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Hi friends, The Hour of His
Judgment. That's our theme and
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it is a much needed message for
the world today. We're going to
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be looking at a number of Bible
verses in the New Testament
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and in the Old Testament.
They are going to help us to
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understand why this message is
so vital. Let's just begin with
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a word of prayer and then we'll
get right into the word of God.
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Father in heaven, we just want
to pause in your presence right
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now and we want to ask that you
will guide and direct our hearts
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to you in this hour of judgment,
the theme of this summit at
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Secrets Unsealed is one that is
of vital importance to each one
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of us especially in the time in
which we live, a time when our
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culture is exploding with
accusations and criticisms and
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shutting people down. We just
want to pray that your voice
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would be heard, that your word
would be heard above the den
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of noise of this world. And you
would direct each one of us to
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this vital gospel message of the
hour of your judgment. Please
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Father speak to each heart. Use
me, guide me, direct me to your
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Holy Spirit. We
pray in Jesus' name Amen.
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You know Jesus said something
really significant in Matthew
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chapter 12 and verses 36 and 37.
I just want you to look there
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with me at these verses. Jesus
says here, Matthew chapter 12
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36 and 37:
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That's Matthew chapter 12 verses
36 and 37. Jesus very clearly
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here talks about a day of
judgment. He talks about a day
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of judgment in the context of
idle words. Now a lot of people
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might assume or come to
the conclusion after looking at
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these two verses that are read
here by Christ that are in the
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gospel that the judgment is a
negative thing, it's a bad thing
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it's a scary thing. You've got
to give an account of every idle
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word. Oh my. What are we going
to do? But actually the judgment
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is good news. We live in a
cancel culture, we live in a
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culture of shame. We live in a
culture right now where you have
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to be careful what you say. You
have to be careful what you say.
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You even have to be careful
of what you might have said five
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years ago, or 10 years ago or
20 years ago. You've got to be
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really careful because there are
people that are looking up every
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word that you may have spoken
that might be off just a little
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bit and they're going to shame
you, they are going to cancel
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you because of those words.
Maybe there are opinions that
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differ from their opinions.
Maybe their political opinions
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are different from your
political opinions, or maybe
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their moral opinions are
different from your moral
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opinions. They're going to seek
to criticize you for those words
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That's the kind of culture we're
living in right now. And so
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Jesus' words are really
significant for us because they
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tell us that these
people, people that take it upon
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themselves to condemn and
criticize others for their moral
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views or their political views
they're going to have to give
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an account. The day of judgment
is a day of accounts. Everyone
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of us are going to have to give
an account. If you've ever been
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judged by a person, if you've
ever been gossiped by somebody
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someone's made you the
center of criticism, even maybe
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Christians. Sometimes I know
that as Christians we can be the
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worst in the area of criticism
and gossip and judging. We can
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become self-righteous.
These words of Christ are really
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encouraging because they're
calling us to trust God, to rely
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on God for all the idle words
that have been said, for all the
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things, the criticisms and
gossips that have been said
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It's calling us to rely upon God
and trust in him and he's going
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to sort it out. That God has
a day of judgment. These words
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aren't just spoken by Jesus.
These words are spoken in the
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New and in the Old Testament.
They're spoken in other places
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in the Bible. I want us to look
at a couple of places where we
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see the same thing repeated.
One of those places is Romans
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chapter 14 and we're going
to look in Romans chapter 14 and
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verse 10. Now the whole chapter
of Romans 14 is really good when
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it comes to judgment. We'll get
back to that; we'll look at that
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a little bit more. But it's
not only that Jesus taught that
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there would be a day of judgment
but Paul here in Romans also
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speaks about this. If you look
here in verse 10 of Romans 14
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he says:
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So Paul here is very clear.
We're all going to stand before
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the judgment seat of Christ.
And the context of this Paul is
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saying so because we're
all going to stand before the
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judgment seat of Christ, because
as we read in Matthew chapter
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12 verses 36 and 37, because
we have to give an account of
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every idle word, especially
the gossipy word, the judgmental
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word, the critical word. Because
we are going to have to give an
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account, because we're going to
stand before the judgment seat
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of Christ why are you setting at
naught your brother? Why are you
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judging your brother. You might
ask the question, well is he
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talking about a brother in the
Lord. Well yeah of course he's
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talking about a fellow Christian
He's talking about anyone and
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everyone. We can't say to us
today, we can't say well I'm not
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my brother's keeper and think
this only applies to Christians.
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It applies to every single
person on planet earth. If you
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are being critical of leaders,
of presidents or prime ministers
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or kings or of stars or athletes
Whoever it is in your realm, in
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your world you're being critical
if you're going to stand before
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the judgment seat of Christ and
you're going to have to give an
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account of every idle word that
you've spoken. Now this may seem
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again a little bit scary, but
to me it brings a lot of hope
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because as a believer in Jesus
Christ I'm focusing on wanting
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to be like Jesus and not speak
judgmental words and not speak
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critical words and when I read
these verses I think, yes I need
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to leave this person and that
person and this issue and that
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issue, I need to leave that with
God. I need to leave that with
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God and not be critical
and judgmental toward these
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different let's just say
political people or whoever it
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is in my life that's bombarding
me or hurting me or bringing me
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trials or causing me problems.
I've got to leave that with the
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Lord. The hour of judgment calls
us to put our trust more fully
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in Jesus Christ for vindication
from all of the hurt and pain
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we're experiencing by the idle,
critical, judgmental words of
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others. And that is good news
and very important news for each
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one of us. James also talks
about this in James chapter 2
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and verse 12. Let's just look
there in James chapter 2 and
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verse 12. He speaks about a
judgment and we're going to find
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this theme not only in the New
Testament. We're going to find
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it also in the Old Testament.
James chapter 2 and verse 12
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he says:
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So there's a judgment taking
place and this judgment is going
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to be taking place in
relationship to the law of
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liberty. Now we're going to
spend a whole session on the law
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of liberty. Our next session
is going to be on the law of
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liberty. We'll spend a lot of
time on that. Right now though
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our main theme for this
presentation is going to be this
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idea of judging individuals and
being judged by individuals and
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how we process that. How can we
process that as believers? How
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should we process as believers?
And we're going to look at this
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in the context of this wonderful
good news of the judgment
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because we're going to find that
the New Testament writers all
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taught that there would be a day
of judgment as a positive thing
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not a negative thing. They
taught there would be a day of
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judgment in the context of us
putting our trust in Christ and
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getting rid of idle words or
negative words or critical words
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of judgmental words toward
believers, our fellow believers,
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toward mankind towards our
leaders. Paul talks about this
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for example in 1 Timothy chapter
2. He says that first of all
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because we're saved by the grace
of God and the love of Jesus
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Christ we should pray for our
leaders and our presidents and
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kings and all those that are
in authority. If you can imagine
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that. Praying for these guys
rather than criticizing them.
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This is the calling, the high,
high calling of the hour of
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judgment message in the context
of the Bible. Now let's look at
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an Old Testament verse. This one
is found in Ecclesiastes chapter
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12. We go all the way back to
the Old Testament. Ecclesiastes
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chapter 12 and I want us to look
at the last couple of verses in
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Ecclesiastes. These two verses
are kind of in a way summing up
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the whole matter for us.
That's how they're written.
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Ecclesiastes chapter 12 we're
going to look at verses 13 and
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14. Ecclesiastes chapter
12: 13 and 14. Solomon says here
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Let us hear the conclusion of
the whole matter. So this is a
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summing up of the whole matter.
Solomon went through a period
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of darkness and he was given
great wisdom from God and then
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he kind of apostasized and
turned away from God and lived
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in the world for many year and
then he kind of came back to God
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and as he came back to God, he
didn't kind of come back to God
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he fully came back to God. As
he came back to God he wrote all
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kinds of proverbs and words of
wisdom and Ecclesiastes kind of
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sums everything that he
learned and how this world and
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everything that's in it is just
kind of vanity, it's all vanity.
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And in the context of heaven and
eternity and salvation in Jesus
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Christ, this is all vanity. He
says the conclusion of the whole
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matter in this context is: Fear
God and keep his commandments
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for this is the whole duty of
man, for God shall bring every
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work into judgment, verse 14,
with every secret thing, whether
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it be good or whether it be
evil So God is going to bring
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everything into judgment.
He's going to bring every secret
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thing into judgment if it's good
or it's evil. All is coming into
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judgment. And again, we'll talk
a little bit more about this in
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a future presentation. But
for now we want to focus on the
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fact that God is going to have a
day of judgment and everything's
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going to be brought in whether
it's good or evil. Everything's
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going to brought in for God
to judge. Now again this is good
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news. This is really good news
because it alleviates us from
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the burden of criticizing and
judging others. It alleviates
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us from the burden of
shaming other people, of being
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judgmental of other people. As
Christians, as believers in the
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gospel we need to take a hold
of this message. In fact, that's
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what we're told in 1
Peter chapter 4. We're told very
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clearly, verse 17 of 1 Peter
chapter 4, that this is a gospel
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message, this is gospel truth.
Let's just look there in 1 Peter
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chapter 4 and verse
17. 1 Peter 4 and verse 17:
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This is what it says:
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So the judgment is connected to
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obeying the gospel of God and
the gospel is good news. That's
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what the gospel is, the gospel
is good news. So what we find
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here are three important points:
Point number one: Judgment
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begins at the house of God. That
means it begins with believers.
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It begins with Christians. We
ought to know better. There's a
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lot of people in the world that
don't know better. They don't
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know better than to judge and
to criticize and be condemning
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toward you know presidents and
prime ministers and leaders and
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even you know whoever it is.
They don't know better But we as
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believers should know better.
The Bible is filled with stories
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that lead us away from being
critical and judgmental toward
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others, even others that hurt
us, even other that are evil.
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That we are to take a
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higher plain, a higher road in
the way that we deal with people
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and individuals. We see stories
like David and Saul in the Old
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Testament. Saul was a wicked
king, he was trying to kill
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David. He was an apostate king.
He was wiping out his own people
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Killed of the priests of Nob and
he was after David and again and
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again David escaped from
the spear of Saul and there were
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times when David had a
opportunity to get Saul back but
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David had the fortitude, he had
the courage, the inner courage
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to be the man that God wanted
him to be. And he refused to do
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that. He left David in God's,
excuse me, David left Saul in
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God's hands. He said God judge
between me and you. And God
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avenge me of you but I'm not
going to put my hand against you
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And this is what the New
Testament is calling us to.
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And we see it all through the
New Testament but especially in
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the life of Jesus. Jesus Christ
refused. He could have laid his
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enemies down, he could have
taken them out. He refused to do
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that. He received everything and
he trusted himself to the hands
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of God. Into God he entrusted
his spirit. And he said in the
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context of that on the cross,
Father forgive them for they
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know not what they're doing. And
this is the high calling of the
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Christian. Now we fail so often.
We fail to reach this high
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calling but God's judgment
hour is calling us back to this
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experience. If we've failed,
it's time for us to embrace the
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gospel. We need to get into more
detail about that right now. We
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need to really understand what
the gospel is, because this is a
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gospel message. The hour of
judgment is a gospel message.
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We also need to realize that
the judgment starts with the
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believer, but then it moves to
the disobedient. It says right
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here in verse 17, it says what
will be the end of those who
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don't obey the gospel,
who disobey the gospel. So
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there's going to be a judgment
for those who disobey the gospel
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And then it goes on to say that
this is a gospel message. It
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directly relates to the gospel.
The gospel is in the context of
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this verse in 1 Timothy 4:17. It
says judgment's going to begin
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at the house of God and the
context of that is obeying the
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gospel. Now this is
really important when we look at
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Revelation chapter 14 verses
6 and 7 because this is where we
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find the center of our message.
Revelation 14:6 and 7. So let's
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just open our Bibles to
Revelation chapter 14 and let's
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just look at verses 6 and 7.
This is, in a sense, God's last
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message for the world. John says
he saw another angel flying in
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The whole world is to hear this
gospel and as this everlasting
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gospel was brought to the whole
world the first pronunciation of
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that comes forth from
this gospel, verse 7 is:
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So here we have the everlasting
gospel connected directly with
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the hour of his judgment. Do you
see that? In other words, there
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is a direct link between the
judgment of God and the gospel
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of God. The judgment is good
news. That's what we need to
00:16:04.73\00:16:08.50
understand. It comes under
the heading of the everlasting
00:16:08.53\00:16:11.47
gospel. But it's not good news
to those who don't understand
00:16:11.50\00:16:15.17
the principles of the judgment
and that's what we need to look
00:16:15.20\00:16:18.24
at. We've got to look at the
principles of the judgment. Why
00:16:18.27\00:16:21.44
does God have a judgment.
Now we're going to be looking at
00:16:21.48\00:16:24.31
four major points in this series
The first point we're going to
00:16:24.35\00:16:28.22
be looking at, the one we're
going to highlight right now is
00:16:28.25\00:16:30.92
that God has a judgment so
that we human beings will stop
00:16:30.95\00:16:35.72
judging other people. We
just need to stop judging other
00:16:35.76\00:16:38.59
people. That's why God has a
judgment. He wants us to stop
00:16:38.63\00:16:41.40
judging people. He wants us to
let go of criticisms, let go of
00:16:41.43\00:16:44.73
judgment, let go of canceling
people, let go of shaming people
00:16:44.77\00:16:48.80
That's not our prerogative. We
don't know the heart. We don't
00:16:48.84\00:16:53.31
understand that what's going on
in the very inner workings, in
00:16:53.34\00:17:00.22
the very inner workings and
thinking of other people. We
00:17:00.25\00:17:02.98
don't know that. Only God knows
that. And so it's beyond our
00:17:03.02\00:17:07.09
capability to judge and
criticize other people. We're
00:17:07.12\00:17:09.99
just not called to do
that. We are called to a higher
00:17:10.03\00:17:15.36
experience. And so God is
telling us right here in Romans
00:17:15.40\00:17:18.17
We'll just go back there to
Romans chapter 14 because it's
00:17:18.20\00:17:20.70
a powerful, powerful chapter,
one that I think is what we
00:17:20.74\00:17:25.21
would call present truth for our
world today. Romans chapter 14
00:17:25.24\00:17:28.24
and let's just look here at
a little bit more of what Paul
00:17:28.28\00:17:32.28
says here. Just to get a little
bit of the context we'll start
00:17:32.31\00:17:35.62
in verse 10. Just a little
bit of the context. Paul here is
00:17:35.65\00:17:39.15
speaking to Christians, to
believers. But these believers
00:17:39.19\00:17:43.83
they have different backgrounds.
Okay. This is the early church
00:17:43.86\00:17:48.36
and the believers that Paul
is speaking to many of them are
00:17:48.40\00:17:53.84
Jewish converts. What I mean
by that is, they were Jews who
00:17:53.87\00:17:58.17
followed and believed in the
Old Testament writings that were
00:17:58.21\00:18:02.38
given to them by Moses on down
and then when Jesus came they
00:18:02.41\00:18:07.42
accepted Christ as the Messiah.
Now this was a big deal to a lot
00:18:07.45\00:18:10.42
Jews because most of the Jewish
nation the leaders rejected
00:18:10.45\00:18:14.06
Christ as the Messiah. And
so it was big for them to accept
00:18:14.09\00:18:16.93
Christ as the Messiah. Now Paul
is not just speaking to Jews
00:18:16.96\00:18:19.76
there in Romans. He's
also speaking to Gentiles. Now
00:18:19.79\00:18:22.56
Gentiles didn't know anything
about Moses and all those
00:18:22.60\00:18:24.53
writings (indistinct) really
they didn't know anything about
00:18:24.57\00:18:27.14
that. Historically the Jews
had had generations of Moses and
00:18:27.17\00:18:31.27
his writings. The Gentiles
probably didn't have any
00:18:31.31\00:18:35.58
understanding of all that, but
they accepted Christ as Messiah
00:18:35.61\00:18:39.11
also. You have Jewish converts
and you have Gentile converts in
00:18:39.15\00:18:42.68
Christian church. And because
of their backgrounds they have
00:18:42.72\00:18:46.62
differences. The Jews here
in this context and in Galatians
00:18:46.65\00:18:50.96
and Ephesians and Colossians,
the Jews are struggling with the
00:18:50.99\00:18:55.46
idea of letting go of all of the
ceremonial type laws. They had
00:18:55.50\00:19:02.10
to do with the Passover and the
Day of Atonement and Paul over
00:19:02.14\00:19:06.78
and over again throughout his
writings. And circumcision, etc.
00:19:06.81\00:19:09.44
Paul talks about how all of
these were shadows that were
00:19:09.48\00:19:13.65
fulfilled in Jesus. And he
came along, there came a Sabbath
00:19:13.68\00:19:16.35
days and certain things you
were supposed to eat and certain
00:19:16.38\00:19:18.79
things you were supposed to
do on these certain feast days.
00:19:18.82\00:19:22.12
And Paul is telling the Jewish
believers, listen these were all
00:19:22.16\00:19:26.39
pointing to Christ. We no longer
have to observe them. They've
00:19:26.43\00:19:29.36
been nailed to the cross. They
were fulfilled in Jesus. Jesus
00:19:29.40\00:19:31.57
is our Passover basically.
Now if you're a Jew in this time
00:19:31.60\00:19:36.54
when most of your nation
leadership are not accepting
00:19:36.57\00:19:38.91
Christ as Messiah and you are
accepting Christ but then you're
00:19:38.94\00:19:42.48
being told that you know all
this stuff that Moses wrote is
00:19:42.51\00:19:44.91
no longer viable. That could
be hard, that could be difficult
00:19:44.95\00:19:49.68
Paul recognizes this, but he's
also dealing with Gentiles and
00:19:49.72\00:19:53.99
Gentiles are like being told
by these Jewish converts hey you
00:19:54.02\00:19:56.89
need to get circumcised and you
need to eat this and you need to
00:19:56.93\00:19:59.69
keep these feasts, you need to
do certain things. There's these
00:19:59.73\00:20:02.03
extra Sabbaths you should be
observing. So the Gentiles are
00:20:02.06\00:20:06.50
kind of struggling with this. In
fact, they had a big meeting in
00:20:06.53\00:20:09.90
Acts 15. They had a big meeting
about of all of this and they
00:20:09.94\00:20:12.84
were talking, all the leaders
of the Christian church were
00:20:12.87\00:20:14.64
talking about what should we
do with the Gentiles. Should we
00:20:14.68\00:20:17.41
make them keep all the laws of
Moses that we ourselves haven't
00:20:17.45\00:20:21.08
even been able to keep. And they
finally said no. Let's just do
00:20:21.12\00:20:24.85
some basics here. We know that
these have all been fulfilled in
00:20:24.89\00:20:28.49
Christ and these have been
nailed to the cross. They're
00:20:28.52\00:20:31.93
completely, they're just filled
up with meaning of all these
00:20:31.96\00:20:34.36
ceremonial laws. The lamb of
God we don't need to slay that
00:20:34.40\00:20:36.70
anymore. So this is the context
of what Paul is speaking to in
00:20:36.73\00:20:41.57
Romans 14. And he's telling the
Jewish converts and the Gentile
00:20:41.60\00:20:44.91
converts don't despise one
another. Don't judge one another
00:20:44.94\00:20:47.64
Let every man have enough room
to be fully persuaded in his own
00:20:47.68\00:20:53.82
mind as to what you should
do. Just give him room to be
00:20:53.85\00:20:58.59
convicted in his own mind. One
person eats this, another person
00:20:58.62\00:21:01.49
eats that. One person observes
this day, another person
00:21:01.52\00:21:04.33
observes every day. Let every
man be fully persuaded in his
00:21:04.36\00:21:06.73
own mind. That's the context
of Romans chapter 14. But the
00:21:06.76\00:21:10.67
biggest point he's making
here, the one that huge, because
00:21:10.70\00:21:13.97
the principle applies to
us today. We can say well the
00:21:14.00\00:21:16.54
ceremonial law, that's not a
major moral issue. Well even if
00:21:16.57\00:21:19.67
it's a moral issue the
principles that we're about to
00:21:19.71\00:21:22.51
read here apply to us today.
And these are the principles
00:21:22.54\00:21:25.75
that Paul gets to that is
the foundation of his message in
00:21:25.78\00:21:29.58
Romans chapter 14 beginning here
with verse 10. Let's just look
00:21:29.62\00:21:32.75
at these verses. Roman's chapter
14 beginning verse 10. He said:
00:21:32.79\00:21:36.62
And here's the
clincher verse 13:
00:22:02.18\00:22:04.49
Now of course Paul's talking
to believers and so this is
00:22:12.86\00:22:17.03
especially applicable to us.
But it's applicable to us who
00:22:17.07\00:22:20.24
believe in Jesus Christ in
the way you relate to everyone,
00:22:20.27\00:22:23.51
everyone. Stop judging people...
00:22:23.54\00:22:25.44
Instead of judging people remove
the stumbling blocks. Instead
00:22:34.88\00:22:37.39
of judging people, don't cause
other people to fall. Now people
00:22:37.42\00:22:39.99
will fall over your attitude. As
Christians, as an evangelist, as
00:22:40.02\00:22:43.53
as someone who's been in
ministry for 35 years I can't
00:22:43.56\00:22:48.00
tell you how many times I've
seen possible believers, people
00:22:48.03\00:22:53.37
who we've done evangelism with,
people we've done Bible studies
00:22:53.40\00:22:55.60
with, I can't tell you how many
times they stumble and fall over
00:22:55.64\00:22:59.11
the leaders because they fail
to be accepting, because they're
00:22:59.14\00:23:04.61
filled with judgmental, critical
thoughts toward people who are
00:23:04.65\00:23:08.18
you know, just learning about
Christ. Maybe just coming into
00:23:08.22\00:23:12.12
the church and all of a
sudden they get, you know, this
00:23:12.15\00:23:14.12
attitude, the spirit comes like
hey you know how come you're
00:23:14.16\00:23:17.16
here dressed like that? Well
this person is dressed like that
00:23:17.19\00:23:20.23
because that's all they know.
They don't know what you know.
00:23:20.26\00:23:23.03
And we need to stop judging and
criticizing them all because of
00:23:23.06\00:23:26.90
their political views or
because of whatever it is. We as
00:23:26.94\00:23:30.61
Christians are called to stop
judging other people. And this
00:23:30.64\00:23:34.01
is the message that God is
bringing to us in the hour of
00:23:34.04\00:23:37.81
his judgment. It's a powerful
message when you think about it.
00:23:37.85\00:23:41.88
God has a judgment because he
wants us to stop judging people.
00:23:41.92\00:23:44.12
That's good news. We are off the
hook. We no longer have to judge
00:23:44.15\00:23:47.72
others. We no longer have
to bear the burden of being
00:23:47.76\00:23:51.29
critical and judgmental because
God... You know you think people
00:23:51.33\00:23:54.23
are getting away with stuff. You
think well that person needs to
00:23:54.26\00:23:57.03
be exposed and this other person
and look at what they're doing.
00:23:57.07\00:24:01.80
Well we of course there is a
place for that in the church.
00:24:01.84\00:24:04.47
There's a place for discipline
in the church, there's a place
00:24:04.51\00:24:07.24
for exposing sin and error in
the church but when it comes to
00:24:07.71\00:24:10.68
personal gossip and individual
criticism, judgmentalism, that's
00:24:10.71\00:24:14.88
what God is calling us away from
If we see a brother or a sister
00:24:14.92\00:24:19.05
that's struggling we need
to pray for them, we need to
00:24:19.09\00:24:21.02
intercede for them. We don't
need to go gossiping to everyone
00:24:21.06\00:24:23.32
about what they're doing. That
is what Paul is speaking to here
00:24:23.36\00:24:26.49
He's speaking to the way that we
deal with people who may have a
00:24:26.53\00:24:29.30
different background than we
have. You know the Gentiles had
00:24:29.33\00:24:32.20
a completely different
experience than the Jews and the
00:24:32.23\00:24:34.24
Jews also had a different
experience than the Gentiles.
00:24:34.27\00:24:36.37
The Gentiles were why do you
have such a hard time giving up
00:24:36.40\00:24:39.07
on the ceremonial laws.
They might have said that to the
00:24:39.11\00:24:41.24
Jewish brethren. And God's
saying, Now wait a minute, wait
00:24:41.28\00:24:44.45
minute you need to understand
they've been keeping these laws
00:24:44.48\00:24:47.35
these ceremonials laws for
generations. It's going to be
00:24:47.38\00:24:50.45
hard for them to be harder
for them that it is for you.
00:24:50.49\00:24:52.85
And it's the same with us. God
00:24:52.89\00:24:54.96
tells us in Acts chapter 15 and
verse 8, let's just look at this
00:24:55.36\00:24:58.99
verse because it's so powerful.
God tells us in Acts chapter 15
00:24:59.03\00:25:02.90
verse 8, Acts 15 and verse 8.
This again is the context of the
00:25:02.93\00:25:08.10
big meeting in Jerusalem
about Jews and Gentiles and the
00:25:08.14\00:25:12.84
differences that these believers
were going to have in relation
00:25:12.87\00:25:15.88
to each other and in relation
to the truth, in relation to the
00:25:15.91\00:25:20.08
Bible. Acts chapter 15 verse 8:
00:25:20.12\00:25:22.98
So here we have the apostles
dealing with the issue, the
00:25:29.82\00:25:34.76
differences, and then in this
context you have Peter rising
00:25:34.80\00:25:38.27
up and being filled with the
Holy Spirit and basically saying
00:25:38.30\00:25:40.44
hey listen. You know what? God
knows their hearts. They may not
00:25:40.47\00:25:43.74
be circumcised, they may not be
doing all the ceremonial things
00:25:43.77\00:25:46.78
but God knows their hearts
and you know God gave them the
00:25:46.81\00:25:49.24
Holy Ghost just like he gave
us the Holy Ghost. So we need to
00:25:49.28\00:25:51.61
back up here. We need to
back up. And this is what God is
00:25:51.65\00:25:54.55
calling us to today. The hour of
his judgment says God knows the
00:25:54.58\00:25:58.62
hearts. God is the
one that reads hearts.
00:25:58.65\00:26:01.79
And that's why it's so
important for us to recognize
00:26:05.63\00:26:08.20
in the hour of judgment that we
need to leave judgment with God.
00:26:08.23\00:26:11.73
In fact, 1 Corinthians 13 tells
us we need to love hopes all
00:26:11.77\00:26:16.24
things, believes all things,
endures all things. Love never
00:26:16.27\00:26:19.84
fails. We need to hope even if
we see people that we know we're
00:26:19.87\00:26:24.28
convinced that they
know. We need to hope that the
00:26:24.31\00:26:26.58
Holy Spirit will
00:26:26.61\00:26:27.95
work on their hearts. That's
what Stephen did when he was
00:26:27.98\00:26:29.42
being stoned. He was being
stoned by the Jews because they
00:26:29.45\00:26:32.55
were so angry with him
because he was bringing through
00:26:32.59\00:26:34.06
the Holy Spirit
00:26:34.09\00:26:35.42
conviction to their hearts that
they had rejected Christ. As he
00:26:35.46\00:26:38.89
was being stoned the Jews took
off their coats and put them in
00:26:38.93\00:26:43.16
the arms of a man that
was standing there, his name
00:26:43.20\00:26:45.50
was Saul. And as
he held these coats
00:26:45.53\00:26:49.47
he watched the Jews
stone Stephen to death and he
00:26:49.50\00:26:52.24
watched Stephen being stoned. As
he watched Stephen being stoned
00:26:52.27\00:26:55.01
these words came out of
Stephen's mouth as his face
00:26:55.04\00:26:58.31
shown with the brightness of
heaven and he said looking up
00:26:58.35\00:27:01.65
into heaven, Stephen said, Lord
lay not this sin to their charge
00:27:01.68\00:27:05.72
And Paul never, Saul never
forgot, he couldn't erase those
00:27:05.75\00:27:08.66
words. He couldn't erase that
witness and that witness led him
00:27:08.69\00:27:12.83
to Jesus. Now what if Stephen
would have said Oh man these
00:27:12.86\00:27:16.23
terrible people. I can't believe
what they're doing. No. He was
00:27:16.26\00:27:19.30
filled with the Spirit of
God and he rose up in prayer and
00:27:19.33\00:27:23.30
said Lord lay not this sin to
their charge. Forgive them. He
00:27:23.34\00:27:26.11
interceded for them and that
caused Saul to be converted.
00:27:26.14\00:27:29.48
Paul who became a powerful
evangelist of the New Testament.
00:27:29.51\00:27:33.21
So only God can read the hearts.
We can't read the hearts. And
00:27:33.25\00:27:37.65
you see this all through the
Bible. In fact, if we look at
00:27:37.69\00:27:41.56
Hebrews chapter 11. Now this
is a powerful chapter on the
00:27:41.59\00:27:44.79
investigative judgment for
believers. When you look at
00:27:44.83\00:27:47.80
Hebrews chapter 11
you're looking at what the
00:27:47.83\00:27:49.83
investigative judgment looks
like for the believer. Hebrews
00:27:49.86\00:27:52.90
chapter 11 is what we call
the faith chapter and in Hebrews
00:27:52.93\00:27:55.94
chapter 11 we have all these men
and women of faith, you notice,
00:27:55.97\00:28:00.81
that believed and followed God
by faith and in the context of
00:28:00.84\00:28:05.21
this it's powerful because...
Before we read verse 32 which
00:28:05.61\00:28:09.65
kind of sums up all the
experiences of the believers,
00:28:09.68\00:28:12.49
let's just get the context of
Hebrews 11 because it's really
00:28:12.52\00:28:15.06
powerful. Hebrews 11 is
00:28:15.09\00:28:17.33
talking about how faith is the
substance of things hoped for,
00:28:17.36\00:28:21.10
the evidence of things not seen.
It's talking about how we by
00:28:21.13\00:28:24.87
faith step forward and follow
God and it's describing now the
00:28:24.90\00:28:29.27
experiences of all these
different believers. There's
00:28:29.30\00:28:32.34
that you will notice in Hebrews
11 that is amazing in it's
00:28:32.37\00:28:37.51
revelation of the investigative
judgment or of the hour of God's
00:28:37.55\00:28:41.92
judgment. God is talking
about believers here and their
00:28:41.95\00:28:45.49
experiences and he always,
in Hebrews chapter 11, he always
00:28:45.52\00:28:50.66
speaks to the affirmative.
He never speaks to the negative.
00:28:50.69\00:28:53.36
There's nothing negative in here
In fact, just let's take a look
00:28:53.40\00:28:56.67
at a few verses. It talks here
in Hebrews chapter 11 about how
00:28:56.70\00:29:01.84
Abraham went out, he didn't know
where he was going. He just went
00:29:01.87\00:29:04.47
out. He just left the land of Ur
He went out and he had no idea
00:29:04.51\00:29:08.24
where he was going. Just
continued to travel as God led
00:29:08.28\00:29:11.91
him. But it doesn't say anything
about the fact that as Abraham
00:29:11.95\00:29:14.62
was traveling as he went to the
Philistines area, territory, he
00:29:14.65\00:29:18.72
went to Egypt that he was afraid
that the Egyptians might want
00:29:18.75\00:29:25.79
his wife because she was so
beautiful. And so he told Sarah,
00:29:25.83\00:29:29.50
he said now when we go into this
town I want you to tell them
00:29:29.53\00:29:34.47
that you're my sister not my
wife. Now that was kind of true
00:29:34.50\00:29:39.04
because yeah she was a half
sister. But the truth of the
00:29:39.07\00:29:43.11
matter is that they were married
but Abraham told her to lie.
00:29:43.14\00:29:46.21
It doesn't say anything about
that in Hebrews 11. It doesn't
00:29:46.25\00:29:49.45
talk about how Abraham told her
to lie. It talks about how Moses
00:29:49.48\00:29:52.59
by faith just stepped out and
he turned away from the pleasure
00:29:52.62\00:29:57.69
of sin for a season and he
suffered with the people of God.
00:29:57.73\00:30:01.60
It doesn't talk about how Moses
killed an Egyptian and buried
00:30:01.63\00:30:04.40
him in the sand. It talks over
and over again about the various
00:30:04.43\00:30:09.40
different people who by faith
stepped out and followed God.
00:30:09.44\00:30:13.71
All the accounts in Hebrews
chapter 11 of God's faithful
00:30:13.74\00:30:16.98
people are minus their failures.
Are minus their errors. Are
00:30:17.01\00:30:24.19
minus their sins. They're gone.
And that's exactly what the hour
00:30:24.22\00:30:27.79
of judgment looks like. We'll
talk about this in more detail
00:30:27.82\00:30:30.53
in future presentations, but the
hour of God's judgment for the
00:30:30.56\00:30:35.16
believer in the gospel looks
like Hebrews chapter 11. In fact
00:30:35.20\00:30:39.90
if you read Hebrews chapter 11
you're going to be surprised at
00:30:39.93\00:30:42.60
who's there. The who's of
Hebrews 11 can be surprising. I
00:30:42.64\00:30:47.21
remember the first time I read
Hebrews chapter 11 and let's
00:30:47.24\00:30:49.84
just begin here with
verse 32. Hebrews 11 verse 32:
00:30:49.88\00:31:07.03
He goes on to say:
00:31:07.06\00:31:08.93
I mean we're talking about all
of these successes, all of the
00:31:32.85\00:31:37.33
good things, all of the positive
things that God's people did but
00:31:37.36\00:31:40.03
you'll notice that Samson is
mentioned. Look at the life of
00:31:40.06\00:31:43.73
Samson. Your like man that
guy really messed up. I mean he
00:31:43.77\00:31:46.63
really messed up and he was born
of two Godly parents and one of
00:31:46.67\00:31:50.37
the first things he wanted to
do was marry a Philistine woman.
00:31:50.41\00:31:52.67
Now the Philistines were
not like... We don't marry the
00:31:52.71\00:31:55.24
Philistines. His parents were
like no, no, no, no. He's like
00:31:55.28\00:31:57.68
yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. She
well pleasing in my sight. And
00:31:57.71\00:32:00.82
it was all about what she looked
like, not about what she was
00:32:00.85\00:32:03.25
like on the inside. And indeed
she was not a good person and
00:32:03.28\00:32:05.82
that didn't last very long.
He lost his first wife and then
00:32:05.85\00:32:09.62
Samson, a judge in Israel,
one who was anointed of God with
00:32:09.66\00:32:13.53
superhuman strength to judge
his people and to rule them and
00:32:13.56\00:32:18.37
defeat the Philistines goes and
now he marries a Philistine but
00:32:18.40\00:32:22.67
ends up with Delilah. Now
he's in love with Delilah, but
00:32:22.70\00:32:27.21
Delilah is, she's wicked. She
doesn't love him. I mean she can
00:32:27.24\00:32:32.15
say she loves him but what's she
trying to do. She's trying to
00:32:32.18\00:32:34.88
actually find out the secret
of his strength so that she can
00:32:34.92\00:32:39.45
tell that to her Philistine
lords and Samson can be captured
00:32:39.49\00:32:43.76
And that's exactly what happens.
Eventually Samson give in to her
00:32:43.79\00:32:47.40
tells her well the secret of my
strength is in my hair. You cut
00:32:47.43\00:32:49.66
my hair, I'm as weak as
any other man and boom. The
00:32:49.70\00:32:53.03
Philistines come and cut his
hair when he's sleeping and it's
00:32:53.07\00:32:56.24
over. They come and capture him
in his sleep and she cuts the
00:32:56.27\00:32:59.37
hair and it's over. It is
literally over for Samson. And
00:32:59.41\00:33:02.58
the next thing he knows his eyes
are out and he's in this you
00:33:02.61\00:33:06.65
know ring just serving the
Philistines, grinding corn and
00:33:06.68\00:33:10.72
eventually becomes the sport,
their play. But he prays and he
00:33:10.75\00:33:16.06
repents and his hair begins
to grow and God brings back his
00:33:16.09\00:33:21.30
strength and he set himself,
asks to be set before two
00:33:21.33\00:33:24.43
pillars of the temple and
the Philistines are there having
00:33:24.47\00:33:27.07
this great feast, this festival.
And he pushes the pillars down
00:33:27.10\00:33:30.34
and all the Philistines die.
And he himself asks to die with
00:33:30.37\00:33:33.51
them, in a sense committing
suicide, in a sense. And we see
00:33:33.54\00:33:39.71
Samson who messed up time and
time and time and time again. We
00:33:39.75\00:33:42.55
see Samson mentioned in Hebrews
chapter 11. See this is the hour
00:33:42.58\00:33:46.89
of God's judgment, not the hour
of our judgment. We would have
00:33:46.92\00:33:49.96
judged Samson, we'd say ah I
don't know if that guy's going
00:33:49.99\00:33:51.96
to make it. In fact, I thought
that for a while until I read
00:33:51.99\00:33:54.66
Hebrews. When I first came to
the Bible I read from the Old to
00:33:54.70\00:33:57.43
New, I read the whole Bible
through. I was like Samson, man
00:33:57.47\00:33:59.67
that guy really messed up. I
don't know if he's going to make
00:33:59.70\00:34:02.30
it now. I read Hebrews, I'm like
yeah I guess he is going to make
00:34:02.34\00:34:04.74
it. See that's us, that's human
beings. We look at people and we
00:34:04.77\00:34:09.01
make judgments that are
not necessarily in harmony with
00:34:09.04\00:34:11.71
God's judgments. But we look in
Hebrews 11 where God vindicates
00:34:11.75\00:34:16.05
his people where all of their
sins and failures are covered
00:34:16.08\00:34:18.85
because they're believers.
By faith they have the
00:34:18.89\00:34:24.39
righteousness of Christ. In the
Old Testament it would be the
00:34:24.43\00:34:27.03
blood of the lamb. That's how
they saw the blood of the lamb.
00:34:27.06\00:34:29.40
Because their Messiah, the
Christ, the Anointed One was
00:34:29.43\00:34:32.97
symbolized by a lamb that was
slain. The blood was spilled for
00:34:33.00\00:34:36.74
them. A lamb without blemish, a
lamb that was perfect because it
00:34:36.77\00:34:39.11
was the perfection of Christ's
life as well as the death of
00:34:39.14\00:34:42.84
Christ that covered us with his
righteousness. It's both, that
00:34:42.88\00:34:49.35
is one. And that's what Samson
has. He has the righteousness of
00:34:49.38\00:34:52.85
Jesus Christ. He's in the faith
chapter along with other guys.
00:34:52.89\00:34:57.46
I mean there's some other
guys here that are questionable.
00:34:57.49\00:35:00.06
Like for example Gideon. That
guy was a man of faith for sure.
00:35:00.10\00:35:03.06
But he also made a golden
ephod and caused the children of
00:35:03.10\00:35:07.10
Israel to go whoring. I mean
you read that in Judges chapter
00:35:07.14\00:35:09.70
four. And Barak, yeah that
guy was a man of faith but he
00:35:09.74\00:35:12.67
wouldn't go out to war against
God's enemies even when God
00:35:12.71\00:35:16.18
called him to do it unless
Deborah went with him. Have you
00:35:16.21\00:35:20.78
ever struggled with idolatry or
with fear or with addiction like
00:35:20.82\00:35:26.45
Samson had, addiction to lust
and to sex. These are the things
00:35:26.49\00:35:31.46
that were in the lives of these
men that are saved by the grace
00:35:31.49\00:35:34.90
of God through faith in
Jesus Christ. Why? Because they
00:35:34.93\00:35:38.67
continued to trust in God
and not in themselves. And so
00:35:38.70\00:35:43.27
they're mentioned here in this
hall of faith chapter, they're
00:35:44.11\00:35:46.07
mentioned here. This whole
hall of faith chapter is why we
00:35:46.11\00:35:50.18
understand that the hour
of God's judgment is a gospel
00:35:50.21\00:35:53.98
message. It's part of the
everlasting gospel for the
00:35:54.02\00:35:57.45
believer. But what will happen
to those who don't obey the
00:35:57.49\00:36:00.76
gospel? See God is calling
us to accept the gospel of Jesus
00:36:00.79\00:36:04.96
Christ now while we can. We're
living in the judgment hour and
00:36:04.99\00:36:08.36
if we don't accept the gospel
of Jesus Christ now while we can
00:36:08.40\00:36:11.10
we're going to be without a
mediator once probation closes.
00:36:11.13\00:36:15.84
Once this earth's history comes
to an end we're not going to
00:36:15.87\00:36:19.74
have the covering that God wants
to give us. You know Jesus spoke
00:36:19.77\00:36:23.14
to the Jews. They had a day of
probation and he said how often
00:36:23.18\00:36:26.41
I would have gathered you and
covered you as a hen covers her
00:36:26.45\00:36:29.18
chicks and you would not. It's
not God that decides who's going
00:36:29.22\00:36:32.99
to be lost and who's going to
be saved. It's us. We make that
00:36:33.02\00:36:35.49
decision individually. And
God is calling us to make that
00:36:35.52\00:36:38.29
decision for him right now. He's
calling us to give our hearts to
00:36:38.33\00:36:41.56
him right now. So the hour of
judgment is a powerful message
00:36:41.60\00:36:46.27
because it's a message that
calls us to look to Jesus Christ
00:36:46.30\00:36:53.17
Hebrews 11 presents us with
an outline of what the judgment
00:36:53.21\00:36:56.31
looks like for the believer.
And the judgment of the believer
00:36:56.34\00:36:58.18
looks like we stand before
God without fault. If you read
00:36:58.21\00:37:01.45
Hebrews 11, just read it
carefully you will not find one
00:37:01.48\00:37:04.15
fault mentioned of all the lives
of God's believers that are
00:37:04.19\00:37:07.66
mentioned there, not one fault.
Not a single one. And that's
00:37:07.69\00:37:11.09
what the judgment looks like
for the believer when we put our
00:37:11.13\00:37:14.00
faith in Jesus, when we
sincerely put our faith in Jesus
00:37:14.03\00:37:17.90
all of our sins are blotted out,
all of our faults are covered by
00:37:17.93\00:37:21.34
the righteousness of Jesus
Christ. And we need that. Samson
00:37:21.37\00:37:23.67
needed that, Barak needed that,
Gideon needed that, Moses needed
00:37:23.71\00:37:26.74
that, Abraham needed that.
00:37:26.78\00:37:28.11
The liars, the
killers, the murderers, the
00:37:28.14\00:37:31.38
adulterers, the sex addicts all
needed that, and we need that.
00:37:31.41\00:37:36.55
We need that and God is going to
give that to us in the hour of
00:37:36.58\00:37:40.46
his judgment. But remember he
gives that to us as believers,
00:37:40.49\00:37:45.36
as those who lay aside their
sins, who toss those sins, who
00:37:45.39\00:37:48.06
give those sins to Jesus and
accept his righteousness, are
00:37:48.10\00:37:50.63
born again and who live for him,
who put their faith completely
00:37:50.67\00:37:54.80
in Jesus Christ. Now as
believers we need to see what
00:37:54.84\00:37:59.87
that looks like because a lot
of times we don't. As believers
00:37:59.91\00:38:03.51
we need to exemplify the spirit
of being born again, the spirit
00:38:03.55\00:38:10.45
Christian. So also let's look
at a couple more verses here I
00:38:10.49\00:38:13.42
think are really significant. We
are looking at in Luke chapter 7
00:38:13.46\00:38:16.69
and we're going to start
with verse 36 of Luke chapter 7.
00:38:16.73\00:38:20.53
We look at a couple of aspects
of this story. This is the story
00:38:20.56\00:38:24.60
of Mary. This was woman who was
redeemed by Christ and she had
00:38:24.63\00:38:30.34
a sordid past. It was a bad past
she had a sordid past but she
00:38:30.37\00:38:34.31
was redeemed by the gospel.
And when she was redeemed by the
00:38:34.34\00:38:38.08
gospel she didn't just say well
now I'm saved now it doesn't
00:38:38.11\00:38:40.88
matter how I live. When Mary was
redeemed by Jesus Christ, her
00:38:40.92\00:38:45.09
life changed. She was
transformed in the way that she
00:38:45.12\00:38:49.49
lived her life. She lived for
Jesus Christ and that's what the
00:38:49.52\00:38:53.73
gospel calls us to do. In the
hour of judgment is also in that
00:38:53.76\00:38:59.30
context an hour when our hearts
are revealed before God and He
00:38:59.33\00:39:04.71
sees our true motives. He sees
if we're really following him or
00:39:04.74\00:39:07.34
not. This is why this is such a
significant message for us today
00:39:07.38\00:39:11.15
Because we need to recognize as
Christians that, as Christians
00:39:11.18\00:39:14.95
we need to recognize that we are
not getting away with anything.
00:39:14.98\00:39:17.79
We may think that we can
get away with dark thoughts or
00:39:17.82\00:39:22.99
being unChristlike when we're
driving our car down the freeway
00:39:23.02\00:39:26.49
or being critical of our leaders
We've not getting away with any
00:39:26.53\00:39:29.76
of that. God is calling us to
a much higher standard than that
00:39:29.80\00:39:32.23
in the context of the
everlasting gospel and that's
00:39:32.27\00:39:35.17
why the everlasting gospel is so
powerful because it transforms
00:39:35.20\00:39:38.41
our hearts. So here's the story.
We'll begin in verse 36, not
00:39:38.44\00:39:43.41
because there isn't more
to it but because of our time
00:39:43.45\00:39:46.72
restraints here.
Verse 36 of Luke chapter 7:
00:39:46.75\00:39:50.19
So Jesus was being invited by
a Pharisee, his name was Simon
00:39:56.16\00:39:59.16
by the way. He's been converted
he's been healed of leprosy.
00:39:59.19\00:40:02.16
He actually hasn't been fully
converted if you will. He's one
00:40:02.20\00:40:05.27
of those professed followers of
Christ. He's one of those guys
00:40:05.30\00:40:08.97
that he believes in Christ
because he's healed him, he's
00:40:09.00\00:40:11.14
done something for him but
his heart hasn't been completely
00:40:11.17\00:40:14.08
transformed and this is
what we're going to see as we go
00:40:14.11\00:40:15.88
through the story. And we're
going to see a contrast between
00:40:15.91\00:40:18.51
a true believer and a false
believer or professed believer
00:40:18.55\00:40:22.28
someone who falls short
of actually having a complete
00:40:22.32\00:40:25.72
transformation God wants. It's
important for us to see this.
00:40:25.75\00:40:29.19
So it says here
going on in verse 37:
00:40:29.22\00:40:31.73
Now some Bible commentators will
say that this alabaster box of
00:40:46.14\00:40:49.51
ointment was like worth a year's
wages. It was very expensive. It
00:40:49.54\00:40:55.18
was something that she was
reserving for Christ to anoint
00:40:55.22\00:40:59.62
him believing he was going to
die. But then she had heard that
00:40:59.65\00:41:02.69
he wasn't going to die. You know
the messages went out and they
00:41:02.72\00:41:05.43
confusing, the disciples
were confused about this. So she
00:41:05.46\00:41:08.26
brings this ointment that she's
been saving. It was years' worth
00:41:08.30\00:41:11.33
of wages, this was very
expensive. She was brings this
00:41:11.37\00:41:13.47
to anoint his feet now because
she wants to show her love for
00:41:13.50\00:41:19.17
Jesus. Now notice Simon
is called a Pharisee, Mary is
00:41:19.21\00:41:24.81
called a sinner. It's very
important to understand that
00:41:24.85\00:41:28.18
in the context of the judgment.
So it goes on here, next verse,
00:41:28.22\00:41:32.15
and it says, it's
talking about Mary now:
00:41:32.19\00:41:35.02
And the next verse says:
00:41:49.00\00:41:50.71
Wow! Simon. You just got healed
of leprosy. You invited Jesus
00:42:15.23\00:42:20.54
the Messiah over to your house.
You're a professed believer in
00:42:20.57\00:42:24.34
Christ, you're having a feast
in his behalf and you have the
00:42:24.37\00:42:28.54
nerve to judge and criticize
this woman. Oh yeah, Simon,
00:42:28.58\00:42:31.11
didn't even phase him. He didn't
even think about it. He's like
00:42:31.15\00:42:33.98
yeah of course, look it, she's a
sinner. I know all about her. Oh
00:42:34.02\00:42:36.89
yeah. That terrible wife. I
can't believe that Jesus would
00:42:36.92\00:42:41.36
let this person touch him. I
don't even know how she got in
00:42:41.39\00:42:45.66
here, you know, he might be
thinking. Now he's thinking all
00:42:45.69\00:42:48.06
this in his brain and this
is exactly the way we think. We
00:42:48.10\00:42:51.87
look at other people when Jesus
touches our lives, when he heals
00:42:51.90\00:42:55.17
us, when he restores us, when
he does something, we look at
00:42:55.20\00:42:57.97
other people and we judge them
and criticize them. Wow man I
00:42:58.01\00:42:59.67
can't believe... Oh Jesus
probably has nothing to do with
00:42:59.71\00:43:02.78
that person, nothing to do with
that person. Wow I'm sure Jesus
00:43:02.81\00:43:05.21
would never even, no way, he
wouldn't even let them touch him
00:43:05.25\00:43:07.55
This is the attitude of
Phariseeism. That's why he's
00:43:07.58\00:43:10.29
called a Pharisee. Simon is
identified as a Pharisee because
00:43:10.32\00:43:14.02
of the context of this story
is telling us that this is what
00:43:14.06\00:43:17.46
Phariseeism looks like
and there's a whole lot of
00:43:17.49\00:43:19.09
Phariseeism going on in our
world today friends. There's a
00:43:19.13\00:43:22.60
whole of Phariseeism going on
and unfortunately it's going on
00:43:22.63\00:43:25.17
in the church too. Political
Phariseeism, social Phariseeism
00:43:25.20\00:43:29.37
religious Phariseeism. And this
is what it looks like. You don't
00:43:29.40\00:43:34.41
want to just say wow a Pharisee.
Yeah they were these guys that
00:43:34.44\00:43:36.68
lived you know in Jesus'
time and they just were very
00:43:36.71\00:43:38.48
legalistic. No Pharisees
are people who are critical and
00:43:38.51\00:43:41.02
judgmental of sinners. Are
you critical and judgmental of
00:43:41.05\00:43:44.32
sinners? The reason why it's
important to ask that question
00:43:44.35\00:43:47.82
is because the hour of God's
judgment is come and it's not
00:43:47.86\00:43:50.63
going to bode well for you if
you're critical and judgmental
00:43:50.66\00:43:52.63
of sinners. When you stand at
the judgment seat of Christ you
00:43:52.66\00:43:56.63
know all of us are going to
have to you see. So you need to
00:43:56.67\00:43:59.17
remove the stumbling blocks.
This is what God is calling us
00:43:59.20\00:44:02.14
to do. Remove the stumbling
blocks. Because we are to stand
00:44:02.17\00:44:05.87
before the judgment seat of
Christ to give an account of
00:44:05.91\00:44:08.34
every idle word that we've
spoken whether it's good or evil
00:44:08.38\00:44:10.95
That's what God is calling us
to. That's the standard God is
00:44:10.98\00:44:13.85
calling us to. God is calling a
people who will follow the lamb
00:44:13.88\00:44:16.79
wherever he goes and it says in
Revelation chapter 14 that they
00:44:16.82\00:44:20.19
have no guile in their mouth.
They are faultless before the
00:44:20.22\00:44:23.22
throne. And that's speaking
specifically of critical,
00:44:23.26\00:44:27.60
negative, judgmental thoughts.
We could study Revelations 7 in
00:44:27.63\00:44:31.33
the context of that and the
tribe that's been replaced...
00:44:31.37\00:44:34.50
The tribe of Dan who was a
judge and a backbiter has been
00:44:34.54\00:44:37.51
replaced by the tribe
of Manasseh who was one who
00:44:37.54\00:44:40.84
forgave. That's what the word
Manasseh means, to forgive, to
00:44:40.88\00:44:42.54
remit, to remove, to forget.
Dan the word means to judge, to
00:44:42.58\00:44:45.68
backbite, to criticize. We can
look all through the Old and New
00:44:45.71\00:44:50.05
Testaments. We can find the same
principle. The accuser of the
00:44:50.09\00:44:53.05
brethren was cast down who
accuses them before God day and
00:44:53.09\00:44:55.09
night. I have a whole
presentation on that. We need to
00:44:55.12\00:44:57.43
recognize that for many of us,
maybe for most of us, the last
00:44:57.46\00:45:00.90
frontier in our Christian
experience is the words that we
00:45:00.93\00:45:04.30
speak. Because with Adam and
Eve that's what started it. When
00:45:04.33\00:45:06.97
they were hiding from God, God
came to them and he said what
00:45:07.00\00:45:09.74
are you doing here? And Adam
said, it was the woman; critical
00:45:09.77\00:45:14.18
judgmental. And the woman,
seeing what Adam said, it was
00:45:14.21\00:45:17.25
the man, it was the serpent,
excuse me. And of course who are
00:45:17.28\00:45:19.41
they blaming, God. God if you
wouldn't have made this woman
00:45:19.45\00:45:21.28
for me I wouldn't have... Then
God if you wouldn't have made
00:45:21.32\00:45:23.22
the serpent I wouldn't have...
Right? We have to be cleansed
00:45:23.25\00:45:27.89
from these critical, not
only, words but the words are
00:45:27.92\00:45:33.16
communicating the thoughts. God
wants to cleanse us from this
00:45:33.19\00:45:36.97
so we can stand without fault
before his throne. And he will
00:45:37.00\00:45:39.50
cleanse us from this. So as we
see the story, Jesus now has the
00:45:39.53\00:45:44.41
job of working with Simon. How
would he reach this Pharisee who
00:45:44.44\00:45:47.38
is professing to believe in me
but he doesn't really believe in
00:45:47.41\00:45:50.58
me because his thoughts are off.
How am I going help him? And so
00:45:50.61\00:45:54.08
Jesus responds and says to Simon
Simon, Jesus answering him:
00:45:54.12\00:45:57.29
Now he turns to the woman. Jesus
turns to the woman and he says:
00:46:34.86\00:46:38.19
Now Jesus wasn't teaching here
different levels of forgiveness.
00:47:21.74\00:47:25.74
He wasn't teaching
forgiveness on the basis of what
00:47:25.77\00:47:28.04
you do for him.
00:47:28.08\00:47:29.41
No, no, no. Jesus was teaching
that when we are forgiven we
00:47:29.44\00:47:32.61
will be all out for him, that
we will be everything for him.
00:47:32.65\00:47:37.42
Jesus is telling us, and here's
the basic outline, he's telling
00:47:37.45\00:47:40.69
us that first of all believers
stand behind Jesus. They don't
00:47:40.72\00:47:44.49
stand behind their own works.
They don't have any merit to
00:47:44.53\00:47:46.90
stand behind. Mary stood behind
Jesus. Believers stand behind
00:47:46.93\00:47:51.77
Jesus in this gospel judgment
and believers number two give
00:47:51.80\00:47:57.27
everything to Christ. She poured
out a year's worth of wages. She
00:47:57.31\00:48:00.34
gave all to Jesus. Can you
imagine? Not only did she give
00:48:00.38\00:48:03.55
this ointment to Christ but she
came into the Pharisee's house
00:48:03.58\00:48:07.72
to a house where she knew she'd
be criticized and condemned. You
00:48:07.75\00:48:11.39
know sometimes I feel like new
believers come into the church
00:48:11.42\00:48:14.32
who are going to be criticized
and condemned, I mean they know
00:48:14.36\00:48:16.52
they're going to be criticized
and condemned because of their
00:48:16.56\00:48:18.73
past life. But they come anyway.
Why? Because they're there for
00:48:18.76\00:48:21.46
Jesus. When I first came to
Jesus, I'm telling you, my past
00:48:21.50\00:48:26.00
I would come into church and I
just felt like the whole church
00:48:26.03\00:48:28.44
was criticizing and condemning.
Now they weren't but I felt that
00:48:28.47\00:48:30.91
way. I just felt that way
because of my past. I thought
00:48:30.94\00:48:33.27
all these people here, they're
all praising God and they're all
00:48:33.31\00:48:36.24
saints and I'm the only sinner
here. I'd come in, I'd drive
00:48:36.28\00:48:39.01
into the parking lot in my '73
Chevy Camaro you know hot rod
00:48:39.05\00:48:43.18
with my girlfriend under my arm
wearing my leather jacket just
00:48:43.22\00:48:45.85
fresh out of the world and as
soon as I stepped into church I
00:48:45.89\00:48:48.76
was like oooh I'm not in a bar
anymore am I. No I'm in a church
00:48:48.79\00:48:52.89
and people here are saints and I
felt uncomfortable. That's Mary.
00:48:52.93\00:48:58.50
Mary is in a situation where
she knows she's coming into the
00:48:58.53\00:49:02.60
Pharisee's house. She and Simon
have a relationship, they have
00:49:02.64\00:49:05.14
history, they have past. She
knows that and yet she comes.
00:49:05.17\00:49:07.98
Why does she come? She comes for
Jesus. Don't go to church for
00:49:08.01\00:49:11.08
people, go to church for Jesus.
Don't stop going to church
00:49:11.11\00:49:13.98
because of people because you're
going there for Jesus. You're
00:49:14.02\00:49:18.62
there to worship Christ. And
that's what Mary was there for.
00:49:18.65\00:49:21.02
Now she was hiding behind Jesus
and she was pouring out all this
00:49:21.06\00:49:27.30
service and she was trusting
Christ and his forgiveness and
00:49:27.33\00:49:31.53
his righteousness. She trusted
Christ for forgiveness, she
00:49:31.57\00:49:34.34
trusted Christ for righteousness
So this story is beautiful. In
00:49:34.37\00:49:40.48
fact, it's mentioned in all four
of the gospels. This story is
00:49:40.51\00:49:43.14
found in every one of the four
gospels; Matthew, Mark, Luke and
00:49:43.18\00:49:47.12
John. And it has different forms
One of the forms that I really
00:49:47.15\00:49:51.32
like is found in John's gospel
and in just a couple of verses
00:49:51.35\00:49:55.12
let's see I want us to look at
in John's account of this story
00:49:55.16\00:49:58.29
because I think it's really
powerful. John chapter 12 and
00:49:58.33\00:50:02.83
let's look here at just a couple
of verses in John chapter 12 of
00:50:02.86\00:50:06.40
this same story. John 12,
we are just going to look at
00:50:06.43\00:50:09.04
verses 7 and 8
of John chapter 12:
00:50:09.07\00:50:12.27
So Christ here is speaking to
the Pharisee, to Simon, but he's
00:50:24.39\00:50:31.43
also speaking to his disciples
because in the other accounts of
00:50:31.46\00:50:35.30
this story there are other
voices of criticism. Judas for
00:50:35.33\00:50:39.93
example, is a voice of criticism
Now this is a disciple of Christ
00:50:39.97\00:50:42.94
Can you imagine? Judas is a
voice of criticism. And I say
00:50:42.97\00:50:46.57
can you imagine because we need
to apply this to the church.
00:50:46.61\00:50:48.88
Simon is a newcomer. Judas has
been following Jesus for a while
00:50:48.91\00:50:52.18
You can be in the church for
a long time and still be working
00:50:52.21\00:50:55.85
against Christ when it comes
to bringing in new believers who
00:50:55.88\00:50:59.39
come from a life of sin. And
this is exactly what Judas did.
00:50:59.42\00:51:02.29
Judas was being critical also.
He was saying stuff like well
00:51:02.32\00:51:05.99
you know what a waste. This
ointment could have been sold
00:51:06.03\00:51:08.26
and the proceeds
00:51:08.30\00:51:11.07
could be given to the poor.
As if he cared about the poor.
00:51:11.10\00:51:15.44
He was an embezzler. He
would take money from the little
00:51:15.47\00:51:19.64
source, the little treasury for
himself, to use for himself. He
00:51:19.67\00:51:24.85
didn't care about the poor. He
cared about all that money that
00:51:24.88\00:51:27.35
he could have had access to and
this is exactly why Jesus says
00:51:27.38\00:51:33.89
Let her alone. And I love that
phrase, let her alone. Because
00:51:33.92\00:51:39.13
that's the phrase that Jesus
uses as a type of the judgment
00:51:39.16\00:51:44.13
that comes to every believer.
He's going to say to the accuser
00:51:44.17\00:51:47.30
of the brethren, and we'll
study this again in another
00:51:47.34\00:51:49.64
presentation, he's going to say
let her alone, let him alone,
00:51:49.67\00:51:54.21
let them alone. These are brands
plucked from the fire. Jesus
00:51:54.24\00:52:00.92
Christ is going to vindicate
us if we stand behind him in the
00:52:00.95\00:52:04.29
judgment but that leads us to a
life that is poured out to Jesus
00:52:04.32\00:52:10.19
One of the most important
aspects of that life is the
00:52:10.23\00:52:14.13
tongue and what we say, how we
speak about others, what we say
00:52:14.16\00:52:19.07
about others. This is vital
for us as believers. In Matthew
00:52:19.10\00:52:23.37
chapter 14, let's just look
there, Matthew chapter 14 and
00:52:23.41\00:52:28.28
this is another account of this
same story. Matthew chapter 14
00:52:28.31\00:52:33.52
and verse 8: Jesus says, Matthew
14 verse 8, actually that's the
00:52:33.55\00:52:43.79
wrong verse. It should be
John 14, I mean John chapter 7
00:52:43.83\00:52:49.33
It's the same chapter that
we were just looking at. John
00:52:49.36\00:52:53.37
chapter 7 or excuse me John
chapter 12 and the next verse.
00:52:53.40\00:52:59.97
Okay, here we go. John 12
the next verse, verse 8: For the
00:53:00.01\00:53:03.95
poor always you have with you
but me you have not always. So
00:53:03.98\00:53:09.45
Jesus here is speaking in the
context of leaving Mary alone.
00:53:09.48\00:53:12.59
He's speaking about the fact
that you always have the poor
00:53:12.62\00:53:14.89
but I'm not going to always be
with you. And so Jesus is saying
00:53:14.92\00:53:19.49
she has done a good work on me
because she's come to anoint me
00:53:19.53\00:53:22.23
before my death. The disciples
were sending out the message
00:53:22.26\00:53:26.20
that Jesus wasn't going to die.
There was confusion among the
00:53:26.23\00:53:28.67
disciples in relation to this.
And I think that the same thing
00:53:28.70\00:53:32.11
is true today. There's a lot of
confusion about Christ and the
00:53:32.14\00:53:36.41
gospel and the truth of the
gospel and God wants to clarify
00:53:36.44\00:53:39.91
that truth. And he goes on to
say and this is where I'm going
00:53:39.95\00:53:43.79
to turn to Matthew and it's
Matthew chapter 26, I believe.
00:53:43.82\00:53:48.19
Matthew chapter 26 and we're
going to look here in Matthew
00:53:48.22\00:53:53.63
chapter 26 at verse 13.
Matthew 26 and verse 13.
00:53:53.66\00:53:58.63
This is the other account and
this account is very similar to
00:53:58.67\00:54:03.30
the account we looked at in
John's gospel. It goes on to say
00:54:03.34\00:54:09.74
this: it says, and
Luke's gospel Verse 13:
00:54:09.78\00:54:13.62
What does that mean, for a
memorial unto her? Well whenever
00:54:30.60\00:54:35.74
the gospel is preached this that
the woman has done is going to
00:54:35.77\00:54:40.01
go with it because it's going
to remind us that Christ came
00:54:40.04\00:54:43.18
into the world to save sinners
of whom we are chief. That's
00:54:43.21\00:54:46.21
what Paul says in 1 Timothy
chapter 1:15, 16. It's going to
00:54:46.25\00:54:50.52
remind us that the Pharisees
and the disciples of Christ that
00:54:50.55\00:54:54.76
judge and criticize aren't going
to stand in the way of Jesus
00:54:54.79\00:54:58.09
Christ vindicating those
who come to him as sinners, who
00:54:58.13\00:55:00.83
stand behind him in the
judgment, who trust in his
00:55:00.86\00:55:04.27
righteousness, who even though
they have a terrible life like
00:55:04.30\00:55:07.40
Samson and Barak and Gideon who
messed up again and again and
00:55:07.44\00:55:12.17
led God's people astray that as
long as they put their trust in
00:55:12.21\00:55:15.78
Jesus, as they turn to him that
he gives them salvation and that
00:55:15.81\00:55:21.92
is the bottom line. That is the
motivation from love of Christ
00:55:21.95\00:55:24.25
of forgiving out sins and
bringing us again and again to
00:55:24.29\00:55:27.66
him. He says as many as come to
him I will in no wise cast out.
00:55:27.69\00:55:33.73
Coming to him again and again.
The love of Christ motivates us
00:55:33.76\00:55:37.23
to live for him and that's
the bottom line. So in our first
00:55:37.27\00:55:41.37
session here we talked about
three basic truths in this first
00:55:41.40\00:55:47.61
hour of judgment message. Truth
number one: God has an hour of
00:55:47.64\00:55:51.15
judgment so stop judging
one another, Romans chapter 14:
00:55:51.18\00:55:58.69
Let us not therefore judge one
another anymore. Let's just stop
00:55:58.72\00:56:00.06
it. Let's just stop judging
other people. God has an hour
00:56:00.09\00:56:03.43
of judgment. He's going to take
everything into consideration.
00:56:03.46\00:56:05.79
He reads the hearts. He's
the only one that can read the
00:56:05.83\00:56:08.33
hearts. And that's the second
takeaway. Acts chapter 15 verse
00:56:08.36\00:56:11.47
8 and there's a lot of other
verses that describe that. God
00:56:11.50\00:56:14.84
knows the heart. You don't
know the heart. I don't know the
00:56:14.87\00:56:18.27
heart. We don't know the hearts
of other people. We don't know
00:56:18.31\00:56:20.28
what they've been through when
they come. God knows the heart.
00:56:20.31\00:56:22.54
God knew the heart of
those Gentile believers and even
00:56:22.58\00:56:25.65
though they weren't measuring
up to the Jewish standard, God
00:56:25.68\00:56:29.68
accepted them and gifted
them the Holy Spirit and worked
00:56:29.72\00:56:32.35
through them. And then finally
obey the gospel, obey the gospel
00:56:32.39\00:56:38.26
There's obedience here that is
called forth from the gospel of
00:56:38.29\00:56:43.60
Jesus Christ. The judgment
is all about obedience and not
00:56:43.63\00:56:47.57
disobedience. The judgment calls
us into an understanding of the
00:56:47.60\00:56:52.11
obedience of the gospel. Because
when we think about the judgment
00:56:52.14\00:56:56.11
ahead of time, as we're doing
right now, we think about giving
00:56:56.14\00:56:58.71
account for every idle word. We
think that God's going to bring
00:56:58.75\00:57:01.12
into account in the judgment
everything secret and not secret
00:57:01.15\00:57:05.45
good and evil. We think
about that. It calls us to put a
00:57:05.49\00:57:09.79
complete trust in Jesus,
to stand behind him, to stand
00:57:09.82\00:57:13.73
behind his righteousness and let
go of those sins, to give him
00:57:13.76\00:57:17.13
those sins and to receive
from him the power to go forward
00:57:17.17\00:57:21.44
in obedience to the gospel of
Jesus Christ. I'm going to talk
00:57:21.47\00:57:24.27
a little more about that in our
next session but for now it's
00:57:24.31\00:57:29.04
vital for us to recognize
that the hour of his judgment is
00:57:29.08\00:57:31.68
calling us to stop judging
others, to stop being critical
00:57:31.71\00:57:33.98
of others, to give our heart to
Christ and to know that he reads
00:57:34.02\00:57:38.02
all hearts and to put our
trust in him so that we can be
00:57:38.05\00:57:42.92
obedient to the gospel of Jesus
Christ. I pray that that will be
00:57:42.96\00:57:46.36
your experience.
Let's pray together.
00:57:46.39\00:57:48.10
Father in heaven we thank you
so much for your word. Thank you
00:57:48.13\00:57:50.40
for this hour of judgment
message that calls us to put our
00:57:50.43\00:57:54.07
trust in you, to stop judging
others and criticizing others
00:57:54.10\00:57:56.27
because when we do that we make
it evident that we have not your
00:57:56.30\00:57:59.91
righteousness, your
justification. Father help us
00:57:59.94\00:58:03.18
to be like David, like Stephen
help is to be like Jesus and to
00:58:03.21\00:58:07.32
follow him wherever he goes,
to stand without guile, we pray
00:58:07.35\00:58:10.65
in Jesus' name, Amen.
00:58:10.69\00:58:13.25
¤ ¤
00:58:13.29\00:58:16.09