judge other people.

And really the question behind it is this what did Jesus mean when he said it?

Because I look at words way different when we study them.

You have to see what was the meaning behind it in that language that it was spoken in, and yet it's so complex and compared to our English language.

And so I've got to look a little deeper.

And so detail my mind saying, oh, on the surface, it just means that I can't judge you.

But really, what does he mean by it?

Because Jesus certainly did not mean never determine what is right and wrong.

He did not mean that you shouldn't determine if there's anything good or if there's anything bad out there.

He didn't mean that because then he would have contradicted himself in many other places within Scripture and in this sermon by itself.

And so it doesn't mean that you can't determine what is right and wrong because actually you're supposed to.

He's not saying that you should never uh confront a sin in somebody's life.

He's not saying that at all because he actually gives the context to do so.

He says, just watch your own eye before you look to theirs and clean yourself before you try to clean up their life.

And so, what is he speaking about here?

I know contextually, Jesus in the Word of God is never gonna contradict itself.

And so if he's saying that I can never look at a situation and determine if it's right or wrong, then why did he say in verse 15 that you and I've got to beware of false prophets?

Because verse 15, I know that that'll be probably next Sunday, but verse 15 says, beware of false prophets who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are wolves.

How would I ever know that they're a sheep in wolf's uh clothing if I don't look and make a determination if they're right or if they are wrong?

Verse 16, I know it's next week's, but let me just go ahead and read it.

Verse 16, you will know them by their fruits.

So he's telling us to look at them at their fruits, but yet then I get to verse number one and say, judge not lest you be judged.

What is he speaking about?

Because they all these verses go together.

I want to be able to identify if there's a false teacher or a false uh prophet out there and know if they're saying the truth or the or saying false.

So how should I ever do that if I'm not allowed to judge and determine anything?

I think it's all about how you do it.

Let me give you some other examples of this before we sort of move on.

I love the way Jesus wrote this, and I even put this verse, uh, I'll put it on the screen for you so you don't have to turn your Bible.

In the Gospel of John, chapter number seven, and I believe it's verse number 24, it says, Jesus says, Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment.

So the word of God doesn't contradict itself, it only compliments itself.

The word of God is understood when we look at other verses in the Word of God.

And so if he says in chapter 7, verse number 1, judge not lest you be judged, and then in the Gospel of John, he says this, which one is right?

So we got to dig down and say, what does he mean by it?

The problem, I don't believe, is judging.

It is uh the problem isn't discernment.

I think it's the way you do it.

It's the way you do it.

You have to do it by first examining yourself.

Discernment.

He wants us to make a determination and to discern.

So let's let's break these verses apart in the context that they're in.

Verse number two tells us to be careful with the standard that you use.

He's letting you and I know to be consistent.

Verse number two says, For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged.

And with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.

He's letting you and I know that we have to have some level of consistency with how we measure things.

You think about how you Megan and I were, she's uh me and you understand uh honeydew lists and projects, right?

Come on, especially when we get a day off on Labor Day.

We got a bunch of things.

So she says, Oh, I here's what you gotta get going.

I gotta get this done.

And so I'm okay, I'll handle this.

And we're painting, or we, when I say we, it's me, uh is painting um uh Harlow's room.

And as I'm painting it, she is telling me what she wants where, and I'm telling her if it'll work or if it's not.

And I am measuring it with inches, the bed, and I'm trying to tape it out.

And she's trying to measure it with feet.

And so at this point, she's telling me that this bed's like 72 feet long.

And I'm like, well, if that's the case, it's not gonna fit in the anywhere in the house, okay?

She can sleep outside from here on out.

And I said, No, we've got X amount of inches.

I know that, but it's 72 feet, and I'm thinking, where's it gonna fit?

And how much does it cost?

You understand?

I mean, I know how much a normal size bed costs, let alone a 72-foot-long bed, right?

And so there's gotta be some level of consistency because that allowed me to be confused.

And therein lies is what Jesus is speaking about in verse number two.

There's gotta be a measure, a standard.

If I'm if it's interesting how easy it can be to give myself grace, myself grace, but to be harsh on somebody else.

I'll be gracious with self, but I demand perfection with other people.

Uh I'll lose my temper, and it's just, man, I had a hard day.

They lose their temper, they've got anger problems, and they need help.

That's typically how we do.

We look worse, we we look at others worse than we look at ourselves.

Why?

Because we know our own selves and we know our own surroundings and we know what we're facing.

But yet I'm much harder with somebody else.

And Jesus has showed us in verse number two, be consistent with how you judge, and I want you to be consistent not only with others, but with yourself first.

And then you get to verse number three of the text.

In verse number three, he says, examine yourself first.

Verse three, and why do you look at the speck in your brother's eye, but do not consider the plank within your own?

And I love this picture that Christ gives here.

It's it's almost laughable to some degree.

It's a little bit of an exaggerate, right?

But I think he does it on purpose to make us see the severity behind it.

Visualize, picture a piece of sawdust in your brother's eye, but a two by four within yours.

And, or the other way around, you can look at it any way that you would like.

But in the text here, if somebody out there has a speck in their eye, and here I come and say, Pat, let me get that piece of sawdust out of your eye that is bothering you, but I have a two by four coming out of my eye, it looks silly because I should first remove this from mine, get it all cleared up, and then try to help him.

Spiritually speaking, I should have a clean slate with myself and the Lord and own it and repent and seek him before I go after somebody else.

That's what he's talking about in this text.

I mean, picture the visual behind that.

Jesus essentially, and I'm holding this and I see that.

Jesus is trying to let us realize the severity behind it.

And I love it because Jesus intentionally makes this picture very large and I hate to say ridiculous, I don't mean that Christ is ridiculous, I'm just saying exaggerant, because that's how important it is.

And he wants our minds to think.

And you know what's interesting about that, those that word to me is that it doesn't say the speck's not in your brother's eyes, because the speck is.

He just says, before you go to Pad and try to remove that piece of sawdust, I need to first look at myself internally and then remove my large two by four out of my eyes.

See, Jesus never said the other person didn't have a problem, because they do.

It's there.

The sawdust is there, the speck was in their eyes.

The problem is it's me.

Remember, I told you he's gonna repeatedly say, look within before we look on the outside.

The problem is not that I have a, that he has a problem and I do.

No, the problem is I'm looking and focusing on the wrong thing.

It's no different than an example that I gave you earlier.

We oftentimes look around us and try to apply truth rather than applying it to our own selves.

Sometimes we focus on others more so than we focus on ourselves and trying to be spiritually right.

And that's what Jesus is trying to paint right here.

Don't ignore what you've got by trying to help somebody else.

It doesn't work that way.

Oftentimes, every time I'm on an airplane and we have to watch that silly video before you take off.

And the video is as what?

Make sure that you put your life vest on and pull it before you help somebody next to you.

Why?

Because they want you to be safe before you help them.

And I think about that every time I get in a plane and I read this in my mind, I start thinking, how important it is it for me to try to fix myself before I help you, because I'll be able to see more clearly and handle it way better if I have nothing within me.

Look at verse five.

Probably the highlight of it to me is verse five, because the goal in trying to help a brother or a sister in Christ is not to humiliate them.

You know what the goal is?

It's not to condemn them, the goal is to restore them.

Look at verse five.

He says, hypocrite.

Hypocrite.

First, remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye.

So what's the goal?

The goal is not to condemn and condemnation, the goal is to restore restoration.

Wants to restore them.

That's the goal.

So notice the order here, right?

This word cannot be overlooked and even missed.

First, Jesus doesn't say, leave the speck in your brother's eye.

No, he doesn't all.

He identified the specks there.

He didn't say leave it there.

No, what did he say?

First, he says, deal with yours.

Deal with yours, and then go help your brother or sister in Christ.

That's what he said in verse number five.

Hypocrite, first remove it.

So he actually tells us in the context to go remove it out of their eye, but first remove yours, and then you can see them clearly.

That's way different than the way this passage has been quoted for generations.

So Jesus is not telling me or you to ignore the sin of our brother and our sister.

No, order matters.

The order is deal with yourself first and then go after them.

Why?

Because I'll be able to see clearly enough to be able to identify it.

But to be honest with you, uh, if I look at my own failures and my own needs and my own uh uh wants, and I know that I've gone to the Lord and God has handled it with me, oftentimes I'll go handle it with them a little bit more graciously.

I'll see it differently.

I'll almost be overwhelmed and over-emotioned with how God has been gracious enough to forgive me.

I will approach them with a different outlook, knowing that, man, God did this for me, God can do this for you.

And that's the level of restoration that you and I are after, not trying to condemn, not trying to embarrass, but trying to restore to help them.

It's my job.

I go to them knowing that apart from God's grace, I would have been totally capable of falling, just like they did.

But because of his grace, I can uh I can uh be more appreciative of it.

I love, Paul wrote this.

I'll give you this verse to study too.

Paul wrote this when he was writing the letter to the Galatians in Galatians chapter six, in verse number one.

I love it because the word restore is used in it.

Brethren, he's remember, he's talking to brothers in Christ, believers.

He's saying, brothers, believers, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, right, sins and such, you are spiritual, uh you who are spiritual, okay, and most everybody thinks they are, right?

But remember Jesus' perspective here, get right first.

Restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted.

What a great verse.

Paul's trying to give encouragement there.

And then that that word restore pops out to me.

I love that word restore because that restore is letting you and I know the purpose behind trying to help them.

To restore them, to not embarrass.

I'm not doing it to expose.

I'm not doing it trying to make myself look more spiritual than you.

That's what they say, but that's not the intention.

The intention is to restore them, to fix them, to help them, to let them see it in their right perspective, and then go to the Lord as I have done and you have done throughout time.

The goal isn't condemnation, the goal is restoration.

That's got to be written down.

That's the heart of what Jesus wants us.

So here's the question.

So before I go to my brother and my sister in Christ, what do I gotta do first?

Stop.

I gotta ask myself, Lord, is there a plank in my own eye that I've got to deal with before I go to my person that I love that I want to help?

Remember, the goal is not condemnation, the goal is restoration.

That's what I've got to look at.

Let me put this little saying up here for you, and then we'll move on to verse number six.

Before you point out what's wrong in somebody else's life, let God point out what's wrong in yours.

If we live by that, our our life and the relationships would be vastly different in this world.

Applying what Jesus is.

Teaching on the Sermon of the Mount.

All right, let's move on.

Verse number six.

Verse number six lets you and I know something very clearly.

Use discernment in how you deal with others.

He's telling us in verse number six to use discernment.

Decide, look, try to understand it.

Verse six do not give what is holy to the dogs, nor cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet and turn and tear you in pieces.

So he tells us in verse number six that I've got to use some level of judgment to determine what is holy and what is not.

I love this verse because this verse gives balance.

You ever know what's wrong when you're unbalanced, you know what happens?

You shake.

You ever had a vehicle out of balance?

Men?

Your wife or you hit a curb?

Okay?

I knew I'd get something out of that.

Oh shit, I didn't see that curb.

I don't know how that curb got there.

I don't know how there's a curb left, to be honest with you, at this point.

The tire is barely surviving, okay?

But you know what happens, and I get in the car and I hadn't driven it in a while and whoa.

And it ain't because she got mud tires on the car, okay?

We're in Paul and we gotta have mud tires, okay?

But I'm telling you, ooh, what do you do?

You go up here to the tire guy, balance this bad boy out, fix it.

So when you're at a balance, things shake, things don't feel right.

You you sort of feel as if there's something wrong.

Verse six gives you and I balance.

Well, verse one, judge not, we get it.

But now, verse six, he's given you and I a situation where you have to judge and recognize what is holy and what is not to apply the command that he's given you in verse number six.

And the only way to do that is to do it with the level of discernment, looking at the situation, deciding what is right.

How do I do that?

How do I do verse six?

Humility.

Write that down, humility.

Humility does not mean that you lack discernment.

I've got to have some level of humility as I approach things.

So in Jesus' day, listen, I'm a dog lover, so I'm talking to other dog lovers.

In Jesus' days, dogs wasn't pets.

You understand?

They didn't sit on the couch with you.

They didn't curl up in the blanket to watch the football game.

No.

They were scavengers.

They were wild.

They were not, now some of you don't like dogs, and that's okay.

But then you still think they're scavengers, right?

But mine's not, okay?

But in Jesus' day, dogs wasn't household pets that you fed every day, two or three times a day.

Or my kids will drop little pieces of waffle to them all the time.

Where's he at?

Oh, he's looking down.

Yes, little waffles to them all the time.

No.

In Jewish law, pigs were considered unclean.

Jesus uses very strong imagery here.

You wouldn't take something holy and something valuable and give it to scavengers and to give it to some nasty animal that would trample upon it and destroy you.

And what does that mean?

Why is he speaking of this in this moment?

Why is he telling me this now after telling me and explaining these first five verses?

Here's the principle that I wrote down that I believe is right.

Not everybody will receive truth the same way.

Not everybody will receive truth the same way.

Now, isn't that strange that somebody's gonna see things different than you, right?

Well, most of us think that we only see everything the same, but we don't, right?

There's different opinions.

So what is he talking about here?

There are some people, listen to me, who genuinely struggle and need somebody to patiently walk with them spiritually speaking.

As a follower of Christ, there's been many times, brothers in Christ, that's needed a little help.

And listen, sometimes I'll actually get more out of helping them than they than than I'm giving them because it teaches me patience and understanding.

But some of them are super struggling spiritually of understanding.

Maybe they didn't grow up in a Christian home like I did, and so they're they're struggling a little bit.

And so I walk sort of softly with them and explain certain things and sort of let them bounce ideas that they think that they're understanding off.

And man, it helps them and it actually helps me.

But but some people are like that.

What else?

There's some people who are confused at times because the Bible is so vastly different than what the world teaches, and they need somebody to patiently teach them.

So there, you have I have a friend that that didn't grow up like I did, and he says, Will you help me if I have questions?

And I said, Yep, and I won't think any different of you.

I'd rather you ask than not ask.

And if you ever get to something where I don't know, I'll find it, we'll study it together.

And he'll ask me random questions at times, and I'll try the best I can to help him understand it.

And then there's also people that you and I will come across with our life that are sort of caught up in sin, and they need somebody to lovingly restore them.

And that's a challenge within itself, because they need to be restored.

And I don't want to just hang out with them and make them feel better about their sinful choices.

No, I want to hang out with them for the sole purpose of restoring them, as the Bible teaches us to do.

And then if you think about it, how does this how does this balance?

And there's also people who have no interest in the truth, friends that I grew up with that are not right, they don't care about what the Bible says or what the truth is.

They're happy doing whatever it is that they're doing.

And all those things confuse me because sometimes, although they they like me as a person, they'll mock or even argue about things that are so clearly and so um so easy to understand in the scripture.

But I also understand that, man, the devil can blind them, and so I give them a little bit of grace, but I still love on them, but I don't ever let them know that what they're doing isn't right.

I have to be truthful and to be honest.

So how do I do that?

Verse number six shows you and I that you have to recognize that.

And I think wisdom teaches you and I how to discern.

James says, if anyone lacks wisdom, ask, and God will grant it liberally.

And there's times in my life where I say, God, I ain't getting this.

I need not earthly wisdom, I need heavenly wisdom to guide me and to direct me and to teach me and to show me I need it from you.

I don't get it.

And every time I've ever asked, God's granted.

God's granted.

And so I want to use that to help others, and I hope that you do as well.

That's why Jesus is teaching us in verse 6, there's come level of discernment you've got to use, but yet there's got to be a balance with it.

Well, what else?

Know when to speak and when to step away.

The hardest thing.

When to speak to restore, and when, after you've beaten a drum so long, you got to step away.

It's very difficult.

Especially when you love somebody and you don't want to.

Sometimes conversations require love, love for me to continue on.

Sometimes conversations can lead to me understanding that the Lord's saying, they're they're not ready to listen.

Because if I if I continue on, it almost upsets me rather than trying to encourage them.

And I want to be, I want to be used by the Lord.

So that's not Christ-like.

Well, Jesus did it.

There was times where Jesus taught people very patiently and loved on them.

There was time when Jesus corrected them directly.

There was also times when Jesus moved on.

And I don't want to ever do that, but he did it.

And there's some times in my life where I felt like I've had to with certain people because they brought me down before I could bring them up.

And they wasn't listening anyhow.

So I said, Lord, you can handle them far better than I can.

You still love them, you still pray for them, and you still want what's best for them, but I've got to recognize they're not willing to receive the truth from the word that I'm giving them, and there's nothing else that I can do.

That's what he's trying to show us.

How does that work for me and you?

How do I apply that to my life?

Verse 6, balance and wisdom.

I'll give you a comparison.

If all I have is discernment without humility, if I only have discernment and I have no humility with it, you know what I become?

Harsh.

Okay, here's the next example.

But if I have humility without discernment, if I don't have the balance, if I have one without the other, if I have humility without the discernment, I become gullible and naive.

And what do I want?

I want to be wise in the Lord and to help.

And so therefore I need a balance, and that's what he's teaching us.

Jesus says, you need grace and you need truth together, and you need humility and you need wisdom.

That's what Jesus taught us time and time again, and that'll help me on this thought.

How do I treat people?

How do I do that when they're not living like we thought that they should?

I've got to use truth and grace, I've got to use humility, and I've got to use wisdom.

Let me give you this little thought and then I'll move to verse seven.

Love people enough to speak truth, and be wise enough to know when they're unwilling to receive it.

Hard.

He never said life's gonna be easy.

But the blessings that we'll get will be in heaven.

All right, let's move to verse seven.

I love verse seven.

It's a good seven, really verse seven through eleven.

Depend on your father to treat people right.

Depend on him.

Notice the text when he goes on, ask, and it will be given to you, seek and you'll find knock, and the door is gonna open.

For everyone who asks, receive, and he who f uh seeks finds, and to him who knocks, it will be open.

I love those verses.

But what is interesting, if we're not careful, we'll begin to read.

I'm thinking, did he change subjects on me?

Did Jesus in his sermon chase another rabbit?

We all know of preachers that sometimes can chase those.

Did he chase a rabbit on this one?

Of course not.

Jesus is talking about verse one, judging people, correcting people, doing it correctly, and then all of a sudden now he's talking about prayer and ask and you'll receive and knock and the door's gonna open.

So how do these two connect if he didn't change subjects?

He didn't say, Pause, let's go take a break and I'm gonna have another sermon.

No, it continued on.

For example, why did he do it then?

Let me give you this.

How do I know when to speak and when to be quiet?

Uh how do I know when to confront somebody without becoming judgmental and harsh?

How do I recognize the own plank in my eye?

How do I show grace when somebody is frustrated, has frustrated me?

How do I do all those things?

Well, he answered the question in verse 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, I need God's help.

He's showing us how to do it because naturally I don't have heavenly wisdom, and I don't naturally show God's grace because of the human nature that I have.

And so the only way that I can have heavenly wisdom is to ask and you shall receive.

Knock and the door will open.

Seek and you shall find.

And guess what?

When I need grace, that God's grace, not my grace, because I might be too harsh, I'll ask and I'll receive.

God, knocking on heaven's door, God, I need some grace today, and guess what?

He's going to give it.

Ask and you shall receive.

Knock and the door shall be open.

Seek for that grace, and I promise you, you are going to find it.

That's why those verses are following up with how to handle people, because there's times in my life where I know I can't do it, but he can if I ask him.

Verse number eight follows up, ask your father what you need.

Jesus is teaching us to live with dependence on the Father.

Verse eight, for everyone who asks, receive.

He's telling us how to do it right there.

It's especially important in hard situations, in harsh situations that involves people that we actually love.

Then, oh, I love this.

Write this one down.

Trust the Father for him to give you goodness in verse number nine and ten.

Oh, I need it.

Trust goodness of your father.

Look at verse nine.

What uh, excuse me, or what man is there among you who asks for bread and and he'll give his son a stone?

Like, listen, if my sons need something to eat, I ain't gonna give them a rock to eat.

Or if they say, Dad, can I have a fish?

Now, if they want a pet fish, I might give them a serpent.

But if they want to eat some fish, then I'll give them some fish, you understand?

Verse 10, for uh, or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent?

Trust the Lord for his goodness.

I mean, it's a simple illustration in verse number nine.

If your child is hungry, you're gonna give them uh something to eat.

You're not gonna hand them a rock that's unedible.

So then Jesus followed up with the fish and the serpent, and then you then you get to verse number 11, and he reminds us that he's a good God.

If you then are evil, how uh know how to give good gifts to your children.

How much more will your father, who is in heaven, give you things to those who ask him?

It's no different than last week when we were talking about the birds, and if he can feed all the birds of the sky, he certainly can take care of you and I.

And now he's telling us your father wants to give us something good.

Those words again, we saw them throughout this entire Sermon on the Mount, your father, your father.

We've seen it over and over again from chapter five all the way down.

We saw what your father sees, we saw where your father knows, we saw what your father provides, and now we see in this text that your father gives you what is good.

He's going to.

You don't know what to do?

Ask him.

You need some wisdom?

Ask him.

You need grace for somebody difficult to love?

Ask him.

Why?

Because your father's good.

And he wants to give it to you.

That's what he said in verse number 11.

Relationships require something that we don't naturally possess as human beings: grace, patience, wisdom, and humility.

So I have to depend on my father to get all of those.

Ask, seek, and knock.

All right, let's look at our final thought, verse 12.

And we'll spend some a few minutes in verse number 12.

Verse number 12 was really the golden rule in life.

But here it is, treat others the way you want to be treated.

Verse number 12.

Something that my mama taught me my whole life, and your mama probably taught you.

And it came right here from Jesus' Sermon on the Mount, verse number 12.

Therefore.

Now, why did he begin with therefore?

Because he connects this to what he's just said.

From verse 1 all the way to verse number 11.

Because of all of that, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them.

For this is the law and the prophets.

The golden rule.

Most of us have heard this at some point in our whole life.

But what notice what Jesus said.

I love to break this apart because he says, whatever you want men to do to you.

Man, somebody's beaten out there, ain't it?

Alright, y'all be careful, don't start dancing on me, all right?

Now, listen to me, you can't, I'm just fine.

But listen, what's he speaking about in verse number 12?

He's talking about so clearly that however I would want somebody to treat me, that's how I should go ahead and treat them.

Now, most of us read over that super quickly and say, man, I if they treat me this way, I what am I gonna do?

But he tells us to be the initiator, be intentional.

You start off, and it I mean, you go into Proverbs and it says, You want friends, be ye friendly.

We know that verse, and we tell it to our kids, man, you want friends, go make friends, right?

But what is Jesus saying in this text?

Think about it.

How do you want to be treated in life?

Do you want to be respected in life?

Well, then are you respecting others?

He's telling us, do you want somebody to love you?

Well, you've got to love others.

He said, He said, it doesn't matter what they do to you.

That's not what determines how you do treat them.

No, what matters how you treat them is Jesus, not how they treat you.

You've got to treat them the way that you want to be treated.

That's active.

That's intentional.

I mean, that's different, obviously, because that world doesn't teach us that.

He's saying, don't just avoid being wrong, actively do good.

This world would change in a dramatic way if we just stopped avoiding what was wrong, but yet actively go and do what is right.

He says so clearly in verse 12, whatever you want men to do to you, do that to those people first.

Treat them kindly with respect.

And that takes us all the way back to the very beginning of this passage in verse number one.

And what we saw is this our goal is not condemnation, our goal is restoration.

I've got to treat them the way that I would want somebody to treat me.

Whether, no matter what they do to me.

So I can't let somebody else's behavior determine how I'm gonna treat them.

And listen to me, in life, there'll be an opportunity to use this because I've been in this world, and listen, I know I'm the preacher, but everybody just don't be nice to the preacher like y'all are.

Sometimes they'll be extra the opposite just because they think it's funny or because they want to be whatever.

And guess what?

I have to do is to continue to treat them correctly, because if I don't, then then I'll then I'll basically have no leg to stand on.

Don't let their behavior determine yours.

That's where following Jesus becomes very different from the world around us.

What's the world's rule?

Treat others the way they treat you.

You respect me, I'll respect you.

You you're you're good to me, I'll be good to you.

But that's not what Jesus said in verse number 12.

He says, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them.

That's what he says.

You be the initiator.

Their behavior does not determine your obedience.

It doesn't.

No, no, no.

Your obedience has to determine with your relationship with the Lord.

I can't let them rule me like that.

I don't treat them right because they treat me right.

No, I treat them right because Jesus is in my life.

That's the difference, and that's how we have to look at it.

I mean, take the natural concern you have for yourself and begin showing that kind of concern for everybody else.

Make a little application and then I'll close this out in prayer.

Here's a good question that we could ask.

How would Jesus have treated them?

The ones that are mean and that you feel like in our flesh didn't deserve it.

How would he treat them?

It's a different question.

And I want to give this control, I don't want to ever give somebody the control over my life by treating them a certain way.

I want to let Jesus have the control over my life, and if I do, I'll treat him right no matter what.

So tomorrow, when somebody frustrates you, what are you gonna read?

Verse number 12.

Tuesday, when you go back to work and somebody drives you crazy, what you gonna do?

You're gonna read verse number 12.

When your spouse says something that gets under your skin, you know what you're gonna do?

We're gonna read verse number 12, man.

Come on now.

We're gonna have it, we're gonna have it memorized by next week.

Listen, when your children test your patience, what are we gonna do, parents?

Read what?

Verse number 12.

Don't let how they treat you determine how you treat them.

Jesus determines that.

Look at this sentence I got for you, and then I'll before you respond to how they treated you.

Ask Jesus.

Ask how Jesus wants you to treat them.

This works with my life, with your life.

It works with my kids' life at school, it works with my life in the world.

It works with everything.

It works in home.

Parents, we have to model this for our kids.

But the truth of the matter is it works.

Let me wrap this up and I'll close this in prayer.

Jesus has taken us from verse number one to verse number 12 today.

From judge not to whatever you want men to do, that's how you treat them.

And between those two statements, between verse one and verse number 12, Jesus gives us a completely different way on how to handle relationships.

He says, look at yourself before you look at others.

Use discernment in how you deal with others, depend on your father on how you treat others, and then treat other people the way you want to be treated.

That is different, and that's how we're called to live.

Would you pray as I pray?

God, I come to you this morning thankful, God, for the hearts that are here, thankful for the word that you proclaimed, Lord, on the Sermon on the Mount, how good it is to understand it and even try to apply it to our lives.

Lord, I pray desperately for each and every heart that's here.

Lord, some of us have wandered in, and maybe we don't have a relationship with you.

God, I pray that it's not my words that convict, but it's the Holy Spirit of you that does.

And Lord, if there's somebody here that's never given their life to you, I pray in the name of Jesus that the Holy Spirit would draw them from where they are to right where you're at.

I pray that they not allow anything to prevent from them running straight to you.

Lord, I pray for those that are here today that know you as Savior and as Lord, but maybe, God, you've opened their hearts and eyes to see a different perspective, your perspective, in these 12 verses.

God, I pray that you show them simple application on how to apply it and how to live it.

Lord, have your way during this moment of invitation.

I do pray.

In Jesus' name.

Amen.