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Episode 98: Avoiding Future Judgement

Double Edged Sword ♱ Assyrian Church Podcast

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  1. In the name of the glorious Trinity, Father and Son and Holy

  2. Spirit, forever Amen. Glory be to the.

  3. Everlasting mercies which? Sent you to us, O Christ, the

  4. light of the world and the life of all.

  5. Give us wisdom by your law and enlighten our impulses by your

  6. knowledge. Sanctify our souls by your

  7. truth, and grant that we may be obedient to your words and may

  8. fulfil your commandments at every hour.

  9. O you who? Enlightens the rational with the

  10. knowledge of Your greatness. Do in light, O my Lord, our

  11. thoughts, that we may meditate upon Your holy and divine

  12. Scriptures at all times, O Lord of all, Father and Son and Holy

  13. Spirit. Forever.

  14. Amen, day keeps the doctor away.

  15. Well, let me tell you, it ain't as they say it is.

  16. Wasn't it the apple that caused all this mess in this turmoil

  17. and the fall of man in the 1st place?

  18. Well, actually it wasn't the apple, it was a fig.

  19. But let's not go there. So the apple really doesn't have

  20. much to do with keeping the doctor away.

  21. Sorry to rain on your parade, but there are many lifestyles as

  22. far as physical health which. Can keep your.

  23. Visits to the physician or the doctor Minimal like eating right

  24. and exercising and watching the carbs.

  25. And that too is easier said than done.

  26. Now if this we go through so many measures to minimize seeing

  27. our physical physician or Doctor Who heals and at times tries his

  28. or her best at times heals with medicine, right?

  29. They prescribe as medicine. Well, how much more of the

  30. spiritual physician, the spiritual Doctor Who heals at

  31. all times according to his perfect timing and to his

  32. perfect will and without medicine and that is our Lord

  33. and our Savior Jesus Christ. Praise be to his name.

  34. In Mark chapter 2 verse 17, Jesus says the healthy have no

    Mark 2:17

  35. need for a physician. Amen.

  36. You go to a doctor's reception or you go to a hospital and you

  37. see people that are there, the patients, especially the

  38. patients waiting to be checked and examined by a physician.

  39. And you ask those patients, how are you?

  40. You won't hear a response. I'm very well, thank you.

  41. It couldn't be any healthier. Well, you say, well, what are

  42. you doing here? So the health you have no need

  43. for a physician according to Christ our Lord.

  44. But those who have become very ill, yes, I know don't jump the

  45. gun. Yes, he's talking spiritually

  46. because he continues to say I have not come to call the

  47. righteous but sinners, the spiritually ill.

  48. And as the physical practitioner or physician or doctor gives his

  49. final evaluation and let's call it judgement because he's making

  50. a judgement, he's making an evaluation.

  51. So to the spiritual physician prays between his name, but now

  52. he doesn't need medicine he doesn't prescribe as a physical

  53. medicine. Actually, the only spiritual

  54. medicine that this spiritual physician prescribes is his all

  55. sanctifying body and blood, the Holy Eucharist, right.

  56. So as the physical physician gives his final judgement

  57. evaluation, so too the spiritual physician.

  58. And without X-rays as we examined and we, we ascertained

  59. last episode, Christ doesn't need MRI exams and results and

  60. X-ray results. No, he knows, praise me to his

  61. name. And just as we can avoid being

  62. evaluated, having to be evaluated or judged by a

  63. physical doctor again by eating the suggested food, watching out

  64. diet, and let's give it a benefit of the doubt that apple

  65. a day our you know what we intake in our body.

  66. We can avoid seeing a doctor and being evaluated and judged.

  67. So too, we can avoid the future righteous judgement of the

  68. spiritual doctor, Jesus Christ our Lord, by doing something

  69. that is instructed in the Scriptures.

  70. So hold on to your hats, hold on to your seats.

  71. We're going to go on a amazing ride.

  72. Did you know that we can avoid the future judgement?

  73. Now before I go and read the verse, you know, think about it,

  74. maybe even speak to yourself. It's OK.

  75. Did you know, does the Scripture teach that we can avoid the

  76. future final judgement? Well, yes.

  77. Saint Paul in his First Corinthians Chapter 11, verse 31

    1 Corinthians 11:31

  78. writes for if we would judge ourselves.

  79. We're going to elaborate on that.

  80. If we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged.

  81. So what is he talking about if we judge ourselves now, there's

  82. your watching what you eat and your carbs and your exercise,

  83. right? To avoid the physical physician

  84. to avoid having to, you know, get an evaluation or a judgement

  85. on your health. We can also avoid that final

  86. future eternal judgement of the physical physician, Jesus

  87. Christ, according to the Scriptures.

  88. For if you would judge ourselves or yourself judge yourself, we

  89. would not be judged. St.

  90. John Chrysostom comments on this and he writes, Paul does not say

  91. if we punish ourselves, because when we want to punish

  92. ourselves, we're a little lenient and we're a little

  93. compromising, right? So he's not talking about

  94. punishing ourselves, but only if we were prepared to recognise

  95. our offences, to judge ourselves truly, to condemn our own

  96. wrongdoing, then we should be rid of the punishment both in

  97. this world and in the next. He goes on to say.

  98. For the one who condemns himself by judging himself or herself

  99. appeases God, pleases God in two ways, Saint John Chrysostom

  100. comments, first, by acknowledging his sin and 2nd by

  101. being more careful in the future.

  102. So when you examine yourself and you correct yourself and you

  103. overcome that weakness, that sin, that evil desire, by

  104. examining yourself, by judging yourself 1st and you overcome

  105. and you come victorious through your repentance, you're not

  106. going to be judged because you've repented.

  107. You have overcome. But the question is, how do we

  108. judge ourselves? How do I begin to judge myself?

  109. How do I evaluate myself? Well, Jesus gives us the the

  110. starting point. Matthew Chapter 7, verse 5, the

    Matthew 7:5

  111. plank in your own eye. Take out the plank.

  112. And I say I dare to add to Christ's words, but just to

  113. emphasize. Take out the Eiffel Tower from

  114. our own eyes first, concentrating on ourselves first

  115. rather than on others before passing judgement and making a

  116. comment. Judge ourselves.

  117. Make a comment on ourselves. Take out that plank from our own

  118. eyes. So where do we start?

  119. Let's look at another verse similar with its instruction

  120. about no judgement pertaining to the law.

  121. Galatians chapter 5, verses 22 to 23, Saint Paul writes.

    Galatians 5:22–23

  122. But the fruits of the Spirit are love.

  123. Nothing about apples there. These are spiritual fruits,

  124. Lovejoy, peace, patience, sweetness, goodness, faith,

  125. humility, endurance. The law is not set against these

  126. things. There is no law against

  127. goodness. It's goodness.

  128. And the greatest role model is our Lord Jesus Christ, His

  129. goodness, His humility, his faith.

  130. So begin with that. There is no law with the fruits

  131. of the Spirit. Examine, judge yourself.

  132. Evaluate yourself. Do I possess these fruits of the

  133. Spirit? And we're not going to go

  134. through all of them, but sit down and have a look at each one

  135. of them. Do I possess them?

  136. If I possess them genuinely according to God's perfect

  137. standards, according to God's take of approval, not man's,

  138. then there is no law. There is no judgement, no law

  139. which means that the soul which is acquired, the gifts of the

  140. Holy Spirit, needs no further admonishment.

  141. You know the judgement will be to admonish.

  142. The judgement will be to pass that final decision of our Lord

  143. Jesus Christ. When we do acquire the gifts of

  144. the Holy Spirit, love, there is no need for admonishment because

  145. we love genuinely, we love wholeheartedly, we love

  146. unconditionally, we love according to God's standards.

  147. Now I know that the law that Saint Paul is talking about is

  148. the Old Testament, the Old Covenant Law, but we can relate

  149. this to the New Law and the New Covenant.

  150. According to the Blessed Theophilic who writes In this

  151. sense, he adds, the soul has become loftier than a naturally

  152. swift horse which needs no whip. That is, the soul has caused the

  153. body to be her covert worker and not her opponent.

  154. So you're taming the body through the soul, the spirit,

  155. the spiritual desires, the spiritual fruits, the spiritual

  156. yearning for God's righteousness, beloved.

  157. So beginning with the fruits of the Spirit, which is love,

  158. obviously looking at love, love for God, love for others, love

  159. for yourself. You must have love for yourself.

  160. We must have respect for ourselves, beloved, because when

  161. we respect ourselves, then we have that value.

  162. And we then don't take ourselves to places where the body and the

  163. soul and the spirit and our title of sonship of God is not

  164. worthy to be John chapter 14, verse 15.

    John 14:15

  165. Jesus says if you, you know, here's where you can judge

  166. yourself. If you love me well, then judge

  167. yourself truthfully and genuinely and see how much that

  168. you love me and how we do that. Fulfill my commandments.

  169. If you love me, you'll fulfill my commandments.

  170. Now there is a judging point. This is where we can examine

  171. very important are we fulfilling Christ's commandments and I'm

  172. going to give you a commandment for all of us and that's going

  173. to ruffle our feathers. Are we fulfilling Christ's

  174. commandments according to his standards which are recorded in

  175. the Holy Scriptures and have been practice in the frame and

  176. the life of the Church. If we are not, if we are not

  177. fulfilling Christ's commandments, but how can we say

  178. we love Christ? We will dare to say that we may

  179. justified. Well, you know, just because I

  180. don't doesn't mean I don't love. Well, I'm sorry, I'm sorry.

  181. I don't know what it means to you and to others, but to Christ

  182. this is set very, very clear. If you love me, you fulfill my

  183. commandments, not my commandment.

  184. Those that you want, those that you wish, those that are

  185. befitting to your lifestyle and your joy and your comfort.

  186. No, no, no, fulfill my commandments.

  187. Here is a test. Here is a test of judgement.

  188. Beloved Matthew, chapter 6, verse 14 to 15.

    Matthew 6:14–15

  189. Now let me tell you, I had Bible studies and I've preached about

  190. this. And when we speak about this,

  191. people's faces are frowned. They look down in sometimes in,

  192. in not so much anger, but a disagreement.

  193. Like those who are watching this episode on YouTube.

  194. It's like, you know, there's a, there's a bit of a shake of the

  195. head like no, well, let me tell you, if you shake your head, if

  196. we're shaking our heads to ourselves or to others, we're

  197. shaking our heads to Christ. So let's not dare say we love

  198. Christ. So Christ said, if you love me,

  199. you'll fulfill my commandments. One of Christ's commandments is

  200. that you love one another. I mean to that, but Matthew

    Matthew 6:14–15

  201. chapter 6 verses 14 to 15, if you forgive those who have

  202. sinned against you and we pray this, you will be forgiven.

  203. My your Father in heaven will forgive your sins that have

  204. committed against God. If you do not forgive the sins

  205. of those who have transgressed and sins sinned against you,

  206. then your Father in heaven will not forgive your sins.

  207. So don't dare to stay, stand before the Lord at the altar of

  208. the Lord, before the the Holy Eucharist, the Holy Qurbana, the

  209. angels, the throne of God and say forgive our debts as we

  210. forgave our debtors. No, if we're, if we listen

  211. intently, we will hear that voice saying, no, you haven't

  212. forgotten your debtor. No.

  213. So there it is. If you forgive others their sins

  214. they have committed against you, your Father will forgive your

  215. sins. Now if that ruffled your

  216. feathers, good, I'm glad, praise be to the Lord, I'm glad.

  217. But I hope that that ruffling of the feathers, that shaking or

  218. rocking of the foundation, will cause us to groom our feathers

  219. even more and build the church about the foundation of Christ,

  220. who is the rock. And we do begin to examine and

  221. judge ourselves so that we avoid that future judgments according

  222. to one Corinthians 11, patience, the fruits of the spirits of

  223. patience. And there's no law against the

  224. patience. There will be no judgement

  225. against patience. Patience in tribulations,

  226. beloved, patience with one another.

  227. Patience with God's timing, plan and method, because they are

  228. perfect. Judge yourself, judge for

  229. yourself. What are our reactions when we

  230. suffer for Christ for any reason?

  231. What is my reaction? Cussing on social media?

  232. Is that what Christ has commanded us to do?

  233. That if you suffer, as they say in Assyrian, it's an idiomatic

  234. term. close your eyes and open your mouth and just let it come

  235. out of your mouth. Well, that's not what Christ has

  236. taught US. Against that there is judgement,

  237. but when we continue to be patient in suffering for Jesus

  238. Christ for any reason, and we overcome and we are victorious

  239. through Christ who strengthens us, then there will be no

  240. judgement against that. Look at Lazarus, the wounded,

  241. the physically wounded, who was at the door of the rich man, at

  242. the gate of the rich man, physically wounded, physically

  243. wounded, received evil in his life as Abraham instructs the

  244. rich man. Lazarus received evil.

  245. Lazarus was called to suffer for Jesus Christ, which everyone is,

  246. and Lazarus accepted it. You may have been called to

  247. wealth, but the reason why you were called to wealth was to

  248. help Lazarus, but you didn't. So you, you bust in, in fame and

  249. wealth and richness. Now you have to suffer, because

  250. Lazarus was patient and obedient and accepting the physical

  251. suffering that he received, the evil that he received, the evil

  252. things in his life. Yet his patience again got him

  253. to the bosom of Abraham at the meet and right time according to

  254. God's perfect timing. God's perfect timing.

  255. Isaiah chapter 49, verse eight. In an acceptable time I have

    Isaiah 49 chapter mention

  256. heard you, and in the day of salvation I have helped you.

  257. Hence Lazarus didn't get involved in the conversation.

  258. There was no need for Lazarus to give an account.

  259. He suffered for according to God's will, according to God's

  260. plan. But the rich man who had to give

  261. an account because he wasn't generous with his wealth, and he

  262. continued to, to avoid and to look over and to, you know, not

  263. take notice of Lazarus, He had to give an answer.

  264. There was judgement, but Lazarus didn't face judgement.

  265. He attained eternal bliss. So judge, let's judge our

  266. patients according to the fruits of the Spirit.

  267. Will we be judged according for our impatience?

  268. Will I stand before the Lord and have to give an account for my

  269. impatience? Or will I hear that amazing,

  270. beautiful voice? Well done, good and faithful

  271. servant. You are patient.

  272. There is no need for me to judge you.

  273. In Second Corinthians chapter 5 verse 10, we must remind

    2 Corinthians 5:10

  274. ourselves, for we are all going to stand before the judgement

  275. seat of the Messiah, that each man will be paid in his body

  276. anything that was done by him, whether good or evil.

  277. So the good will not need to give an account of the goodness.

  278. They will receive that eternal bliss, and those who are evil

  279. will have to give an account. Jesus himself says in Matthew

    Matthew 16:27

  280. chapter 16, verse 27 For the Son of man shall come in the glory

  281. of his Father with his angels, and then shall he render He pays

  282. or rewards or judges unto every man according to his deed.

  283. Which deeds? Ephesians chapter 2, verse 10

    Ephesians 2:10

  284. Those things or those deeds which God had from the first

  285. prepared, that we should walk in them.

  286. Walk in those deeds, examine our deeds, examine the fruits of the

  287. Spirit and see if we possess them.

  288. Examine the deeds of the flesh and see if they are corrupting

  289. us, beloved, because if they are and there is judgement.

  290. But according to one Corinthians again, Chapter 11, verse 31, if

  291. we would judge ourselves, purge ourselves, examine ourselves,

  292. X-ray ourselves through the Holy Scriptures and then correct all

  293. those wrongs and evil and corruption, we would not be

  294. judged when the Lord returns. And what do we judge ourselves?

  295. Let's start at judging ourselves in accordance to one verse in

  296. the Scriptures. To close off Luke chapter 6,

    Luke 6:37

  297. verse 37. Do not judge and you will not be

  298. judged. Do not condemn and you will not

  299. be condemned. Forgive and you will be

  300. forgiven. So judge yourself and see if I

  301. am judging others. If I am, then I will have to

  302. face judgement. Judge yourself and see if I'm

  303. living in the Word of God. I'm living in the Scriptures.

  304. I'm living in Christ and He is living in me.

  305. Judge and see if I'm quick to condemn people to hell or quick

  306. to invite people and see people off to heaven.

  307. That's not ours beloved, that's Christ's.

  308. Judge and see feather ruffling again.

  309. Judge and see if I have am trying to.

  310. I'm going to start on the way of forgiving others so that when

  311. the Lord returns, I have already been forgiven because I have

  312. been forgiving. So that when the Lord returns

  313. and that I have judged myself and I have corrected my ways

  314. with the Lord according to One Corinthians.

  315. Again, beloved, this is not my, my own words.

  316. One Corinthians 1131 For if we would judge ourselves, we would

  317. not be judged by that amazing righteous judge, our Lord and

  318. our Savior Jesus Christ. Praise and glory be to His name

  319. now and at all times and forever.

  320. Amen. We hope you enjoyed this week's

  321. message. Please don't forget to rate and

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  326. Until next time, God bless you all.