Combatting The Constant Friction Of Evil Suspicions

I'm going to talk to you today about combating the constant friction of evil suspicions.

! Combating the constant friction of evil suspicions.

This phrase, constant friction of evil suspicions, this is from 1 Timothy 6, verses 4-5.

1 Timothy 6:4–5

In 1 Timothy 6, 4-5, Paul warns Timothy about those who have an unhealthy craving for controversy

and for quarrels about words, which produce envy, dissension, slander, evil suspicions, and constant friction.

I've been doing a lot of thinking and praying about Christchurch this last week,

and I've overall been encouraged by the last 14 months in how far we've come,

what God has established for us as a church.

But as I look back on the last 14 months, I think there's been one nagging sin

that has been kind of tripping us up since day one.

And I've been praying into that, thinking into that, and especially in seeing this verse,

I think God is shedding light on it.

I think it's evil suspicions. Evil suspicions.

What I mean by that is being suspicious of people.

What I'm not talking about is just actually seeing something outright and blatant.

I'm talking about when you don't see, but you're not giving people the benefit of the doubt.

You're suspicious of them.

You're not trusting that motives or actions are right.

Here's some examples of what I mean that people have been suspicious of.

So, first one would be just general motives.

Okay?

Just assuming that, oh, their motives are bad.

What they're doing is motivated out of things that aren't good, that aren't godly.

Okay?

Another thing that people might be suspicious of is whether or not people are sincere or genuine.

Okay?

Like, you know, I'm not really convinced that that's sincere.

I think they're being fake.

I think they don't really mean that.

They don't really mean what they said.

They don't really mean what they're doing.

So, doubting, being suspicious of whether people are sincere or genuine.

Another one is being suspicious of whether people are loving.

Okay?

Like, I don't really know if they're doing this because they love me, or I don't really know if these people do love me.

I'm really doubting that this person loves me.

I kind of feel like I'm a project.

I kind of feel like they're just kind of doing what they're doing.

But I don't really know.

I'm pretty suspicious that what they're doing is loving towards me, that they really love me.

Okay?

Some people have maybe been suspicious about how we do partnership or membership at our church.

Some people have been suspicious about how we bring in new people into our church.

Some have been suspicious of who's leading now, myself or current lead partners or people who have been lead partners.

Some are suspicious of possible future leaders and how they will lead.

Okay?

And there's been comments made and things said about maybe suspicion about who could potentially be leading in the future and how they're going to lead.

There's been suspicion about church planting methods or apostolicity.

So how apostles are supposed to function and how that even works.

Suspicion about ministry ambition.

That, oh, really, this is just all about, it's just this kind of ministry ambitious machine.

Some people have been ambitious, or I mean, sorry, have been suspicious of whether you belong and suspicious of others' attempts to include you.

Maybe you're thinking, you know, I don't even know if I really belong here.

And I'm suspicious of whether people really want me here.

I'm suspicious of whether people even are really trying to include me.

Okay?

Maybe you've been suspicious of that.

Maybe you've been suspicious of your husband or your wife.

Maybe you've been suspicious of...

Okay, that word is hard to say.

I'm going to keep screwing it up.

Maybe you've been suspicious of preaching motives or topics that have been covered.

Maybe you're suspicious about this preaching topic.

Maybe you've been suspicious about men being misogynistic or domineering towards women.

Or maybe you've been suspicious of women being feministic or usurpatious towards men.

Okay?

So there's all kinds of ways that we can be suspicious of one another.

Not giving each other the benefit of the doubt, but, hmm, I don't know about this person.

I don't know about their motives or what they're thinking.

Okay?

But I think this is really important.

And I think it's really important for the life of Christchurch.

I will go as far as to say this could be the most important sermon I've given at Christchurch so far.

Because evil suspicions and the frictions that result from them could have the power to destroy us from the inside out.

Okay?

So let me give you a couple disclaimers.

Number one, I am not speaking to one person or two people or any specific people.

I'm speaking to everyone, including myself.

Okay?

Including myself and my family.

Okay?

In fact, I've been convicted lately.

Just, you know, we just, Gene and I just had our 26-year wedding anniversary.

And, you know, whenever you do that, you kind of take inventory of your own marriage and your own relationship, as one does on those days.

And one of the things that I was thinking of and convicted of, and we were both convicted of, is over time how even you can become suspicious of each other in your marriage.

Mistrusting.

Not giving the other person the benefit of the doubt.

Thinking that the reason, you know, your spouse is bringing something up is for some nefarious reason or purpose or selfish reason.

And I think Gene and I really realized that that's crept in too much in our marriage.

Where there's this unhealthy suspicion of each other.

This mistrust.

And we were really convicted of that.

And that needs to stop in our marriage.

And I know that, I guarantee that affects our kids as well in how they see things.

And we don't want to have a family that is defaulting to suspicion.

Okay?

We don't want to have a family that's defaulting to suspicion.

So that's the first thing.

Disclaimer.

Talking to everybody.

Okay?

Including myself.

Okay, number two.

What I am not saying.

I am not saying that we should, I am not saying that we should be undiscerning.

Okay?

To be undiscerning is to make the opposite error of evil suspicions.

Okay?

How we discern and what we do with it is very important.

Okay?

How we discern and what we do with it is very important.

So please hear me on that.

Discernment is a big deal.

Very important.

Okay?

So I want to get a few people I want to read from that I think are helpful on this.

But Greg Morse, who's one of the writers on Desiring God, says this.

Cynicism and suspicion, I know firsthand, crawl into our minds and make us traitors to ourselves.

Dangers to our families and toxins to our church.

Our suspicions can make us strike at those dearest to us.

This is why this sometimes happens in a marriage, right?

Of all people, you wouldn't want to be antagonistic towards a spouse.

But these suspicions can make us strike at those dearest to us.

They contain a self-fulfilling prophecy.

The more we suspect, the more reasons we find to suspect.

The more we distrust, the more reasons we find to distrust.

Every creak of the floor becomes a burglar.

Does that make sense?

So you start hearing those things and watching those things.

All of a sudden, everything becomes a, oh, yep, see, that's a confirmation of that.

That's, you know, becomes almost confirmation bias.

Every creak of the floor becomes a burglar.

He goes on, he says,

Thinking the worst of our loved ones or our neighbors is unjust and often unreliable.

And it passes too easily unnoticed.

Yet if our sins have been unimaginably forgiven by God, and in Christ they have been,

then we have been set free to lay down our subtle suspicions, our default distrust,

and to assume the best of others.

That phrase, default distrust, that's a convicting one.

Do you have any, is your default distrust or is your default love?

We'll look at that in a second.

Now, where sin is apparent, things may change,

but suspicion would have us confront possible sins with the same conviction and severity as obvious ones.

Okay?

Suspicion would have us confront possible sins with the same conviction and severity as obvious ones.

And this shouldn't be.

Okay?

Obvious ones should definitely be confronted.

But possible ones should be treated differently.

Okay?

We really have been freed by Christ to hope the best,

to assume the best of others' intentions,

and to leave the secret sins of others to their creator.

This is the love that covers a multitude of sins, actual or imagined.

This is that glory of a godly person who passes over affronts.

As Proverbs 19.11 says,

Good sense makes one slow to anger, and it is his glory to overlook an offense.

Okay?

I also was reading, Charles Spurgeon has a chapter on this in his book, Letters to My Students.

And the chapter is called The Blind Eye and the Deaf Ear.

I want to read a couple quotes from that that I thought were really good and helpful on this topic.

He says,

Many a friend has been transformed into an enemy by being suspected.

And he says,

It would be better to be deceived a hundred times than to live a life of suspicion.

Think about that one for a second.

Maybe you're thinking,

No, I don't know about that.

But think about that.

It would be better to be deceived a hundred times than to live a life of suspicion.

I agree with that phrase,

and I think the reason he's saying that is because living a life of suspicion is no way to live.

Plus, it's also devoid of God.

It makes us think that we're the ones who have to control everything and make sure of everything,

rather than trusting God, and that we do our part, he does his part.

But, you know, I would rather be deceived a hundred times than to live a life of suspicion,

because to live a life of suspicion is no real life at all.

He says,

Suspicion is a moral evil, and it injures the character of the man who harbors it.

He says,

Learn to disbelieve those who have no faith in their brethren.

Suspect those who would lead you to suspect others.

Okay?

I've been thinking long and hard about what it is that makes some relationships feel real close,

and then other relationships, real close, not just close, but like comfortable, safe,

and why others feel distant, uncomfortable, and unsettling.

And I believe it's the difference between suspicion and giving people the benefit of the doubt.

Like, if I think of all the people who feel most closest to me,

those are people who give me the benefit of the doubt.

Like, they're not, their default isn't distrust.

Their default is, hey, I'm going to give this person the benefit of the doubt.

And I feel more free to be open with those people.

I feel more myself around those people.

I feel more relaxed around those people.

The people that are, you know, harder to be close to,

that feel more distant,

are people who I feel are always kind of checking me out.

Like, what about this guy?

You know, kind of the default distrust.

Like, I don't know if I can be myself.

That's not what you want,

and that is not what we would ever want in a church culture.

Okay?

We want people who do 1 Corinthians chapter 13, verse 7.

1 Corinthians 13:7

This is that love chapter that describes what love is like.

And at the end of the list of all the things, in verse 7,

he says, love bears all things, believes all things,

hopes all things, and endures all things.

Okay?

Bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

That's the opposite of suspicion.

That's the opposite.

Okay?

Four different things.

Love bears all things.

Okay?

Love doesn't say, oh, because this is hard,

that absolutely means that there's definitely something wrong here with the other person.

It could be us.

It could be nothing.

It could just be two personalities that are hard to get, you know, to get along with.

Right?

But love bears all things.

It bears all things.

Love believes all things.

Essentially saying like, I'm going to believe the, love believes the best of the other person.

It doesn't assume the worst.

It doesn't assume bad motives.

It doesn't assume, oh, that must be because of this.

Now, if, you know, if, it's like with your, if a kid, if your kid hauls up and hits your, the other, your other kid.

It's like, it's okay to say, hey, don't hit your brother or sister.

It's like, well, you're being awfully suspicious of me.

It's like, no, listen, I don't know your motives, but I know your behavior.

And that was wrong.

Like, you can't hit somebody.

Right?

So, I'm not, again, hear what I'm saying, not what I'm not saying.

I'm talking about when you're, there are certain things that are super obvious.

You haul off and just hit someone and hurt someone.

It's like, that's wrong.

Don't do that.

You say something really mean to someone.

That's wrong.

Right?

You, you, you curse someone or slander someone.

That's wrong.

You know, there's certain things that are very obviously wrong.

All right?

But then there's things where you're not necessarily sure.

Or maybe you have an inclination or an impression or a thought about them.

Love believes all things.

It says, you know what?

I'm going to hope the best for them.

I'm going to hope the best for them.

Love hopes all things.

Okay?

Hopes what?

Hopes the best.

And love endures all things.

We might say, well, man, I don't know.

This is probably, this is probably something bad.

You know?

It's got to be something bad.

It's like, but I don't know for sure because it hasn't manifested in some specific fruit I confront.

But I got a really good hankering that it is.

Well, in that instance, you got to endure.

You got to keep praying and asking the Lord that if there's sin there, that it will be exposed.

That it will be brought to the surface.

And 1 Timothy 5.24 says, some sins go before us and some sins trail behind.

But at the end of the day, what that verse is saying is, they're always going to show up.

But they don't always show up when we want them to.

We can inspect and be the detective and think we got it all figured out.

Yep, it's definitely there.

But I don't really have any hard evidence.

But I know it's there.

You got to endure and trust.

And during that time, you're enduring.

Is it enduring with the default mistrust?

It's enduring with the other things.

Bearing things, believing all things, and hoping all things.

Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

Let me ask you the question in light of that verse.

Are you loving?

Are you loving people in this church?

Are you loving people in your family?

Are you loving everyone in this church?

Not just most of them.

What about that person that's hard to love?

Are you loving them in the sense that you are bearing all things, believing all things, hoping all things, and enduring all things?

You're hoping the best.

You're giving them the benefit of the doubt.

You're believing the best.

You're praying for them if you are concerned for them.

Are you doing that?

And again, don't think you're so great.

If you're able to do that with most everybody,

except for one or two or whatever, maybe.

Because that's the one where it really counts.

That's the one that's really telling, hey, are you loving?

Are you able to love that person and hope the best for them?

I'm telling you, when we create an atmosphere of love, Bible-defined love, not some weird worldly love,

but Bible-defined love, where we bear all things, believe all things, hope all things, and endure all things,

that's the kind of love that is conducive for real-life open-heartedness,

where people can be themselves,

not worrying about people judging them or trying to fix them in an unhealthy way,

but where people can be family with one another.

And that's what we want.

That's what we need.

That's important.

So I want us to think about that.

I want us to think about that verse and ask that question.

That's a convicting verse.

It's so easy to have our default be to mistrust.

Okay?

So let's look at how we judge.

Tom Schmidt, pastor, writes,

Many of us have chosen the pleasure of evil suspicions above the pleasure of knowing Christ.

An evil suspicion is when we believe something wicked about someone,

someone else, based on speculation rather than evidence.

Okay?

Let me read that again.

An evil suspicion is when we believe something wicked about someone

based on speculation rather than evidence.

Okay?

To believe the worst in someone,

to assume they are against you,

to assume they have committed some perverse act,

to assume they are acting out of evil motives, etc.,

without evidence produces a prideful pleasure

and an idolatrous security in our hearts.

The pleasure we experience in this sin

comes from believing that we have a superior knowledge

or awareness of a situation.

Okay?

That's really important.

Let me read that again.

The pleasure we experience in this sin

comes from believing that we have a superior knowledge

or awareness of a situation

which others are blind to.

Kind of like this exclusive insight or information.

And our assessment of what is happening

is more righteous than the person engaging in the act.

The pleasure is in the pride.

The pleasure is in the pride.

The security we receive comes from trusting

in our assessment of the situation

above resting in and submitting to God.

This is idolatry.

That is a super important point.

Okay?

The security we receive comes from trusting

in our assessment of the situation

above resting in and submitting to God.

And this is idolatry.

What he's saying there is that

we oftentimes,

there's this insidious, subtle pleasure

with just assessing people.

With having accurate knowledge of where people are at

or what we think is accurate knowledge.

And then our, like,

almost feeling the need to control

or be God in that situation

to make sure that people see things,

understand things,

or experience our revelation of what we're seeing.

And the pleasure is in the pride

because what we're not doing is resting in

and submitting to God.

And that's idolatry.

Can we trust God in our spouses,

in our children,

in the people in our church?

Can we trust God

to do the work that he does so good,

to convict people of sin,

to bring sin to the surface?

Can we trust God,

who only knows their hearts, not us,

to do heart surgery?

Can we trust the word of God

to do what only the word of God can do?

Hebrews 4, 12,

it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.

Will we trust God's word,

God's authority,

God's intervention,

God's heart towards people

to do the work

and to have the right view of things?

Or do we take pleasure over and above

God himself and resting in him,

the pleasure that comes from resting in him,

do we find pleasure

in our having everything figured out?

That's a dangerous thing.

Our pursuit of evil suspicions

is folly and rebellion against our creator,

who calls us to take our neighbor's words

at face value,

love believes all things,

and commands us to reject hypocritical,

self-righteous judgments,

like in Matthew 7.

In other words,

you can't judge people's hearts.

Okay?

You can't judge people's hearts.

Why?

Because you don't know people's hearts.

Only God knows people's hearts.

You can judge their fruit,

and I would say you should.

I would say you have a responsibility to,

and we'll look at that in a second.

But you can't judge people's hearts

because you can never know someone's heart.

Now, you can ask people about their hearts

based on fruit,

maybe do a little digging.

Proverbs says that the heart is a deep well,

and a man of understanding

is able to draw things out of it.

Okay?

And so that's a good thing to do,

but you have to be very careful in that.

It takes a man of understanding.

It's not saying,

well, I know what's in your heart.

It's saying,

I know what fruit is in your life,

and because of this fruit,

maybe I'll ask some probing questions.

But I'm not going to ask them

in a way that I am assuming the worst of you.

I'm going to ask them in a way

that I'm loving you,

and I'm assuming the best.

But I'm considering that some of these things

could possibly be there.

Okay?

Okay?

So,

Luke 6 talks about this.

Luke 6, 37 to 45.

It says,

Judge not,

and you will not be judged.

So again,

some of you might say,

yeah, I thought we're not supposed to judge.

The Bible says it right there.

Right?

Judge not,

and you will not be judged.

You know,

don't judge me, bro.

Condemn not,

and you will not be condemned.

Forgive,

and you will be forgiven.

Give,

and it will be given to you.

Good measure,

pressed down,

shaken together,

running over,

will be put into your lap.

For with the measure you use,

it will be measured back to you.

He also told them a parable.

Can a blind man lead a blind man?

Will they not both fall into a pit?

A disciple is not above his teacher,

but everyone when he is fully trained

will be like his teacher.

Why do you see the speck

that is in your brother's eye,

but do not notice the log

that is in your own eye?

How can you say to your brother,

Brother,

let me take out the speck

that is in your eye,

when you yourself

do not see the log

that is in your own eye?

You hypocrite.

First,

take the log out of your own eye,

and then you will see clearly

to take out the speck

that is in your brother's eye.

So he's clearly not,

if you just take the first verse

and say judge not,

you'd say,

yeah man,

are you talking about

you're not supposed to judge?

You're not supposed to judge,

but that's just taking that verse

out of context.

When he reads the rest of it,

he's saying,

no,

you're to judge,

but you should be careful

how you judge.

You should judge a certain way.

First of all,

knowing that whatever way

you judge,

whatever measure you use

is going to be measured

back to you.

You know,

in other words,

I think a singer once said,

the mercy you don't give

is the mercy you don't get.

He said the same measure,

press down,

and you know,

prosperity preachers

love to take this verse

out of context

and say,

yeah man,

it's about giving.

You just give,

and then it just pours back on you.

And it's like,

no,

that's not about giving.

It's about judgment

and mercy,

which is what they need.

Ironically.

It's like,

actually,

we should be judging

your false teaching.

Okay,

this is a verse

that Jesus is saying.

He's saying,

don't judge in an unrighteous way.

Don't judge in an unhealthy way.

When you judge,

first of all,

realize,

whatever way you use,

hey,

that's how it's going to be used on you,

so be careful.

Okay?

The mercy you don't give

is the most mercy you don't get.

And then he tells us

how to actually judge the right way.

He's saying,

how can you say to your brother,

brother,

let me take out the speck

that is in your eye

when you yourself

do not see the log

that is in your own eye?

You hypocrite.

First take the log

out of your own eye,

and then you will see clearly

to take out the speck

that is in your brother's eye.

So he's saying,

this is how you judge.

In order to judge,

you have to be able to see.

Like,

judgment is a certain level of seeing.

So to judge well,

to judge rightly,

you have to see.

You can't see

when a log is sticking

out of your eye.

Right?

So he's saying,

take that out first,

examine yourself first,

make sure you're not

in pride,

arrogance,

exulting in your revelation

or your insight into someone

and your,

you know,

evaluation of them.

Okay?

Take your,

and then take a good look

at yourself,

say,

hey,

how are you doing here,

bro?

Remove that log,

and then now,

you can see clearly

to see the speck

and to take it out.

And he's saying you should,

and that's judgment.

Judgment is saying,

hey,

you got a speck in your eye.

But that's not loving.

Like,

if you saw that I had a speck

in my eye,

and you saw that my eye

was watering,

and it was all red,

but you could see the speck,

you'd say,

hold on,

let me just,

I'm not going to be like,

bro,

don't judge me.

Like,

how do you know

I have a speck in my eye?

It's like,

I'm trying to help you.

Like,

your eye is clearly,

like,

infected.

Can I just,

yeah,

and then take the speck out,

and you'd say,

oh,

maybe you do love me.

Yes,

that is love.

Real righteous judgment

is actually love.

Taking speck out of people's eyes

is loving,

because those specks

are causing discomfort and harm.

Now,

again,

read this whole thing in context.

So we know,

the context of judge not

is in the context of

take the log out of your eye,

but there's still more context here.

After he says,

you will see clearly

to take out the speck

that is in your brother eye,

your brother's eye,

the very next verse says,

for no good,

and it says for,

so it's connecting these two together.

So don't separate this judgment

from this next verse,

because it says for.

So put them together.

Verse 43,

this is Luke 6,

43.

For no good tree

bears bad fruit,

nor again does a bad tree

bear good fruit,

for each tree

is known by its own fruit.

Okay?

For figs are not gathered

from thorn bushes,

nor are grapes picked

from a bramble bush.

The good person

out of the good treasure

of his heart

produces good,

and the evil person

out of the evil treasure

produces evil.

For out of the abundance

of the heart,

his mouth speaks.

So you can't judge the heart,

but you can judge

what comes out of the mouth.

You can judge the fruit,

and you should,

and you should.

Okay?

So,

not only is he telling us

how to judge,

he's telling us

what to judge.

You're not judging

a person's heart,

you're judging

the fruit in their life.

If you can't see fruit,

but you have an inclination

that something's there,

you need to,

you need to wait.

You need to pray.

You need to trust God,

and ask God

and just say,

God,

is there something here?

If there is,

bring it to the surface

and you trust.

And in the meantime,

you give them

the benefit of the doubt.

It's like,

how can I give them

the benefit of the doubt

if I have this,

I feel like I see this,

I discern this.

It's like,

you can't judge your heart.

You may be right.

You may be right,

but you have to be patient.

You have to be loving.

You have to hope the best.

And you have to let God

do his job

and you do yours.

And God's job

is to bring that stuff to light.

Your job is to pray.

And I think sometimes

we so underestimate

the power of prayer,

we so minimize

the power of prayer

that we think

that that's like

a lesser work.

Like, no,

actually the real work

is that I tell them

what I think is there,

even if I haven't seen

any fruit of it yet.

No,

the real work

is to pray

that God would bring

that to them

and that they would be

convicted of it

and they would see it.

Will you do that?

Everybody wants

to discern things.

Everybody wants

to see things.

Everybody wants

to get things right

on things.

But where are the people

who will pray

into things?

A lot smaller crowd

when it comes to that.

And I'm telling you,

the real discerners,

the real people

who are in it

not for their own glory

and their own satisfaction,

but are in it

for the glory of God

are the ones

who are willing

to pray into things

for days,

months,

maybe years,

that they think

they see

and they're willing

to pray

and pray

and pray

until God

brings it forth

and causes them

to be convicted

themselves

and new fruit

is born.

Who's willing

to do that?

Who's willing

to do that work?

Who's willing

to do that work

in a new church plant

to do the work

of building

a good foundation

in this church?

Not of evil suspicion,

skepticism,

and cynicism,

but of love

that hopes the best

for people

and is praying

through

all those

impressions,

discernments,

and things

that we think

are there.

Again,

I'm not telling

anybody that they're

seeing things

right or wrong.

That's not my place

right now

in this sermon.

The whole point is

what do you do

with it?

What do you do

with it?

And how do you

view things?

How do you

view things?

If our default

is mistrust,

we're not building

a good culture.

And I'm afraid

that we have had

little pockets

of distrust

ever since day one

that have been

hindering our church.

And we've overcome

some,

and so please hear me.

I'm not saying,

man, we're just

a really mistrusty

church.

This church is

messed up and bad.

You guys suck.

I'm not saying that.

I'm saying,

this is here.

It's been here.

It was literally

there from day one.

I was surprised

how it came up

in the beginning.

And we've been

dealing with it

and there's been

good repentance.

But I'm saying

there's still,

it's still there.

And it needs

to be repented of.

Because it's not loving.

It's not loving.

Okay?

1 Corinthians 4

1 Corinthians 4:5

verse 5 says,

do not pronounce

judgment

before the time

before the Lord

comes,

who will bring

to light

the things

now hidden

in darkness

and will disclose

the purposes

of the heart.

Then each one

will receive

his commendation

from God.

That's God's work.

He will for sure

do it at the end,

but sometimes

he brings those

things up earlier

through our prayers.

1 Corinthians 5

9-13

says,

I wrote you

in my letter

not to associate

with sexually

immoral people,

not at all meaning

the sexually immoral

of this world,

or the greedy

and swindlers

or idolaters.

Since then,

you would need

to go out

of the world.

But now I'm

writing you

not to associate

with anyone

who bears

the name

of brother

if he's guilty

of sexual

immorality

or greed

or is an idolater,

reviler,

drunkard,

or swindler.

Not even to eat

with such a one.

For what have I

to do with

judging outsiders?

Is it not those

inside the church

whom you

are to judge?

God judges

those outside,

purge the evil

person from among you.

So here he's saying,

if you're wondering,

are we supposed

to judge?

Yes, yes, yes.

He goes on to say,

we're actually

going to judge angels.

So we should be able

to be able to judge

matters within the church.

We just need to be

doing it the way

that Jesus taught

to do it.

Okay?

We need to render

true judgments.

Zechariah 8-16

says,

These are the things

that you shall do.

Speak the truth

to one another.

Render in your gates

judgments that are true

and make for peace.

Not judgment

that you think are true.

Judgments that are true.

Not judgments

that you assume are true.

Not judgments

that might be true.

Render judgments

that are true.

This is what we need

to do.

Same thing is kind of

said in Ephesians 4-25.

It says,

having put away falsehood,

let each one of you

speak the truth

with his neighbor,

for we are members

of one another.

The start of that

is to put off falsehood.

It's to say,

I don't know for sure

if this is true,

so I'm going to put it off

either altogether

or I'm going to put it off

by giving it to the Lord

in prayer.

And I'm going to speak

what I know

to be true to my neighbor.

If I don't know,

then I shouldn't be speaking it.

If I don't know,

then I shouldn't be speaking it

to someone else.

Shouldn't be speaking it

to someone else.

In fact,

Ecclesiastes 7-21-22

says,

do not take to heart

all the things

that people say

lest you hear

your servant cursing you.

Your heart knows

that many times

you yourself

have cursed others.

Spurgeon was saying

in that chapter

I was reading

that you should

basically give people

a pass

when they say things

out of passion

because how many things

have you said

out of passion

that you wish

you could take back?

I was like,

yeah,

that's probably true.

I hope people

will give me a pass

for some of the things

I've said in passion

over the years

because I know I have.

And it's easy

to latch

onto those things.

That's why he's saying

have blind eyes

and deaf ears

to those things.

Basically,

David says the same thing.

Psalm 38,

13-14.

He said,

I'm like a deaf man.

I do not hear

like a mute man

who does not open his mouth.

I have become

like a man

who does not hear

and in whose mouth

are no rebukes.

Sometimes you hear things

and you just got to be like,

you know what?

Or you think things

and you want to know

a format.

Here,

I'm going to tell you

a little secret

of how to get

really stressed out.

In case you're wondering,

you probably didn't know

how to get really stressed out

but a really good way.

He's like,

no,

don't.

If you want to get

really stressed out,

try to do God's job

for him.

Try to put on

those God-sized shoes,

right?

It'll crush you.

It'll weigh on you.

And I think

even from good motives,

listen to me on this,

I think even from good motives

where you're literally

wanting to bless

other people,

to bless our church,

to do good

to the people

in our church,

we can inadvertently

take on God's job

and do a bad job

at it,

number one.

But then two,

just like be really

weighed down

and screw things up.

Even though we're,

our motive is,

I just want to love them.

If this is in them,

I don't want it to be there.

That's not good.

That's not going to

benefit them.

It's not going to benefit

the kingdom.

So even sometimes

you can have

these suspicions

with the,

and have the right motives.

It's just,

you end up

veering into

God's job description

instead of our own,

which is to

trust God,

pray into these things,

submit them to him.

Sometimes just have

blind eyes and deaf ears

to certain things we see

or think we see

or hear

from other people.

Just like,

you know what?

I'm going to give them

the benefit of the doubt.

I'm going to bear all things.

I'm going to believe all things.

I'm going to hope all things.

I'm going to,

I'm going to do that.

But man,

this is probably,

it's probably there.

No,

but I'm going to believe

all things,

hope all things.

And I'm going to,

I'm going to do it.

You know,

I'm going to do that.

And then when I do see things

that I know

that fruit has come forth,

I'm still not going

to speak it right away.

I'm going to pray for God

to give me the right timing,

the right way.

Pray to be a father,

a mother,

to be a good brother,

a good sister.

I'm going to pray

that I would do it

in the spirit of the Lord.

Right?

I'm going to pray

for the right timing.

Timing helps.

Okay?

If you're married,

you know that,

right?

Sometimes you bring things up

at the worst possible time.

I feel,

I'm not going to go there.

I'm sure Gene would say

the same thing.

Like,

why would you bring this up now?

It's a great point.

Great point.

Ephesians 4,

1 to 3 says,

I, therefore,

a prisoner for the Lord,

urge you to walk

in a manner worthy

of the calling

to which you've been called

with all humility

and gentleness,

with patience,

bearing with one another

in love,

eager to maintain

the unity of the spirit

and the bond of peace.

Are you eager

to maintain the unity

of the spirit

and the bond of peace?

If you are,

don't default to mistrust.

Don't default to suspicion.

Because that's not going

to maintain the unity

of the spirit

and the bond of peace.

Romans 12, 10 says,

outdo one another

in showing honor.

I think hoping the best

for someone,

believing the best

for someone

is a great way

to outdo one another

in showing honor.

It's saying,

you know what?

I honor you

as a child of God

and I'm going to give you,

I'm going to honor you

by giving you

the benefit of the doubt.

I'm going to love you

by giving you

the benefit of the doubt.

I'm going to outdo you

in showing honor

by giving you

the benefit of the doubt.

Imagine if that was

our default,

what that would do

in our marriages,

what that would do

in our church,

what that would do

in our,

even maybe work

relationships sometimes.

I mean,

think of some

of your work relationships

where you're just like,

oh my gosh.

It's like default mistrust,

right?

Now, I'm not telling you

to be,

you know,

just, okay, fine,

just let in all this

bad stuff and just like,

I'm going to give everybody

the benefit of the doubt.

No.

But,

you know what I'm saying?

Like,

there's a way to think.

Romans 12, 17 says,

repay no one evil for evil,

but give thought

to do what is honorable

in the sight of all.

Give thought.

So I'm asking you

to take heed

to what the scripture

says here

and to give thought

to this,

to give thought

to do what is honorable

in the sight of all.

I want you to think

about this.

I want you to think

about how you're,

what is your default,

how your mind works,

how you're thinking

about the different people

in this church.

Maybe even go through the list

and think,

am I loving

all of these people?

Am I defaulting

to love

or defaulting

to suspicion?

And then I'm saying,

let's remove

all the obstacles

of evil suspicions.

Let's,

let's get them out

of the way.

All right?

I believe that all my heart

God wants to establish

this church.

I believe he's going to.

I believe he has been.

And I believe this is an obstacle

that's standing in the way.

2 Corinthians 6,

3 says,

we put no obstacle

in anyone's way

so that no fault

may be found

with our ministry.

We need to say

the same thing.

We need to say,

if I have put an obstacle

in the way

of this ministry

of this church

by being,

have this unhealthy

skepticism,

cynicism,

or suspicion,

I need to repent

from it

and turn to God

and love the way

1 Corinthians 13,

7 says.

Romans 12,

18 says,

if possible,

so far as it depends

on you,

live peaceably

with all.

Okay,

one caveat with this.

If you believe

that you've been

suspicious of some people

in a way that you should not,

don't go to people

and say,

I've been suspicious

of you.

Okay?

That's not going to help.

That will probably

just bring up

more suspicion.

Okay?

Take care of that

between you and the Lord.

Now,

if you like

were a jerk to somebody,

say,

I'm sorry for being a jerk.

If you were mean to someone,

say,

I'm sorry

for being unloving to you.

But,

as far as being,

you know,

suspicious and skeptical

and cynical with someone,

take care of that

with you and the Lord

because if you just

go to them with that,

it's going to cause

more problems

and you can have

this subtle kind of,

this is my way

to kind of,

you know,

tell them that

they have something wrong

but by not telling them

and like me looking

like I'm humble

at the same time,

you know,

this kind of

sophisticated thing.

So,

it's best just to

take care of that

with you and the Lord.

Alright?

Repent and go to God

and then start loving

that person

by hoping the best

for them.

Okay?

This is a healthy,

loving church

when we

bear all things,

believe all things,

hope all things,

and endure all things.

That's why Psalm 133

Psalms 133:1

verse 1 says,

Behold,

how good

and pleasant it is

when brothers

dwell together

in unity.

Behold,

it's good

when we dwell

together in unity

and we're not

defaulting to mistrust,

it's a good thing.

It's a good church.

It's a good experience.

Alright?

Close with Romans 15,

5 through 6.

May the God

of endurance

and encouragement

grant you to live

in such harmony

with one another

in accord with Christ Jesus

that together

you may with one voice

glorify the God

and Father

of our Lord

Jesus Christ.

Amen?

Amen?

Amen.