Well, it is truly interesting that we are in this thing.
I think war is terrible, yet it is the way of kings.
It is the way of this age that we live in.
It's going to happen over and over again.
There'll be rumors of wars and wars.
And the fact that we got involved in this last night,
I think it creates all kinds of different opinions and emotion.
And obviously as a pastor, people, well, what do you think, pastor?
Turn in your Bibles to Luke chapter six.
No, I will talk about it here just a little bit.
But love our president or hate him.
And I think that we might have both in both camps here,
he told them, you guys have 60 days to do away with your nuclear program.
On day 61, Israel whacked Iran.
And Trump extended his hand again.
We need to talk.
Let's have some peace talks.
Come on, come to the table.
They weren't willing to do that.
So thus we have what happened yesterday.
And where's it going to take us?
Nobody knows.
But the Lord above, right?
He knows.
He knows where this is going to lead.
Could it lead to Ezekiel 38 and 39?
It could.
Could it be a time of regime change for the Iranians?
Maybe.
But I'm looking forward to a day in where it talks about in Isaiah.
And I just want to read this scripture to you.
It's found in the second chapter of Isaiah.
Verse 4.
Where it says,
He, God, shall judge between the nations and rebuke many people.
They shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks.
Nations shall not lift up sword against nation.
Neither shall they learn war anymore.
We get to look forward as believers in the Lord Jesus Christ.
We look forward to a time when this stuff won't be going on.
And it won't be upsetting nations and the people of nations.
I pray for the people of Iran.
But I also believe that the bullies of the Middle East needed to be dealt with.
Right?
When I was a kid, I changed schools like 13 times between first and ninth grade.
And I had to deal with bullies.
I wasn't a very big guy.
And I had to deal with bullies all the time.
And every time my parents told me we were moving, I go.
Right?
Because the first two or three days of schools, I would double up my right fist.
I'm right-handed.
I would double up my right fist and I'd walk around school.
And sure enough, every single time.
A big bully would come up and start messing with the new kid.
And I just knew.
As soon as I punched somebody in the mouth, all the bullying was over.
Right?
It was over.
And I hated it.
And it was out of fear.
But I knew that if I dealt with it right off the bat, then it would be over.
And, you know, bullying is a whole different world today than what it was when I was a kid.
You know, you dealt with it and got a big stick or whatever you had to do.
But I remember being a junior in high school and hearing about, you know, when Reagan was campaigning for office and hearing about the hostages that were in Iran back then in 1979.
I remember that.
And that they had kept them for over a year.
And I remember Reagan, they asked him during the campaign, well, what would you do if you're elected?
What are you going to do about Iran?
And he goes, I'm going to treat them like the thugs that they are.
And it was interesting.
As soon as the election was over, before the inauguration, all those people came home.
Right?
Because Reagan, they knew that Reagan would do what he said he was going to do.
Right?
And so there's a lot of weight to that.
Right?
You appreciate people who say something and then do what they say.
Years ago, I heard Chuck Missler said, that's what is a great definition of truth, is when the word and the deed become one.
Right?
When the word and the deed become one.
And so I think this verdict is still out on Donald Trump.
You know, I know he's not my savior.
I appreciate him being in the White House because he's a very wealthy man and he didn't have to do what he did and run for office and all that.
But he seems to have a genuine love for this country.
And it appears that he does what he says he's going to do.
And so I support this in the fact that they had taken hostages.
They are the driving factor behind the Houthis, behind Hamas, behind Hezbollah.
And so I think it was warranted, this strike.
Now, will they come to the table?
We don't know that.
I doubt it.
Because this is a religion of death.
They love death.
And they say that openly, that we love death.
And I liked what Amir Sarfati said when Hamas said that.
He said, well, if you love death and we love life, just kill yourself and everybody will be happy.
But I have to think, as I analyze this, I have to think that if I have a neighbor that comes to my door occasionally and tells me how bad they hate me and my wife and my kids, and that they're going to remove us from the earth, I'm only going to tolerate that for a certain amount of time.
Right?
As the man of the house of the leader, right?
I'm only going to tolerate that a certain amount.
And then I'm going to deal with it.
Right?
And I think that's what has happened here.
For years, they've been saying, for 40 years, they've been saying, death to America, death to Israel.
So that's where I'm at.
Where it's going to go, I don't know.
But stand by for coming attractions.
Right?
Because it could get very interesting.
And honestly, I believe that we're in the last days.
Folks, we're in the last days of the last days.
So with that in mind, now turn in your Bibles to Luke chapter 6.
And we're going to look at a few verses here.
And we looked last time at some challenges that Jesus gave his followers and how tough it is.
But we ended up with verse 36.
And it says, therefore, be merciful, just as your father also is merciful.
That a merciful father should have merciful children.
Because it says, notice who he's merciful to.
For he is kind to the unthankful in the evil.
He's kind to the unthankful in the evil.
God is.
Does that mean we have to be?
Well, yeah.
That would almost disagree with what I just said.
But this is nation against nation.
It's different when it's person to person.
And so we live in an age where war is a real thing.
But when it comes to our personal relationship with God and our personal relationship with our fellow man,
the rules seem to be a little bit different.
That you can't just kill somebody because you don't like them.
I have a discontented friend who is a Christian.
And he always used to tell me, Scotty, do you realize that some people are alive simply because it's against the law to kill them?
And that was his heart.
I said, dude, I think you better deal with that right before Jesus comes.
And so, so true.
But to be merciful, that we as individuals can be merciful, we can turn the other cheek and be like our Jesus.
And so, we're just going to read, I'm going to read from 37 down through verse 42.
And then we'll talk about it a little bit.
So, he goes on here after he says to be merciful just like our father.
He says, judge not and you shall not be judged.
Condemn not and you shall not be condemned.
Forgive and you will be forgiven.
Give and it will be given to you.
Good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over will be put into your bosom.
For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.
And he spoke a parable to them.
Can the blind lead the blind?
Will they not both fall into the ditch?
A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone who is perfectly trained will be like his teacher.
And why do you look at the speck in your brother's eye, but not perceive the plank in your own eye?
For how can you say to your brother, brother, let me remove the speck that is in your eye when you yourself do not see the plank that is in your own eye?
Hypocrite.
First, remove the plank from your own eye and then you will see clearly to remove the speck that is in your brother's eye.
Shall we pray?
Lord, thank you for your word.
And Jesus, thank you for these parables.
Lord, these stories that you bring to us.
Lord, that speak such truth to our hearts.
Lord, that it truly should change us.
And so may it have that effect on us, Lord, as we look, Lord, just at the power of your word today.
And we pray it in Jesus' name.
Amen.
So he says three things there.
First thing he says is judge not.
The most abused phrase in all the New Testament, I believe.
Right?
You have people tell you that.
Don't judge me, man.
The Bible says not to judge.
Yeah, it does say that.
But other places it says to judge.
But people use that phrase, don't judge me, because they're trying to justify their sin.
And ultimately, God is the judge.
We know that.
But the word judgment there means to, you know, means to conclude or make a final judgment.
And you and I can't do that, right?
Because we don't have the privilege of passing a final judgment on anyone.
And so that's God's judgment.
And, but we're bent towards being judgmental, right?
We look at, ah, you know, isn't it amazing?
Our sin always looks so much worse on everybody else.
You hate liars, but we lie, right?
We hate thieves.
I hate a thief, but we're thieves, right?
It always looks worse on someone else.
And therefore, you justify, try to justify yourself by saying, man, don't judge me, because
the Bible says, but, but judgmentalism is the greatest form of hypocrisy, right?
Being judgmental is the greatest form of hypocrisy because the old saying is true.
And it's compounded.
When you point one finger at someone for their sin, there's three more pointing back at you.
And it helps you lose sight of your sin.
And we like that because, yeah, because it's sin is, we're convicted by it.
We know we're guilty.
And so to make a judgment on somebody, it's not our place.
That's not to say that we don't use discernment.
There's a difference between making a final judgment, say you're going to hell, which none
of us can say that because God, didn't we just read how merciful God is?
You realize how the people that will be in heaven, you go, how'd you get here?
I mean, it's going to be shocking, right?
Because God is so merciful and he doesn't judge like we judge, but he's called us to have discernment,
right?
I can make a judgment on behavior.
When my child lies to me, you know, I'm thinking, oh, that's okay, right?
That's okay.
I'm going to overlook that.
No, I'm not going to overlook that.
They might get a Tony Llama upside their hind end.
Right?
I'm not going to overlook that because it makes me look bad as a parent.
I have been guilty of that, been guilty of disciplining my kids because they make me look bad.
All of our kids make us look bad, right?
They're fallen.
They, they, they, they sin and fall short of God's glory.
And you go, oh, how could you?
What do you mean?
How could you?
They get it from you.
What do you expect?
I just heard, heard Chuck Messler was, was teaching through his, his Bible in 24 hours.
He mentioned where David says in Psalm 116, all men are liars.
He said, he said, he said it hastily, but he was right.
All men are liars.
You, your children.
And, but we can make, we can make a judgment call on, on behavior.
We're also, it's also been called fruit inspectors, right?
We, we can inspect fruit.
What Luke is establishing here is, is, um, however you do a thing or treat people, right?
Is how it will be done to you is what he said.
It's the whole idea of reaping and sowing, right?
Whatever you sow, that's what you're going to reap.
And, um, so if you sow thorns, you're going to reap thorns.
If you sow corn, then you're going to reap corn.
And so that's what he's saying here with the, he says, uh, judge not, and you shall not be judged.
Then the second one he says is to condemn.
They're kind of the same, but condemnation, it means to put yourself above somebody.
You ever had somebody talk down to you?
Well, most of you do talk down to me when we talk because you're taller than me, right?
But, but, but I mean, it's, it's like elevating yourself above someone.
And, um, I don't know about you, but that, it really galls me when, you know, when somebody kind of treats you like their boy.
And yet it's okay because we're called to be servants.
So when somebody talks down to us, um, we should take it.
It's that whole turning the other cheek thing.
It's, uh, it's being humble.
It's being okay with somebody kind of putting themselves above you.
But back to the judge thing, it says here, judge not, and you won't be judged.
Matthew, uh, takes it a little bit further, the same passage, but it gives a little more detail when it says, judge not that you be not judged.
For what with judgment you judge, you will be judged.
And with the measure you use, it would be measured back to you.
So how hard are you on people when they blow it?
Right?
How much do you talk down to people?
How often do you, in your own mind, you think you're above somebody?
When the fact is, none of us are above anybody.
None of us have arrived.
And so it's, it's a really good thing to walk in humility.
And, and Jesus encourages us to do that over and over and over again.
And so, but in some places, right, it, it does tell us to judge.
And, and that would, that would be probably more for discernment.
You guys remember in first Corinthians, when Paul is talking to the people about taking communion.
And he encourages them to, to judge.
And it's, he says there in, in verse 29 of a Corinthians, first Corinthians 11,
for he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner,
eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord's body.
No, they're just doing it frivolously.
Just, just pop the bread in and take the cup.
You're not, you're not considering, you're not taking a pause.
You're not considering your own life.
Not only that, but your own sin.
You do it in an unworthy manner and disrespecting what Jesus did on the cross by,
by receiving communion in this unworthy manner.
And he goes on to say, for this reason, many are sick and weak and some have fallen asleep.
Really?
Taking communion, not being concerned, not being convicted about your own sin,
not dealing with it.
And it says some are weak, sick, and some have died.
Because they didn't take their own sin really to heart and really turn from it.
They just kind of went on their own way.
Oh, God's gracious and merciful.
He'll just let it slide.
Maybe not.
The wages of sin is death.
Some of these people that caught up with them.
No turn from it.
He says in verse 31,
for if we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged.
But when we are judged, we are chastened by the Lord that we may not be condemned with the world.
It's almost like that thing where, you know, Paul says, when somebody's in sin, if they won't repent,
just turn them over to Satan.
Let him knock the tar out of them.
That's a Scotty paraphrase, right?
Let him knock the, that their body would be destroyed, but their soul would be saved.
It's like these people are believers, but they're not dealing with their sin.
They're kind of just living in it.
And God's going, well, I'm sorry.
I'm going to have to, I'm going to have to kill you.
I'm wondering, so you won't be condemned with the world.
So that God won't make this, this final judgment on your life.
No deal with it.
Repent, turn.
It's kind of like Ananias and Sapphira.
I wonder if that's a chastening, right?
That's a big question for a lot of Bible scholars.
Did Ananias and Sapphira make it in?
Did God said, you know what?
You guys just messed up.
I'm going to take your breath away and you just come be with me.
Remember, they lied to the Lord.
Now, Peter said, you guys haven't lied to men.
You've lied to the Holy Spirit.
You think you can get away with that?
You can't get away with that.
I don't know.
I like to think it because God is so merciful, but he can show mercy to who he wants to show mercy.
And to who he doesn't want to show mercy, he doesn't have to show mercy.
God makes the call.
You say, well, that's unfair.
Really?
According to who?
Us.
But isn't he the one that gave you your breath to start with?
Can't he do with it what he wants?
Of course he can.
So, judge not lest you be judged.
Condemn not lest you be condemned.
And then Peter talks about judgment begins at the house of God.
Over here in Peter chapter 4.
I'm going to read it to you.
It's in verse 17.
He says,
For the time has come, and it really is now, especially in these last days.
For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God.
And if it begins with us first, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God?
Now, if the righteous one is scarcely saved, where would the ungodly and the sinner appear?
Therefore, let those who suffer according to the will of God commit their souls to him in doing good as to a faithful creator.
In other words, don't be messing around.
Right?
Just be faithful to the Lord in these last days.
Guys, we only got a short time.
We can all hang on for a short time, can't we?
That's what Jesus tells the church there in the book of Revelation.
Strengthen that which remains.
Right?
I'm coming.
Just hang on.
Don't weaken now.
Don't forsake the Lord now.
Because we're so much closer to him coming.
And you're one day closer to dying.
Thirdly, Jesus mentions,
forgiveness.
Forgiveness.
Another tough pill to swallow.
And it's so easy to say and so hard for people to do.
Or is it?
When you see the result of not forgiving.
When you see the result of not forgiving that Jesus mentions in a parable,
a hair raisin parable, I might add,
in Matthew chapter 18,
when he tells a story about a guy that was a million dollars in debt.
He's a million dollars in debt.
And the guy says,
well, we're going to take him,
take you and your family.
It's going to affect the whole family.
And you're going to go into debtor's prison.
And you would go into debtor's prison and you couldn't come out till the last penny was paid.
And he's just thinking,
I'm sunk.
My family's sunk.
And he goes and he falls down before his master.
And he begs.
He says,
just give me time and I'll pay it off.
It's like,
and it says the master had compassion on him.
And he says,
you know what?
You're forgiven.
You don't owe me a dime.
Can you imagine?
I don't know about you.
But debt is a weighty yoke.
I hate debt.
The proverb is so true that the borrower is servant to the lender.
And God forgave this guy.
Or this master forgave this guy.
And then he goes down the street after being forgiven a million dollars.
And the guy down the street owes him a hundred bucks.
He takes him by the throat and says,
pay me what you owe me.
And the people that knew that this man had been forgiven.
Went and told the master what he did.
And he's fired up.
I forgave you a million dollars.
And you got a guy by the throat that owes you a hundred bucks.
Folks,
every one of us is that man that owes a million dollars.
Every one of us.
Does somebody owe you a hundred bucks?
Let it go.
So in verse 33 of chapter 18,
it says,
this master comes to him and says,
should you not also have had compassion on your fellow servant?
As I had pity on you.
And his master was angry and deliver him to the torturers until he should pay all that was due him.
For my,
so my heavenly father also will do to you.
If each of you from his heart does not forgive his brother,
his trespasses.
That puts forgiveness in a whole new light for me.
I don't know about you,
but for me,
it's like,
oh yeah,
no.
Yes.
Yes,
Lord.
Right.
Keep really short accounts.
Forgive them.
Let it go.
It's okay.
You're going to heaven.
Because if you do not forgive,
you will not be forgiven.
That's the principle here.
It's this master withdraws his forgiveness.
And in the picture,
the guy in debt is you and me.
The master is God himself.
Could you imagine if God withdrew his forgiveness from you?
Does that not strike fear in your heart?
It ought to.
Forgive.
And you'll be forgiven.
So it's such a simple principle,
but so hard to practice.
Verses 39 through 42.
It says,
and he spoke a parable to them.
Can the blind lead the blind?
Will they not both fall into the ditch?
A disciple is not above his teacher,
but everyone who is perfectly trained will be like his teacher.
And why do you look at the speck in your brother's eye
and do not perceive the plank in your own eye?
Or how can you say to your brother,
brother,
let me remove the speck that is in your eye
when you yourself do not see the plank that is in your own eye?
Hypocrite.
First,
remove the plank from your own eye,
and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye.
It's about seeing things clearly.
Instead of being fogged over by our selfishness
and our refusal to confess,
right?
Our sin.
And so,
that whole,
given it will be given to you,
good measure,
pressed down,
shaken together.
Can't imagine the blessings
that's just obeying these three commands
to not judge and not condemn and forgive.
It's awesome.
But you have to see clearly.
You got to see clearly your own fault and failure.
And he's saying,
how can you,
how can the blind lead the blind?
I had a stepdad who was,
he,
my mom married him in 1971.
And he,
so he was a pretty huge influence in me and my brother Rick's life for 10 years.
And,
you know,
in prison for quite a few of those years.
And,
and so my freshman year in high school,
him and my mom separated.
She stayed married to him while he went to prison for an attempted murder charge.
that was reduced to manslaughter.
He ended up doing a four year stint.
The whole time I was in high school,
he was in prison.
And he gets out,
gets out of prison my,
my senior year,
the spring of right before I graduated,
he got out of prison.
And he was still a huge influence in Rick and I's life.
And,
and so he,
he was spiritually blind.
And so for almost 10 years,
he led us.
Into that spiritual blindness,
right?
That,
I mean,
I watched him snort lines of cannabinole and smoke weed and rob stores and,
you know,
try to get girls to have sex with Rick and I when we're,
you know,
10 and 12 years old and just the craziest stuff.
And that was the darkness we were in.
We just,
you know,
I kind of just thought it was normal,
but in 1982,
him being this huge influence on our lives,
a bull steps on his head.
And when he wakes up a month later,
and he was in a coma for a month,
month and a half.
When he wakes up,
he's in total darkness.
He can't even see light.
It's total darkness.
And so here's this guy who's just bigger than life,
you know,
ex-con,
tough,
hard worker,
taught us how to ride bulls,
you know,
and now he's reduced to somebody leading him around.
And so he came and lived with me for a while and I would lead him around.
And when you're leading a blind person,
you have to be really alert,
right?
You,
you,
you just take a step up on a curb for granted.
You can't do that with blind people.
They,
you know,
you don't tell them there's a step,
then they crash.
Or if something's low hanging branch on a tree or whatever,
you just walk them right into it.
Not even,
you know,
I did that.
I left my cupboard door open.
He went to the counter to get some food.
Oh,
sorry.
I walk into the bathroom.
It's dark.
I said,
what are you doing?
It's sitting here in the dark.
He goes everywhere I go,
it's dark.
I mean,
you just take these things for granted.
And,
but I can't,
imagine trying to lead him and close my eyes.
It's like the blind leading the blind,
right?
We're both going to crash and burn and,
and,
and make a mess.
And,
and it's interesting,
you know,
about three years ago,
Rick and I spread his ashes out in front of the buck and shoots at the,
at the Jerome County fairgrounds.
As we,
we maintained a relationship with him and,
and tried to share Jesus with him,
right?
Tried to,
tried to lead him spiritually into a place of spiritual,
light.
Hopefully I'll see him again.
I don't know for sure.
Only Lord knows the heart,
right?
And obviously God makes that call,
but it says,
but he was our teacher.
And it says,
ultimately we will be like our teacher.
So who's your teacher?
Who do you watch?
You know,
all the things I learned in life and got good at it is because I watched
somebody.
I,
that's kind of how I learn.
I could read it and be confused,
but if I watched somebody do something,
then I,
I was,
I was much more apt to be able to,
to do it correctly.
And as we have God's word in front of us and,
and we're able to read about Jesus and who he was and what he was,
and to have him be our leader,
have him bring us to that,
that place of maturity,
of spiritual sight,
to be trained.
It's just fully trained.
I think it says here,
perfectly trained when he's perfectly trained will be like his teachers.
Are you getting trained?
See,
cause that training usually doesn't happen here at church.
It happens during the week as you put the word of God in your heart and,
and he begins to disciple you and,
and,
and teach you and lead you along.
As you,
you take the time to be his student.
The Bible says that we need no man to teach us,
but God will teach you by his spirit.
And it's powerful when he does that.
And so
we're,
we're being led by a really good teacher.
And I don't know about you,
when it comes down to heroes,
Jesus is my hero.
And I,
and I realized to be like him,
I have to see myself in the proper light.
And the last part of this parable,
where he talks about the brother with the plank in his eye,
you know,
can you imagine having a big plank in your eye?
Hey,
let,
Hey,
let me,
let me kind of get that speck,
you know,
um,
back.
He says,
hypocrite.
Right.
Back in the nineties,
there was a,
there was a Christian rock group called plank.
I look up some of their,
I looked up some of their lyrics.
Cause as I was reading through this,
I go,
I remember that back in the nineties,
this,
this kind of,
they were kind of a,
not a real hard rock,
but they were rock and roll,
Christian rock and roll band called plank.
And,
um,
and I thought that's a,
that's an interesting,
right?
They obviously hit examine themselves and realize that,
you know,
you definitely got to deal with the plank.
It's a,
it's,
it's like that examination that,
that pastor Steve's going to talk about,
uh,
this Wednesday when he goes through second Corinthians 13.
and in,
and in that passage,
it says,
examine yourselves as to whether you're in,
you are in the faith,
test yourselves.
Do you not know yourselves that Jesus Christ is in you unless indeed you are disqualified,
but I trust that you will know that we are not disqualified,
right?
Check yourself,
judge yourself.
It's kind of like the,
the Psalmist when he wrote there in Psalm 139,
right?
Search me,
Oh God,
and know my heart.
See if there be any wicked way in me and lead me in the way,
way everlasting.
Because when I see my,
my depravity and I,
I see my failure,
I'm much more apt to be merciful like my father,
because he was so merciful with me.
It is important to see people through the lens of your own sin.
It's really important.
Because then you don't get up here and start looking down.
Don't be a hypocrite.
Right?
You hypocrite.
Don't deal with the plank.
There was a,
there was one of the songs that they sang.
It,
the lyrics,
the name of the song was free me.
And here are some of the lyrics.
See if they didn't get this right.
It says,
Father,
I'm on my knees.
Lord Jesus,
come and fill me.
Without you,
I am nothing.
Oh Lord,
I am nothing.
And I will serve until you're coming.
Right?
That's someone who sees clearly.
They've dealt with the plank.
And so often we were so quick to jump on the bandwagon and to,
to pass judgment and to,
to look down and to be that unforgiving servant.
And I don't know that there's ever a place for that.
Not in us.
God can do what he wants.
Right?
So verses 43,
we'll,
we'll wrap up here.
It says for a good tree does not bear bad fruit,
nor does a bad tree bear good fruit.
For every tree is known by its own fruit.
For men do not gather figs from thorns,
nor do they gather grapes from a bramble bush.
A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good.
And an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart,
brings forth evil for out of the abundance of the heart,
the mouth speaks.
And so he's talking about this good tree,
bad tree thing.
Here's a,
here's a fruit inspection type deal.
You can tell we all bear fruit.
Everyone in this room,
you bear fruit.
What's it look like?
Is it inviting?
Is it scrumptious and delicious?
Or it's like,
no way.
But we all there.
Are you a good tree or a bad tree?
Good tree can't bear bad fruit.
Bad tree can't bear good fruit.
He compares figs,
which would be the good fruit to thorns,
which would be the bad fruit.
Nobody likes thorns.
Figs,
on the other hand,
are,
I kind of like them.
But notice something.
This is,
this is interesting.
It seems to be determined.
Good tree,
bad tree,
good fruit,
bad fruit.
by the mouth.
For out of the abundance of the heart,
the mouth speaks.
Your heart is tied to your tongue.
your heart is tied to your tongue.
And so just let me hear you talk.
That will
either be good fruit
or bad fruit.
The Bible says quite a bit about the tongue
and that we should be careful with it.
Colossians chapter three,
verse eight says,
but now you yourselves
are to put off
all these.
Check it out.
Anger,
wrath,
malice,
blasphemy,
filthy language
out of your mouth.
I was so convicted by this.
Because just in the last few years,
I've kind of
let down my guard
on the way I speak.
And I'm going,
oh Lord.
Because Jesus said something about that,
right?
I don't know if you remember.
He says on the day of judgment,
man is going to give an account
for every idle word
he's ever spoken.
Yeah,
I don't know about you.
You're just like,
oh Lord,
I'm a dead man.
And then James,
right?
James chapter three,
you can't not talk about the mouth
and go there.
you know,
in verse six,
where he says,
and the tongue is a fire,
a world of iniquity.
The tongue is so set
among our members
that it defiles the whole body
and sets on fire
the course of nature.
Listen,
and is set,
and is set on fire by hell.
Your tongue,
it's in your mouth right now.
I mean,
we could turn the lights out
and it'd be bright in here.
for every kind of beast
and bird of,
and of the sea,
of reptile and creature
of the sea is tamed
and has been tamed by mankind,
but no man can tame the tongue.
It is an unruly evil
full of deadly poison.
With it,
we bless our God and father
and with it,
we curse men
who have been made
in the similitude of God.
out of the same mouth
proceeds blessing and cursing.
My brethren,
these things
ought not to be so.
In other words,
watch your mouth
because it oozes
out of your mouth
what's in your heart.
for out of the abundance
of the heart
the mouth speaks.
But it says there,
a good man
out of the good treasure,
verse 45,
of his heart
brings forth good.
I like that.
That we can actually,
as a vessel
of the Holy Spirit,
bring forth good.
That there's treasure in there
that God has taught us.
The word treasure there
means properly stored up treasure.
Riches.
a storehouse of treasure
including treasured thoughts
stored up in the heart
and mind.
That's what the Holy Spirit does.
Right?
That's why we need
to be born again.
That's why we need
to be converted.
That's why we need
to put the old man
to death all the time.
It's because we're
in this struggle.
And we would say
things that we ought
not to say.
But God gives us
his Holy Spirit
to be careful
what we say.
So then my beloved brethren,
James tells us
in James 1 at 19,
let every man
be swift to hear,
slow to speak,
slow to wrath.
Just good wisdom.
You know,
over the years,
I do not know
how many times
I've heard this
passage of scripture
and how quickly
I forget it.
not quick to speak,
slow,
slow to speak.
And then I got to invoke
the proverb that says,
a man who holds his tongue
is thought to be wise.
You want to be really smart?
Shut up
and don't say a thing.
I think it was Lincoln
said,
I would rather be silent
than thought a fool
than to speak up
and remove all doubt.
But it's just about,
as you walk through this life
day by day,
it's just about yielding
to this Holy Spirit.
It's about being like
your teacher.
Realize that when
you leave this place,
when you step out
of your house in the morning
and go to work,
you're to be following
Jesus
and becoming like
your teacher,
being perfectly trained
by him.
Last night,
I was on the phone
with a dear friend of mine
and we've known each other
for years
and he was telling me,
you know,
he says,
I've been watching
all this stuff,
you know,
and I watch a mirror
and I watch what's going
on in Iran
and Israel
and now America.
He goes,
he says,
but I get on the X
sometimes
and he said,
and then there's
some inappropriate
stuff on there
and then there's people
just kind of doing
their thing,
you know,
and,
you know,
promoting their worldly
possessions
and all these things
and I get caught up
looking at it
and he said,
I just,
he said,
I just got to feeling
so gross inside
and he said,
so I,
I realized that,
oh,
I can delete this
and so he got on there
and he held it down
and it's gone.
He deleted it
and he says,
you know,
the Lord just filled me
with his Holy Spirit.
The joy of the Lord
just filled my heart
with his goodness
and he said,
I got a little teary
and I,
but I was just super blessed.
That's it.
That's a life of obedience
right there.
Lord,
help me.
I don't want to,
I don't want this
and he will.
We just got to surrender.
Well,
I vowed
that I was going to finish
chapter six.
So here we go.
Last three verses,
almost done.
But
why do you call me
Lord,
Lord
and you do not do
what I say?
I don't know
if that convicts you,
but that is one
of the most powerful verses
in this,
in this New Testament.
Why do you call me
Lord,
Lord
and you don't do
what I say?
Whoever comes to me
and hears my sayings
and does them,
I will show you
whom he is like.
He is like a man
building a house
who dug deep
and laid the foundation
on the rock.
That rock is Christ Jesus.
And when the flood rose
and the stream
beat vehemently
against that house
and could not shake it
for it was founded
on the rock,
but he who heard
and did nothing
is like a man
who built a house
on the earth
without a foundation
against which the stream
beat down vehemently
and it immediately fell
and the ruin
of that house
was great.
Which one are you?
Let's all stand.
The wise man built his house
upon the rock.
The wise man built his house
upon the rock.
The wise man built his house
upon the rock
and the rains came tumbling down.
Come on if you know it's singing.
The rains came down
and the floods came up.
The rains came down
and the floods came up.
The rains came down
and the floods came up.
But the house
on the rock
stirred firm.
Hope that's you.
Father, thank you.
Thank you for being our rock.
Lord,
that you don't roll,
you don't move.
Lord,
but we're shifting sand
sometimes.
So Lord,
would you draw us in?
Would you help us
and strengthen us
in these days
in which we live?
Knowing that your coming
is soon, Lord,
the trumpet's gonna sound
and the dead in Christ
will rise first, Lord,
and then we who are alive
and remain
will be caught up
to be with you
in the air
and so shall we ever be
with our Lord.
What a glorious day, Lord.
We look forward to it.
Help us to be motivated
by it
to live this life
that you've put
in front of us.
Anoint us
and empower us
with your Holy Spirit
that we would be full
and that we would be lights
and salt in this world.
Knowing that light
shines in the darkness
and that salt
can be stingy sometimes, Lord.
So it's not always
gonna be acceptable
by the world,
but we know
that it's acceptable
to you,
our God,
in Jesus' name.
Amen.
God bless you.
If you need prayer,
the prayer team's
gonna be up here.
Also,
next week,
681st Street.
We won't be here.
Thank you.