Luke 6:37-42 with Aaron Searles

Transcript

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So we are continuing on in our sermon series in Luke. We're going again verse by verse through the Gospel of Luke. And we're, you know, meditating, mining, we're applying, we're learning about every verse of this gospel, the words of Jesus, the story of Jesus. And so today I am I'm going full teacher on you right now. I've got three visuals in front of you. I'm going to be talking about each one of these visuals. So we have this, this is my symbolic throne. We grabbed the fanciest chair seat that we could in the building. And thank you, Matt and Eddie, for figuring out how to get it out here. So we do have this here. This is the throne. That is flower. It represents grain. Okay, pretend it's first century grain. Okay. And this is a log. Okay, this is my log. If you can't see it. Okay. So we're going to be talking through these visuals, and really visuals that Jesus uses. He actually uses more than this in just six verses. A lot of visuals for us to learn, to apply for our lives today. So last week, Sam talked about love your enemies. The word uh the house church that I'm in described this was radical. Radical. Think of how shocking just that statement is to hear. Love your enemies. That's not of this world. Immediate application. Who can, what enemy do you have in your life that you can love? You know, I was reminded of a story I heard about one of the sons of the Hamas terrorist group, one of the sons of the upper Ebalosh, Upper Echelon, that's hard to say. One of the sons of one of those leaders came to faith in Jesus Christ because of this statement. Love your enemies. So radical to hear that. And he recognized it as true and converted to Christianity. But we will be continuing on in this radical theme this morning. So we've all been shocked by this truth from God to love your enemies, how radical it is. But now remember the audience that Jesus is speaking to in this moment. He's not speaking to the Roman guards. He's not speaking to the Pharisees necessarily. He's talking to his disciples, his followers, after naming the twelve apostles. This is the audience. This is who he's preaching to, this is who he's teaching. These are the followers of Jesus. And I don't know about you, but I want to be a follower of Jesus. So what we're focusing in on today is this teaching, this perspective, this the mind of Christ, the attitude of Christ, the behavior of truly being a follower and disciple of Jesus. To be his representatives, to be his ambassadors. This is the thinking, this is the attitude, this is the approach that we're going to have, that we want to have, really. We need to have, but we need God's help. So just a quote, a commentary for you. These are some of the most misunderstood and misapplied verses in the Bible. Alert. Alert. Okay? The most misunderstood and misupplied verses in the Bible. Some of the verses that we're going to be focusing on today, non-Christians know some of these verses better than you do. If you're a follower of Christ in the room. So let's start with the first one, verse 37. So again, we're we're focusing now on the symbolic throne. Really a throne of judgment. Verse 37. Luke 6, verse 37. Judge not, and you will not be judged. Condemn not and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. So we're talking about judgment here to begin with. Judging other peoples. Jesus is instructing his followers, do not judge. So what is judgment? Judgment is taking this position and it's a separation, it's a division with another individual. It's in a focus in observing someone else's sin and saying, you are wrong. You are in judgment. And I'm taking this place to judge you. But I've essentially separated myself from you by judging you. I've said, you are a sinner, and you have been separated from me. I would just ask this question rhetorically. Does anyone in here like being judged? So if you judge, you create a community, a sphere of relationships of judgment. You create a culture in a sense in your friendships, in your families, in your, maybe even among your coworkers. You create this dialogue, this thing that's on the top of your minds about judging if you do this. And you can create a culture, you can create an environment that creates this ill motivation to impress. I would call that religion versus love. So again, dressing judgment there. Now moving on to condemnation. What is condemnation? Condemnation, I would summarize this as essentially telling someone their destiny is in hell. You're going to hell. Your path is hell. Okay? When you condemn someone, you're saying that's your that's your path, that's where you're going. You're going to hell. So again, looking at this symbolic throne, this is what we're doing when we judge. When we condemn, when we don't forgive, we're sitting in a seat. We're sitting in a throne that is not ours. It doesn't belong to us. Someone does belong in this chair. Someone does belong in this seat, this throne, but it's not us. Again, judge not and you will not be judged. Condemn not and you will not be condemned. Forgive and you will be forgiven. We see the cause and effect of this thinking, of this attitude, of this mindset, of this way about going life. Cause and effect. If you want to be judged, judge. If you want to be condemned, condemn. If you want bitterness and resentment, don't forgive. If that's the life you want, this is the cause and effect. And Jesus is telling his disciples, his followers, don't do that. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. Again, this is your Christian superpower. I like talking about this. I think it's relevant, current, to Marvel and all the superpowers that we hear about. But this is your superpower to forgive. Our capacity to forgive is a miraculous work in us by our Heavenly Father. This is the superpower that we have. This is the activity, this is the attitude, this is the thought life to forgive others. It's not of this world. It is a superpower. It is something that God has given us by the Holy Spirit, by what Jesus has done to act that way, to talk that way, to think that way. It does not make logical sense. But Jesus says, forgive. Forgive. This is your superpower. So again, it would ask you: do you want judgment? Do you want condemnation? Do you want bitterness and unforgiveness? No. We don't want those things. We want the opposite of those things for us. I don't want judgment. I don't want condemnation. I don't want bitterness. I want grace, mercy, forgiveness. I need that. I need that for salvation. I need that from God, and I need to act that way. So I would relate all of this to the flow of your life. The activity of your life, the lifestyle that you have, the thoughts, the stream of thoughts that you have throughout your day? Grace, mercy, forgiveness. Later we'll talk about generosity. What is the flow of your thoughts? What's the lifestyle, the daily decisions and actions that you are living out in your life? What are you thinking about? What decisions internally and verbally are you acting on? Would they be described as grace, mercy, forgiveness, generosity? And again, I will just say this is a superpower to act this way. This is not in your capacity. You cannot do this. This is impossible for you. It is a superpower given to you by your Heavenly Father. You cannot manufacture grace and mercy and forgiveness and generosity in your heart and in your mind. You cannot do it. Don't try. You can't muster it up. You can't manufacture it. Recognize your desperate 100% need for it from God. And ask for it. Ask for that strength. Ask for that capacity to be able to not judge, to not condemn, to not be in bitterness or unforgiveness. So again, remember who's telling us this. Remember who's telling the followers of him, the disciples. Remember who's saying this? There will be a day we stand before the white throne of judgment. This one's red, sorry. Not a great. But there will be a day. The book of Revelation talks about standing before the white throne of God. And we will give an account. So here's the reality: Jesus is God. We have it on a banner right there. Jesus is God. Jesus is the judge. And the judge, the one who is perfect and holy and righteous beyond our comprehension, the judge is telling us, telling me and you, don't judge. Don't judge. So our first thought, again, in light of what Jesus is instructing us, this radical thinking, this radical way of going about life, our first thought, our first word, our first conversation, our attitude is the gospel. It's the good news. When we encounter people that we recognize are maybe more obviously living in a way that is not in accordance with the Bible, we extend grace and mercy and forgiveness. Because we live by faith. We live by a hope of what God can do in their life, the miracle that can come into their life. The miracle of salvation, the miracle of sanctification, the miracle of God transforming their thoughts like He's transforming your thoughts, maybe even right now. Again, this is the first thought. Our priority is the gospel to live this way, to act this way, to talk this way. And the reality is you will be judged not according to your works. Can I get an amen? We will not be judged according to our works, but by our faith in the grace of God. Us believing in the salvation of Jesus, who died in our place, to take our sins upon Himself, who was perfect, who was holy, who did not deserve any of that, we will be judged according to our faith in Christ and what he has done. So when you operate with a mindset of mercy and grace, both in your thoughts and in your words, internally and externally, you begin to live out the mercy and the grace you have so undeservingly received. In doing so, you step into the river of Christ's life, allowing the Holy Spirit to fill you and flow through you, guiding others towards the cross and the empty tomb. Can you see that visual? Can you see that filling of your mind and your heart and your attitude? Can you see it? Can you see the mind of Christ by the Holy Spirit transforming you? To think differently, to act differently in your life. To live the gospel. Okay, verse 38. Now, my again, it's really, I don't know if you know this. I even looked on at Jule this morning. Like, buy a lot of grain. You just can't go buy a lot of grain. Like, we're in we're 2,000 years later. Okay, so this is grain. Okay, pretend this is grain. It's been processed. It's white flour, forgive us. Okay, but this is this is the visual here. Again, imagine going to the market in the first century and buying grain. Think about that when we when we talked about this. Verse 38 give and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together. Running over, you will be over, will be put into your lap. For with this measure you use it, it will be measured back to you. So this is a first century marketplace grain purchase transaction visual. Okay, not a go to jewel, buy a bag of flour transaction that's all been pre-measured and weighed, and you know exactly what you're getting and the quality. It's not like that. But what's going on here? This good measure pressed down, shaken together, running over. Pouring over into your lap. What's being referenced here? What's the visual here? Well, this is again this transaction. The grain is, this is a quote from a commentary. The grain is pressed down into the measure. Okay, can you visualize yourself standing before this person who has like all these grain bags behind them selling you some grain that you need to sustain your life? Again, picture this in your mind. The grain is pressed down into the measure so that it will hold as much as possible. Next, it's shaken together to make it fill every possible space. And then, not content with this full measure, the grain is piled above the rim so that it cannot be contained by the measure and spills over the onto the robes of one's lap. Are you seeing this visual of generosity? You ever gone to a store and bought something and someone just heaped like five guys? Five guys. You ever go to five guys? It's popped into my mind. Five guys. You go to five guys, they give you this little cup and they put the little fries in, but what do they do? They take like a huge scoop of the fries and they dump it into the brown bag, and you're and it's wonderful. I've spent every single cent at five guys well getting an over an abundant resource of fries. This is an infinitesimal comparison, but it's a picture of the the generosity of God, the mindset of God. That when we are generous, when we are using the resources that we have to be generous, yes to the church, yes to our neighbors, yes to our enemies. This is the mindset, this is the action, I would say, of faith. We're living out our faith by being generous. Because we're not being stingy and we're not holding on, and we're not, you know, you know, anxious and worried about how much we have. No, we are living in faith, trusting that God will provide. And knowing this picture is God saying, I'll take care of you. I'll take care of you so much it will overflow in your life. So imagine that Tupperware of, or whatever, container of flour overflowing in our lives. Because our heavenly Father is the ultimate provider, and He's the one taking care of us. So we we give generously, we give in faith, knowing that our Heavenly Father, who breathes stars, will provide. So what you focus on, so with judgment and with bitterness or unforgiveness or condemnation or with generosity, what you focus on, your thought life, your actions, will be focused on you. Again, this is about wanting the flow of the truth and the Holy Spirit filling you and overflowing into your life and into the lives of those that are around you. How you interact with people and the currency of heaven. The currency of heaven is grace, mercy, forgiveness, and generosity. You know what that currency is? It's not temporary, it's eternal. We don't live in this world. We're living for another world. We're living for an eternal world in Christ. Again, give and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with this measure you use it will be measured back to you. We reap what we sow. There's this cause and effect. We don't give to get. We don't give to be selfish. We give because we want to operate in the eternal. We want to operate in the things that truly matter, the eternal things of God. And what you invest in will be returned to you. Store up your treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, where thieves do not break in and steal. That's the best investment. And we do that by being generous. So the overflow, the generous towards others in every way. Again, grace, mercy, forgiveness, and with your resources. The amount of grace, mercy, and forgiveness and generosity you extend to others will be measured in this way. And again, this is your capacity. You're an empty jar of clay. We don't take any confidence or any credit for what we extend. It's all because of Jesus. Every single thing that we have, the salvation that we have, the forgiveness that we have, this is the God capacity. And you cannot contain it, it will overflow beyond your capacity, beyond your mindset. I would say beyond your creativity. We need the Holy Spirit to give us ideas how to be generous, how to extend grace, how to extend mercy, how to extend the lifestyle of Christ. We need God's ideas. I think I got some good ideas sometimes, but I need the Holy Spirit to convict my heart to give me an idea on how to love my neighbor, how to love my enemy, how to love those who haven't been loved. And again, it's beyond your strength. So just to give you an example of this. So we open up our home to house church, and people come over to our home, and we're attempting to be generous, attempting to be hospitable. And I can't tell you how blessed I am by having people come to my home, and in particular last Wednesday, telling me, telling our house church how they love their enemies. But by being in someone's life and knowing exactly what they're talking about and hearing how they're loving their enemies. And the conviction of their lifestyle on me. So just as an example of a way that God overflows into your life in unexpected ways and blessings in ways that you cannot comprehend. You can't think of your own self, but God, as you live this life, God will bless you in ways that will surprise you. Verse 39. He also told this parable Can a blind man lead a blind man? Will they not both fall into a pit? Imagine this visual. This is another story, another visual I can't provide for you, but we can all picture this. This is a visual for us, the blind leading the blind. Again, that's kind of ridiculous, right? It's kind of sad. And again, commentaries believe this is a reference to what Jesus is calling the Pharisees. He's essentially rebuking the Pharisees, calling them blind, and I'll get into this more in a little bit. But he's calling them blind and they're trying to lead the blind. They have no idea where they're going because how they're living is not according to God's word. Again, the grace and the mercy and the forgiveness and the generosity of God. They're blind. They're blind to the ways of the kingdom. They're blind to using the currency of heaven. And they're not the examples. And this reminds me of the prophecy in Ezekiel 34. God rebuking the shepherds of Israel at that time. They are not. Taking care of the people. But Jesus is here. The dry bones, the resurrection is here. God in the flesh is here to show us the way grace, mercy, forgiveness, generosity. We're no longer blind. He gives us vision for how to live in his kingdom. Verse 40 A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone, when he is fully trained, will be like his teacher. Here's a quote for you. In Jesus' time, one's teacher was everything. Because there were no libraries or other resources for the student. For one to claim to be above his teacher would have been the height of arrogance. So I can nerd out on this because I love the idea of the printing press and how much that changed the world and all of that. But think about this time, the first century. If you had a book, at this time, it was hand-copied book. And if you had a Bible, far more expensive. So at this time, the way that knowledge was transferred was by teachers, by someone who has the knowledge, who for some reason had access to those handwritten, to the Bible, to books, to those things, and was containing the knowledge and then transferring it to you by talking to you, by teaching to you. Think about how expensive that is. And so that was the way of, it is the way we transfer a lot of information. We have teachers and trusted people in our lives to this day. But at that time it was especially more important. Couldn't go on the internet, couldn't go to the library, couldn't buy a book. It was too expensive. This was how information was transferred. So Jesus is saying, in this moment, I am the teacher. I'm teaching you this. This is who I am. This is how I want you to be. This is the lifestyle that I want for you. In other words, you are who teaches you, is what Jesus is teaching you. Who you're surrounding yourself with is who you will become. Are you around people that are condemning, judging, or are they extending grace and mercy and forgiveness? Are you surrounding and entertaining the judgment, judging conversations? I've said to my students at school, you are who your friends are. And show me your friends, and I'll show you your future. Your destiny, your future, your plans are who you surround yourself with. And so we need to be careful that we're surrounding ourselves with people that are living this kind of lifestyle, that are having this influence on us, so we can have this behavior of grace and mercy and forgiveness and generosity. Again, we need to be, as God's word says, to be in the world, but not of the world. Living out this way, the gospel through our lifestyle. Okay, verse 41. This is a nice log here. Verse 41. 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? Okay. A lot of commentaries were saying, like, this is actually humorous. Jesus is being funny. He's exaggerating. So again, this is funny. If you think about this visual, okay. I have a log in my eye, and I'm saying, you got a you got a speck in your eye over there. This is funny. Jesus is being funny. But he's making a point. And just to be clear, Jesus isn't saying to not be serious about sin. He's saying be serious about your sin. So he's not saying sin doesn't matter. I mean, the reason Jesus died on the cross is because of sin. To rescue us from our own sin. But the focus as it relates to sin is your self-examination, your conviction, being focused on your way of living and living that out genuinely in your life. And Jesus is making fun of hypocrites. Hypocrites, people who say, Do this, but I'm not doing it myself. He's making fun of them. He's saying this is what, in a sense, the Pharisees are like. So verse 42, how can you say to your brothers, 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. Okay, so this is my first example. Here's the real example, okay? This is the log, right? And this is actually a nice log. But this is what's in your eye. And how how funny it is to say, this is in your I'm gonna try not to hurt anyone here. This is a this is what's in your eye. And this is a nice looking log, right? You know, the speck or the splinter in somebody else's eye, but this is really countless splinters in your own eye. This is the life of Jesus. This is the mindset of Jesus to focus on what's in your life, the sin that's in your life before you start focusing on others. Again, we will never be sinless. And I want to make this point, and I think Jesus is making this point. What is the the log of sin? What is the countless sin that is in your life? And again, I'm not judging you or condemning you, I'm saying this for me, okay? It's pride. If I'm judging others, if I'm condemning others, if I'm not forgiving others, it's pride. I'm blind with pride. I can't lead anyone with pride. And so we need to in our human, you know, God help us be humble, help us to be merciful, help us to be gracious, help us, God, to see the pride in our own heart, in our own mind, in our own thoughts. I can just tell you, like countless, not countless, but a lot. Like this week, meditating on this passage, preaching, I mean, over and over again in my own life, like, ooh, ooh, just taking my thoughts captive meaning like, ooh, just over and over this week, having that in my own heart. And I would say pride is sneaky. Pride is unseen. Nobody sees those thoughts that are in your head or those judgments that you have. Everything can look good on the outside, but pride is again unseen. And some would say it is the root of all sin. So think about back to Adam and Eve. I've read something on this where it talked about the really the first sin was weighing God's instruction with Satan's temptation. Is God right? Is Satan right? Pride. To weigh anything against what God says is pride. Who are you? Who am I to weigh anything that God has revealed in his word against his revealed truth to us? So Jesus is ultimately rebuking and instructing his followers to prioritize the war on pride in you and me, in the self, if you are to be about his kingdom and to be his representative. So, gospel collective, we are going to go in battle and war against the pride in our own lives. So, again, I want to just be clear though, too. Again, Jesus is being serious about sin. Jesus told the woman that was caught in adultery, he said, you know, pick up a stone and throw it at her if you were without sin. But he said something heard, go and sin no more. Jesus is serious about sin. If your hand causes you to sin, Jesus said, cut it off. He didn't literally mean, actually mean cut off your hand, but he's being serious about sin. If your eye causes you to sin, gouge it out. And what did Jesus say to those prideful Pharisees? You whitewash tombs. Pride. They look good on the outside. Everything looked great, they look very religious, they look like they had it all together, but on the inside they were death, they were decay. And Jesus called it out because he is serious about sin. And he's the one. This is his seat, and he's the only one who can sit in it. Because he is perfect and holy and without sin. And that's how he is our sacrifice to take away our sin. Jesus' greatest concern, it seems, was in this moment on pride. So how do we apply this? Maybe if you're like me meditating on this and thinking about your thoughts and thinking, am I judging this person? Have I forgiven this person? And I'll just say this again. Again, forgiveness is not saying that some sin that was committed against you was okay. It was not okay, it was sin. We're not canceling that that that was wrong. But we're saying, I want good for you despite your sin. I want you to be okay with God, even though you sinned and you wronged me. In other words, I want to be at peace with God, and I want to I want you to be at peace with God. So we're not getting into their shoes and trying to understand the perspective and why they No, it's sin. And we're just saying, I want you to be forgiven as I've been forgiven. I want you to be at peace with God as I have peace with God. So again, how do we apply this? We we forgive, we we check our thoughts, we ask for conviction. I would just say we repent. Hopefully, you heard me repent in front of you. I need to repent multiple times this week because of pride that just creeps into my own heart and mind. Sin separates us from God. But by his grace, mercy, and forgiveness, he restores eternal relationship with us. And that's what we hope for for those in our lives. When we operate in the non-judgmental, non-condemnation, we operate in the good news we have received ourselves. So, in conclusion, okay, this is where I ask you to ask the Holy Spirit. Jesus said that the Holy Spirit would convict us of our sin. This is where the sanctification, the transformation happens as we reflect, as we humble ourselves before God. And I ask you, what are you thinking about when you think about others? Is it judgment? Is it wanting harm? Is it wanting consequences for them? Or are you wanting hope and goodness and restored relationship with their Heavenly Father? What are you speaking about when you talk about others? Are you highlighting their mistakes? To not assume, to not rush to judgment, to not fill in the blanks. The application of this passage, again, is primarily to work out your sin, to again do this war on pride. And I think we need to, in light of this passage, wake up every day basking in and focusing on the grace, mercy, forgiveness, and generosity of God, our Heavenly Father, who is lavished on us in this waterfall of incomprehenible love, we go out into the world proclaiming and living that love in our relationships. When people sin against you, use the superpower of forgiveness given to you by the hero of heroes, Jesus Christ, who conquered sin by absorbing its consequences on the cross, who conquered death by his resurrection. That's how we forgive. And generosity is an act of faith, but also a participation in heaven. So I want to close today by reading to you Romans 8, verses 9 through 11. This will be our close as you reflect, as you examine, as you invite the humility and the conviction and need for God. Romans 8, verses 9 through 11. You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh, but are in the realm of the Spirit. If indeed the Spirit of God lives in you, and if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ. But if Christ is in you, then even though your body is subject to death because of sin, the Spirit gives life because of righteousness. And if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his spirit who lives in you. So we have confidence, not in ourselves, but in God in us and through us. Let's pray. God, I just submit and surrender again all of this to you, recognizing my confession and need for your help every day with my thoughts, with my attitude, with my behavior. I pray that you would, again, we as we pray, God, just that you would convict us, Lord, that you would help us to be mindful and to take our thoughts captive, God. I pray that for your in your strength, that you help us to forgive. Help us to not assume, help us to not judge, help us to not condemn, help us to be like you, God. And God, I pray that we would all again receive your grace, mercy, and forgiveness, your generosity, God, to operate in this way, Lord. And surround us with brothers and sisters in you, God, to be your light in this dark world. To, in a sense, operate in heaven. So we just pray for your help in doing that, God. Help us to live your good news. And we surrender and submit all this to you. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.