Tuesday, October 03, 2023

Get the Log Out Yo Eye

JFBC Lee Taylor (Heather Swilley's husband) 
Parables Matthew 7:1-5 
The log and the speck in the eye

The end of the sermon on the mount, where Jesus pivots and changes topics.

Do not judge…Lee is great at judging, most of us are. Even non-Christians. We see it all the time. People tell others to not judge them. We use judgement deciding what to wear, how to drive.

V 6 don't cast pearls before swine. 
V 15 judgement. 
Gal 6 use right judgement. Don't have a critical right judging attitude.

V 2 don't judge lest you be judged. Just because others judge doesn't mean that I should judge. Jesus is saying to knock it out.

Romans 14:10 we will all stand before the judgement seat of God.

2 Corinthians 5:10 we will all have to give an account before God, face to face. All our thoughts, what we said, etc.

A product of how we look at life. Some critical. Doing good deeds, being a good person isn't the way it works. Hell is a real place. We all deserve death based on our actions. We fall short of the glory of God.

The good news is that we can put our trust in what Jesus did, conquering a sin and death for me, so that by me putting my faith in him, I can have eternal life with him.

Do our Mondays look like our Sundays? Do we carry our faith with us out into the world? We all have amazing stories, being rescued by Jesus. Are we sharing them with others?

Coworkers and neighbors and friends are trying to fill the void in their lives with something, and we're there criticizing, complaining, etc.

V 3 get the log out of your eye before focusing on the spec in the eye of others.

The husband gets behind his wife and asks "honey, can you hear me?" He asks three more times. Finally the wife replies: "Yes, for the fourth time, I can hear you."

V 4 you hypocrites, first take the log out of your own eye.

Jesus doesn't give us a pass to not engage, since we are followers of Christ. We can't keep quiet. Not because we are perfect, but because we aren't. It's a team sport. We band together to share and serve.

Some don't engage with others at all. If you're not growing and engaging with others, you're missing out.

Four questions from Living Freely in a Culture Filled With...

1. Is knowing Jesus better anything? Better than money? Your job? Popularity?

2. Will I live the life God asks me to? Regardless of what happens to me?

3. Is there in your life that doesn't please God? Might start out as a splinter but then turns into a log. The way sin works.

4. Am I available to be God's spokesperson? At work? At home? In front of others?

Why did Jesus pivot and include this in the sermon on the mount? So we could all all stay on mission. We can't carry around a business card with a picture of me with a log in my eye.

I'll add a link to listen/watch this sermon, which includes a hilarious story. Worth watching to get to know Lee Taylor. 

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