Participants:
Series Code: TDYFW
Program Code: TDYFW190027A
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00:02 I want to spend my life
00:07 Mending broken people 00:12 I want to spend my life 00:19 Removing pain 00:24 Lord, let my words 00:30 Heal a heart that hurts 00:35 I want to spend my life 00:40 Mending broken people 00:46 I want to spend my life 00:51 Mending broken people 01:10 Happy Sabbath and welcome to 3ABN Family Worship. 01:14 We are so excited that you're joining us 01:16 for this Bible study. 01:18 Tonight, we will be talking about the measure you use. 01:22 Amen. 01:23 And we'll be talking about condemnation and judgment 01:26 and forgiveness, studying, and all kinds of good things. 01:30 I am Shelley Quinn. 01:32 I am JD Quinn. 01:33 And we are so glad that you're joining us this... 01:35 You know, let me go ahead. 01:37 Honey, why don't you introduce everyone 01:39 who's here at the table. 01:42 Well, some are good, good friends, you know, 01:44 that I enjoy being around. 01:46 Robert, Robert over here, Robert Pierce. 01:48 This is one of my favorite teachers. 01:50 Oh, man. 01:51 You were really gifted, you know, Pastor Ryan Day. 01:53 Praise the Lord. 01:54 And one of my good friends over here 01:56 that I've just learned 01:57 to love more all the time, Eric Durant. 01:59 Love you too, JD. 02:00 And of course, my favorite of all favorites... 02:02 There we go. 02:03 You got it right. You got it right. 02:05 Happy Sabbath to you. 02:06 Yeah, that's... 02:08 You know, we love to study the Bible 02:11 and we love to be, 02:12 because through the Bible, God speaks to us 02:15 but why don't we speak to him right now, 02:17 Honey, you wanna open in prayer? 02:19 Father, as we come together, the Sabbath day, 02:21 we just want to thank you, Lord, 02:23 that we can take a refreshing breath. 02:26 Father, just knowing that 02:27 you are the one in charge of our life 02:29 and, Father, what a gift that is. 02:31 Father, be with us as we go through this study, 02:33 Father, that the words that come out of our mouth 02:36 will indeed make a difference, Father, 02:37 that we will stay on, stay on base. 02:41 We love You and we thank You. 02:42 We ask this in the name of Jesus, amen. 02:44 Amen. 02:45 Amen and amen. Amen. 02:47 We're going to, 02:48 want to introduce one more person 02:50 who will be at the piano as we sing. 02:52 We're gonna sing Trust and Obey, 02:54 and that's number 590 in your hymnal, 02:57 but the words will be across the screen. 03:00 But Summer Boyd is playing the piano for us, 03:03 and she's so precious and we're so glad. 03:05 Thank you, Summer. Thank you. 03:06 Amen. 03:10 When we walk with the Lord 03:14 In the light of His Word 03:17 What a glory He sheds on our way! 03:22 While we do His good will 03:25 He abides with us still 03:28 And with all who will trust and obey 03:34 Trust and obey, for there's no other way 03:40 To be happy in Jesus, 03:44 But to trust and obey 03:47 But we never can prove 03:51 The delights of His love 03:54 Until all on the altar we lay 03:59 For the favor He shows 04:03 And the joy He bestows 04:06 Are for them who will trust and obey 04:11 Trust and obey, for there's no other way 04:18 To be happy in Jesus, 04:22 But to trust and obey 04:26 Amen and amen. 04:28 Beautiful song. Wow. 04:29 You know, the Bible says that we, 04:33 in two or three witnesses, 04:36 something is established. 04:38 It is interesting to me in three different passages, 04:42 Jesus uses the term the measure you use 04:47 will be measured back to you. 04:49 That's right. What does He mean by that? 04:52 Ryan? 04:53 Well, obviously it's talking about judgment, 04:55 it's the concept of judgment 04:56 and His judgment necessarily a bad thing. 04:58 I think that it can be depending 05:01 on how you use it or exercise that. 05:04 And so I think we're going to deal 05:05 with a few passages 05:07 that where Christ brings this out. 05:08 But absolutely, I think that if we judge, 05:11 we should judge rightfully as we should judge it 05:13 because what measure as you said, 05:14 what measure we judge, what measure you use, 05:16 it will be rendered back to you. 05:18 And so, I think this is probably in the direction 05:20 that we're talking, judgment, condemnation. 05:23 What's the difference between the two? 05:24 We're going to talk about that also... 05:26 But he also uses it at a time 05:30 when He's not referring to judge me. 05:32 Absolutely. 05:33 So what does that term, the measure you use 05:37 will be measured back to you mean? 05:39 I almost imagined that God's law, 05:43 the foundation of God's law is love. 05:47 And when I hear him say that, 05:51 I think what He's saying is, 05:53 if you use love when you judge, 05:57 then you're going to receive the same love 05:59 when you are judged. 06:00 The foundation of our judgment 06:02 should surround and be based on love. 06:04 Amen. Amen. 06:05 Also think of the scripture, it says, 06:12 "What we sow, we will reap." 06:13 Yeah. 06:15 And I think that goes in many aspects of life 06:19 particularly pertaining to the concept of judgment, 06:20 but as you said, 06:22 it goes far beyond and outside of the subject 06:25 or the concept of judgment. 06:27 I guess my thought right now is, 06:29 and I'll be more clear is that 06:30 there are people out there saying, 06:32 "What do you mean, the measure you use 06:34 will be measured back to you." 06:36 And it's kind of this idea 06:40 of the law of reciprocity 06:43 that whatever amount you give, 06:48 what you measure, God mean, 06:50 they were talking measures 06:51 like bushels or pints or something. 06:54 But even in generosity, if you give, 06:59 you're setting up a spiritual principle 07:02 that God is seeing you 07:04 as a cheerful giver as someone who gives. 07:08 So it's measured back to you. 07:11 And what I have found in my experience, 07:16 is that God always outdoes 07:18 whatever measure we use, doesn't He? 07:20 Absolutely, sure thing. Yeah. 07:22 Okay, Ryan, why don't you read Matthew 7:1-5? 07:26 All right, Matthew 7:1-5, Jesus is speaking here. 07:30 Of course, this is the Sermon on the Mount 07:32 and Christ says, "Judge not that you be not judged. 07:37 For with what measure you judge you will be judged. 07:41 And with the measure you use, 07:44 it will also be measured back to you. 07:47 And why do you look 07:48 at the speck in your brother's eye? 07:51 But do not consider the plank in your own eye? 07:54 Or how can you say to your brother, 07:56 let me remove the speck from your eye and look, 08:00 a plank is in your own eye? 08:03 Hypocrite, 08:04 first remove the plank from your own eye, 08:07 and then you will see clearly to remove the speck 08:10 from your brother's eye." 08:12 Okay, so when he says not to judge? 08:15 I mean, you know, 08:18 earlier he had said 08:19 we were to expose false prophets, right? 08:24 We know that Paul talks in 1 Corinthians Chapter 5 08:29 about exercising church discipline. 08:33 So what does he mean when he says, 08:36 "Judge not that you be not judged?" 08:40 Well, I think the context of this particular passage here 08:42 is what needs to be considered 08:44 because obviously once he makes a statement, 08:46 "Judge not that you be not judged." 08:48 Everything that follows is from the perspective 08:50 of he's actually emphasizing 08:53 and addressing the issue of hypocrisy, 08:57 which would be obviously why would I want to go out 09:00 and judge my brother for something 09:02 or condemn him? 09:04 Obviously, condemnation comes from judgment. 09:05 We'll get to that in a moment. 09:07 We don't want to bring condemnation upon someone 09:10 when we ourselves deserve that same condemnation, 09:12 because we can't rightfully judge someone about something 09:15 that we obviously are still struggling with, 09:17 or we obviously have not gained the victory over. 09:19 And so in that case, 09:21 I would say that the context 09:22 of this particular passage is Christ is saying, 09:24 He's addressing the hypocrisy 09:26 that was obviously being exercised 09:28 during His time from the Pharisees 09:30 and from the spirit of Israel in itself 09:32 in that particular culture, 09:34 people would go condemning and judging people for things 09:36 that they themselves needed victory over. 09:39 So, in other words, 09:40 it's a hypocritical, judgmental attitude 09:42 where you're focusing on the faults of others. 09:46 And you're not even looking at your own fault. 09:50 And I mean, sometimes in psychology, 09:53 they call it projection, like 09:55 I was in a particular church many years back 10:00 that I came upon a group of women 10:03 and they were just biz, biz, biz... 10:07 And they were talking about this poor woman 10:10 and all of a sudden and I said, 10:12 "Yeah and she's pretty much a gossip too." 10:14 She said, "Oh, she is," and then biz, biz... 10:16 And I thought, how funny 10:18 because I was trying to get their attention 10:22 and sometimes we project on others. 10:24 Right. 10:26 The very thing we're guilty of is what? 10:27 What you look at. 10:29 Think about the guy, 10:30 the Pharisee who went into the temple to pray 10:33 and he's beating on his chest saying, 10:35 "I'm glad, I'm not like that publican." 10:37 And so it's that kind of judgment. 10:40 Sure. And it is easy. 10:41 I've heard someone say, 10:44 "Talk about the toothpick in your neighbor's eye 10:47 and the telephone pole in your own." 10:49 Right. 10:50 And sometimes we don't recognize 10:52 our own faults, do we? 10:53 No. Right. 10:54 You know whenever, 10:56 I think this is good news 10:58 that we're reminded first of all, 11:00 hey, let's play on a level playing field. 11:04 And to me, I like playing on a level playing field 11:08 because that is fairness. 11:09 Right. 11:11 And I like that Jesus is saying, 11:12 "Hey, man, there's different personality types out here." 11:15 There are some people that are trying 11:17 to take advantage of it, 11:18 there's others, who know that, 11:20 that it seems like perhaps, that they're out of place 11:23 and so then that creates 11:24 a whole different issue, you know, 11:26 but I just, I see fairness, 11:30 I see reciprocity. 11:35 I remember, I was thinking about this last night, 11:38 I hadn't even thought of this word in 55, 60 years. 11:42 Do y'all ever played scrub ball? 11:44 Scrub. 11:46 Waiting for your time, 11:47 scrub is whenever you get the neighborhood guys, 11:49 you all like to play ball, 11:51 you had an old ball that was half at around 11:54 and the field was just out there, full of rocks. 11:57 Someone's up, some was down but you love playing ball. 12:01 And so, all somebody had to do, scrub, scrub 12:05 and everybody, all the neighborhood boys 12:08 would come around and would play ball. 12:10 Man, it was tough playing scrub ball 12:13 on level field. 12:17 I mean, you know, 12:18 if you are at right field you know, 12:20 and the ball came your way, 12:21 you could stumble over a ditch even if we got the ball. 12:25 And for some reason, 12:27 I thought about that last night and, 12:30 but there was no judgment. 12:32 Nobody was being judgmental, 12:34 because we were all on the same page, 12:35 because we love playing ball. 12:37 Now to me, that's being fair. 12:39 That's the kind of people I want to associate with. 12:42 That's right. 12:43 But Jesus is sitting here saying us, 12:44 "Hey, guys, there's different types out here. 12:46 And you know, there's a lot of people 12:48 that are trying to create issues 12:50 out of non issues." 12:52 And so, that was the direction that I went. 12:54 But then again, I was, 12:56 sometimes I am a little off skew, 12:58 you know, but... 13:00 One of the things that I used to run into a lot 13:02 when I would talk to people, they would say, 13:06 doesn't the Bible say, "Don't judge me." 13:08 You shouldn't be judging me if you're a Christian. 13:10 And one of the things that I wanted to differentiate 13:13 was the difference between judging 13:15 and the condemning manner versus correcting a behavior... 13:20 Or discernment. Right, right. 13:23 That is out of line with the Word. 13:26 And I think that's one of the things 13:27 that as a Christian, we need to emphasize. 13:29 We're not condemning anyone. 13:31 We're simply pointing out problems 13:35 with the things that they're doing. 13:37 Right. There's a big difference. 13:38 Absolutely, in fact, Paul alludes to that 13:41 in 1 Corinthians 6. 13:42 Yeah. 13:44 Notice what he says here in verse 3 and 4, 13:46 1 Corinthians Chapter 6. 13:48 1 Corinthians Chapter 6 beginning with verse 3 13:52 and obviously we know he's addressing the church, 13:54 so he's speaking to God's people, 13:56 and I love Paul's writing. 13:58 I love all the Bible, but for sure Paul's writings 14:00 in a sense that Paul gives so much wise counsel, 14:02 he has a very intelligent counsel. 14:04 And notice what he says here in verse, 14:06 beginning with verse 3, 14:07 he says, "Do you not know that we shall judge angels?" 14:11 "How much more..." 14:13 Notice the question here, 14:14 "How much more things that pertain to this life?" 14:18 If then you have 14:21 judgments concerning thing pertaining to this life, 14:23 do you appoint those who are least esteemed 14:26 by the church to judge. 14:27 So the point that I just wanna make here out of this 14:30 is that he's saying, look, 14:32 there's coming a time when God is gonna trust you, 14:35 His church to judge angels. 14:37 And obviously the angels we're talking about 14:38 is the fallen angels, 14:40 the condemned angels, the ones, you know, 14:42 fell from the grace of God. 14:43 But the fact that he follows it up 14:45 with how much more things pertaining to this life. 14:48 So God expects us to judge, to use spiritual discernment, 14:51 the gift of spiritual discernment, 14:53 and the ability to rightfully judge 14:55 not in a condemning spirit or condemning attitude, 14:58 but to do it as you mentioned, brother, 15:00 perfectly spot on 15:01 in accordance with the Word of God. 15:03 There's going to be times that, you know, 15:05 we're also told to reprove and rebuke. 15:07 And again, those type of words are strong words, 15:09 you don't hear them much anymore 15:11 because people feel like condemn or, 15:12 you know, reproving, correcting, 15:13 or rebuking someone, that's judging, 15:15 we're not going to be someone's judge. 15:17 But yet, as you said, from a biblical perspective, 15:19 if you're correcting someone's behavior, 15:20 if you're pointing out in a loving Christlike spirit, 15:24 something that is not in line with God's Word 15:27 or not in harmony with God's Word, 15:29 then we have the right 15:30 to rightfully weigh in the balances 15:32 and judge something in that aspect. 15:34 But, Shelley, we can kind of step 15:36 into the direction of the condemnation aspect, 15:39 which is, there's people who judge 15:40 with a condemnatory spirit. 15:43 They're not necessarily judging 15:45 from the perspective of a spiritual, 15:47 a true Holy Spirit, spiritual discernment, 15:50 they're judging from the aspect, 15:51 they're looking at someone's actions 15:53 and they have this very self righteous spirit 15:56 that overcomes them 15:58 and it just and it's very dividing, 16:01 it's very hurtful 16:04 to God's people in the God's Church. 16:05 My wife Marylyn, 16:07 she was driven out of the church, 16:09 because her and her girlfriend, 16:10 they were a member of a church, 16:12 I won't mention the name. 16:13 But a member and elder came and said 16:15 that her grandfather was condemned to hell, 16:18 because he wasn't a member of this particular church. 16:21 Wow. 16:22 And being young Christians, 16:23 and they didn't understand the word at the time, 16:27 they listened to that and decided that... 16:29 That wasn't a Seventh-Day Adventist Church? 16:30 No, it wasn't. 16:32 Okay, I want to make sure 'cause they don't know. 16:33 They decided, Marylyn and her girlfriend decided 16:35 that they wanted no part of religion in church 16:38 because of this attitude, 16:40 and it wasn't later on when she met me. 16:43 And I told her, 16:45 this is not what the Bible says. 16:46 Amen. 16:48 And I showed her how you're judged 16:49 according to the light that you have 16:50 and things like that, that she softened up 16:52 and she fell in love with the church 16:53 and then Christianity 16:55 and particularly the Adventist Church. 16:56 Yeah, amen. Right, right. 16:58 You know what I was thinking the other day, 17:00 this thought came to me and it's not, 17:02 I mean, It's nothing great original. 17:04 It's not even original to me, 17:05 but I hadn't thought about it for a while. 17:09 We are to know people by their fruits. 17:11 And sometimes you look at somebody 17:13 and you think, oh, boy, 17:15 they've got this great ministry. 17:17 Right. 17:18 And you're judging that as the fruit. 17:20 But you know what? 17:21 I don't think that's what that scripture means. 17:23 I think it's the fruit of the Spirit 17:26 because I got to thinking about when, you know, 17:29 the people who are saying to Jesus, Lord, Lord, 17:32 did we not cast out demons in Your name? 17:34 Did we not do this in Your name? 17:36 That's right. 17:37 They had what some people consider fruit, 17:41 but that's not what he's talking about... 17:43 That's right, fruit of the Spirit. 17:45 So when we're talking about God saying to us, 17:49 "Judge not that you be not judged." 17:52 Then we're not to be hypocritical. 17:54 We're not to be unfair and condemnatory. 17:58 And if we are, he says, 18:01 "The measure we use will be measured back to us." 18:05 So, is that saying? What do you think? 18:08 I mean, God is a God of mercy. 18:10 If we're not merciful and kind to others... 18:15 It's the Good Samaritan, 18:17 everyone walked by this person 18:19 and left them at the side of the road, 18:20 and this one Samaritan met him 18:23 and took him and poured oil, 18:26 healing oil on them to resolve this problem 18:29 and to help him through his trial. 18:31 And as Christians we're called to do that, 18:34 and many Christians, 18:35 as in that example, that parable, 18:37 they put their nose up in there and said, 18:38 "I'm not even gonna touch him. 18:40 He's not worthy." 18:41 And we should never walk by 18:43 our friends, families, individuals 18:44 who may not believe exactly what we believe, 18:47 or who may be struggling, 18:48 we should never walk by these individuals 18:49 as Christians we're called. 18:51 Sure. 18:52 You know, I can really relate to what you said earlier 18:54 about struggling this as a young person 18:56 because this passage, you know, 18:57 I've dealt with all my life of... 19:00 How do you, what is the balance 19:02 between being making good evaluations and judgments 19:06 versus do not judge and, 19:09 you know, those, wrestling with that, 19:11 was kind of a personal thing, 19:13 but it wasn't until I had kids 19:14 and the kids started growing up, 19:15 my kids started growing up 19:17 that I really had to wrestle with this 19:18 because as they grew up in the church, 19:20 and then began to be influenced in school 19:23 by the world and friends, 19:24 you know, they would come 19:26 and we'd have to wrestle through this, 19:27 like the world has this philosophy 19:29 that you know, there's no such thing as truth. 19:32 Everything's relative, you know, 19:34 as long as you believe it, it's good, 19:35 it's okay you know, be true to your own self 19:40 and so wrestling with that, 19:42 we're trying to counter, contradict or counteract 19:45 that worldly philosophy or that viewpoint. 19:49 You come to verses like this and then, how do you... 19:52 So the conversation ended up going something like, you know, 19:55 we are called to be discriminatory 19:58 in the sense that the word discriminate means 19:59 to tell this from that, to, you know, 20:03 pull apart and understand the difference between things. 20:05 It's become kind of a negative word 20:09 in our culture as if it's laden 20:11 with some kind of racial component 20:14 or some kind of negative component, 20:16 but all it means is rational thinking 20:18 and understanding between this and that. 20:20 And is there a difference? 20:22 And so, trying to explain that to my daughter and sons, 20:25 and working through that, 20:27 I delved into this more than I ever had, 20:29 you know, we're not supposed 20:31 to give up our reason or rationality. 20:34 We're not supposed to be whatever goes, goes. 20:37 We're to hold fast to the truth, speak the truth. 20:40 Amen. 20:41 But not to condemn, that's not our job. 20:43 Absolutely. 20:44 I know, you spoke eloquently there but I, 20:46 that's how I've struggled that not with external people, 20:50 with my own kids trying to help them 20:52 grow and understand, okay, 20:53 from a Christian perspective, how does this work. 20:57 I'm gonna throw a quick story. 21:00 Many years ago, I knew a woman 21:02 who married for money and she made no... 21:06 I don't know if she ever told her husband 21:07 that she married him because of her money, but, 21:10 but she made no bones about it among her friends 21:15 that the reason she married him and she had four kids 21:18 and she needed somebody. 21:20 Now, this very person who married for money 21:25 was being very critical one day of a prostitute. 21:31 And we started talking and we were super close. 21:35 But she was being very condemnatory 21:38 about a woman that we know she did, 21:41 I mean, this was in San Francisco. 21:44 And all of a sudden her eyes were open. 21:47 She said, you know, 21:50 to this scripture is that I am judging somebody 21:56 and I did something very similar 21:58 and this is what human nature, 22:00 we don't recognize our own faults. 22:03 And sometimes we are so quick 22:05 to look and point that condemnatory finger 22:08 and we don't even know their story. 22:09 Not that I'm saying prostitution is right, 22:12 but you don't know how someone ended up there. 22:15 Right. Yeah. I love the story. 22:17 And it's funny because you went there 22:18 because I just had turned to John 8. 22:20 First few verses of John 8 gives us the perfect example 22:23 of the righteous judgment of Christ. 22:27 In fact, it was a situation where obviously it says here, 22:30 I'm in John Chapter, the Gospel of John Chapter 8, 22:33 it says the scribes, Pharisees, 22:34 beginning with verse 3, "Then the scribes and Pharisees 22:37 brought to him a woman caught in adultery. 22:39 And when they had set her in the midst, they said to him, 22:43 'Teacher, this woman was caught in adultery 22:45 in the very act.' 22:46 Now Moses in the law commanded us 22:48 that such should be stoned. 22:50 But what do you say?" 22:51 So they're putting the judgment in his hands. 22:53 Now you would suspect 22:55 that obviously when we think of sin, 22:57 I'm just gonna pause, 22:58 hit the pause button for a moment. 23:00 When we think of sin, we think of scriptures like, 23:02 you know, the wages of sin is... 23:04 Death. Death. 23:06 We know that sin does not dwell in the presence of God. 23:08 We know that in heaven, there is no sin. 23:11 And so when we think of that, 23:12 sometimes we think of in a very abstract, 23:14 very concrete way that we say, well, sin is against God. 23:18 God hates sin. 23:20 So then we automatically attach that condemnation 23:22 against sin to the person. 23:24 And sometimes, we got to be careful with that 23:26 because while God does condemn the sin, 23:29 He doesn't, He does not, 23:30 it's not in His character to want to condemn the person. 23:32 Amen. He loves His people. 23:34 He wants to see all His people saved. 23:36 That's why we're still tarrying I believe, 23:37 because God is working among His people. 23:39 But right here in this beautiful story, 23:41 I don't have to go much more 23:43 because we know what the story says. 23:44 Obviously Christ, you know, 23:46 He puts the judgment back on those, 23:48 kind of like what we just read 23:50 that the plank in the eye and the speck, 23:52 these men, well, maybe not all of them, 23:55 some of them have probably behind closed doors, 23:58 we don't know for sure, 23:59 have probably committed some type of harlotry 24:01 or adulterous sometimes or lust, 24:04 but they were for sure, in Christ's eyes, 24:07 they were committing spiritual adultery. 24:09 And so he spits it right back at them 24:11 and he brings the condemnation upon us 24:13 and says, "Look, if, you know, cast the first stone 24:15 if you are yet without sin," 24:16 and they could not do so, but here's what's interesting. 24:19 Does Christ condemn the sin? Does He let the sin go? 24:22 Does He just brush it off and say, 24:24 "Oh, you know, hey, everything's okay." 24:25 No, He turns to the woman. 24:27 And instead of condemning her, 24:29 He condemned the sin by telling her, 24:31 "Look, where are your accusers. 24:33 Rise, go, and sin no more." 24:36 And if you read, 24:37 I believe it's in the Great Controversy. 24:39 She actually says that this lady, 24:40 she would go back probably seven more times, 24:43 five to seven more times. 24:44 She struggled with this and Christ still 24:47 in a non-condemnatory righteous judgment away, 24:51 He continued to forgive her because He knew her heart. 24:54 He knew that eventually He could reach that heart. 24:57 Amen. 24:58 And so, you know, I love the examples of Christ 25:00 because our example is Jesus. 25:02 Amen. 25:03 We should want to judge righteously 25:04 with love and compassion as Jesus did. 25:07 Is it wrong to say 25:08 that we should be liberal with others 25:11 and conservative with ourselves? 25:14 Is it wrong to say that? 25:15 As soon as you say you're a Christian, 25:17 but you're liberal with others, 25:18 it kind of has a bad connotation. 25:21 But at the same time, 25:23 you don't wanna be too critical where you run them off. 25:25 Sure. 25:27 What Shelley said, I really like 25:28 because it brought to memory something 25:30 I was thinking of last week. 25:33 A tree that has a fruit is bearing good fruit. 25:36 Eventually, that fruit falls to the ground 25:38 and becomes another tree. 25:41 So if you're bearing good fruit, 25:43 you're going to make good Christians. 25:44 Amen. 25:46 If you're bearing bad fruit, 25:47 you're gonna run Christians off. 25:49 Amen. 25:50 And I just thought of that when you said that. 25:51 Sure, sure. Amen. 25:53 You know, I firmly believe that the closer we come to Christ, 25:58 the more clearly in His light, 26:00 the more clearly we see our own faults. 26:04 Now, and I practice what you're talking about. 26:09 I'm much more... 26:10 Conservative. 26:12 I'm more condemnatory toward myself, 26:15 if I make a mistake and try, 26:17 you know, I'm gonna hit something that... 26:20 Please don't write in about this. 26:22 But like, if I go to a church 26:24 and I see a woman who's got on little earrings 26:27 or a little something, you know, 26:30 and they're not, I don't even notice that 26:33 people have to bring it to my attention, 26:36 because I'm more interested in the person 26:39 in what's going on, so that's something. 26:41 Sure. Okay. 26:43 There's two more scriptures we really want to get to. 26:46 So the bottom line on this is when Jesus said 26:50 the measure you use will be measured back to you. 26:53 Have you ever seen a critical, hypocritical person 26:58 who's always pointing out other people's faults 27:01 and not recognizing their own? 27:02 Guess what? 27:04 They end up having people 27:05 who are doing the same to them, don't they? 27:08 All right, JD, why don't you read 27:10 Luke 6:37 and 38? 27:13 Okay. 27:15 This is from the New King James, 27:17 "Judge not, and you shall not be judged. 27:20 Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned. 27:23 Forgive, and you will be forgiven. 27:27 Give and it will be given to you, 27:29 good measure, pressed down, shaken together, 27:32 and running over will be put into your bosom. 27:35 For with the same measure that you use it, 27:38 it will be measured back to you." 27:41 Amen. Amen. 27:48 One of the first lesson, 27:50 a lesson I learned in life was with my granddad's. 27:55 Mr. Jim, that's what he was called. 27:56 Everybody loved Mr. Jim, 27:59 and I was probably about seven, eight years old. 28:03 We were, it was harvest time 28:06 and this year we had planted oats. 28:08 And I don't know if you know anything about oats, 28:09 there's wheat, there's oats. 28:11 Wheat is heavy, oats is light. 28:14 Oats is 32 pounds to a bushel, takes up a lot of room. 28:18 Not very heavy, wheat, 28:20 you barely pick it up 60 pounds to that same bushel. 28:23 So he had a ranch over here 28:27 that wanted to buy two big burlap bags of oats. 28:31 And so there's nothing worse. 28:34 I had hay fever growing up, 28:36 man, the worst thing 28:37 I wanted to be is in a field with oats 28:40 because, boy, you're just itching everything. 28:41 We're taking those harvest oats, 28:44 putting them under the burlap bag. 28:46 All I could do is think granddad, 28:48 "When are we gonna get through? 28:49 When we gonna get through?" 28:50 No son, let's just be patient. 28:53 Get in there. Press those oats down. 28:56 We want to be honest with this man. 28:59 He's been good to us and push those outs down. 29:02 And so here you're setting here the life lesson. 29:06 That's right. 29:07 Good measure pressed down, shaken together. 29:11 Okay, you get that big old burlap bag 29:13 and running over we put into who you are. 29:17 Wow. 29:18 We packed those two big burlap bags 29:22 full of oats, took it to the man. 29:25 And then as I was walking out with my granddad, 29:29 not understanding the lesson in life, 29:32 the man says, 29:33 "You know, Mr. Jim, he is a special man. 29:38 He's never going to take advantage of you. 29:40 He's a man that you can trust." 29:42 God put me there at a special time 29:44 when I could hear that. 29:46 Wow. 29:47 And if now we hadn't press down... 29:48 That's right. 29:50 If we hadn't been a good measure, 29:51 we're being honest, 29:52 it would not have made any difference to me. 29:55 Okay. That's right. 29:57 So that's a great lesson 29:59 judge not and you won't be judged, 30:01 condemn not and you won't be condemned. 30:04 Forgive and you will be forgiven. 30:07 I mean, so here, we're going back 30:08 to that fairness that he was talking about, 30:10 that reciprocity, you know, that's present in life. 30:14 That's a great lesson. 30:16 So when he says, once again, with the measure you use, 30:20 it will be measured back to you. 30:22 There is a saying in the world, what goes around comes around. 30:26 That's right. 30:27 But this is so much deeper... 30:29 That's right, it is. 30:30 Than what goes around comes around 30:32 in a physical realm. 30:33 This is a spiritual application as you're saying 30:38 because here, now, of course, 30:40 your grandfather had a wonderful reputation. 30:43 People loved him. 30:45 And I'm sure that because of his generosity, 30:48 others were generously inclined toward him. 30:51 But your grandfather also had a lot of spiritual blessings 30:56 and I believe that you know, when we say them, 30:59 given it will be given to you, 31:01 well, God loves a cheerful giver. 31:03 But, do you think I've seen people 31:07 there's someone who works here that when she first came here, 31:10 she was so broke 31:13 and didn't have two pennies to rub together, 31:16 and she saw a man broken down on the side of the road 31:20 pulled over, helped him change a tire 31:23 and gave him her last $5 that she had 31:29 and I've never seen her go wanting. 31:32 I've never seen her go wanting. 31:34 So God, I think that the measure we use, 31:38 I think the angels are taking notice, 31:40 the Holy Spirit takes notice, God notices 31:44 and when we are compassionate rather than critical, 31:48 it's just something that comes back to us. 31:51 And the foundation of that 31:52 if you go under that a little deeper, 31:55 that's all comes from love. 31:56 Amen. A godly love. 31:58 Absolutely. 31:59 It is all foundation from a, that spiritual fruit, 32:04 the fruit of the Spirit is love and then it lists 32:07 few or some other stuff after that, joy, peace, 32:09 long suffering, patient, ego, 32:11 all those things after, that is the result of love. 32:14 And, you know, go back to 32:17 what we've been talking about up to this point. 32:22 I had something happen the other day, 32:24 I'm gonna tell this because this kind of goes into 32:26 to what we're talking about. 32:28 This young lady posts on Facebook, 32:30 she says, basically puts it out there 32:32 and says that when did it become wrong 32:37 to say that homosexuality is a sin or is wrong? 32:41 And she goes a little further and says, 32:43 I do not condemn the person. 32:44 I love the person but I will stand as a Christian 32:47 and say that, you know, 32:48 homosexuality is a sin, it's wrong. 32:51 The flood, the firestorm 32:53 of negative comments that she got, 32:56 and as I'm reading through these comments, 32:58 every single one of them was, 33:00 judge not that ye be not judged, 33:01 judge not that ye be not judge, 33:02 you judge, you do not, blah, blah. 33:04 And then people on that thread begin 33:06 because they knew her personally 33:08 began calling her out for her specific sins 33:11 and I'm reading through this 33:13 and my heart begins to break because 33:15 while what the young lady said was very, very correct, 33:17 all these other people were interpreting 33:19 what she was saying as a judgment. 33:21 Now that becomes difficult in and of itself 33:23 because, again, 33:25 we have to understand the relationship 33:27 between righteousness and sin. 33:29 Amen. 33:30 We have to understand that God does hold us responsible 33:33 to understand what sin is and what His character is, 33:36 which is the opposite of sin 33:38 and so we do need to be able to exercise righteous judgment 33:40 to be able to call the kettle black, 33:43 old saying, to be able to call it out 33:45 right for what it is and say, the truth of the matter is, 33:48 is that is sin and it is not of God's character. 33:51 That is not of God's plan. 33:53 But then with that, 33:54 we have to be able to tie to that, 33:56 that compassionate, merciful, 33:58 loving spirit that Christ would have 33:59 which would be, I love you, 34:01 you're my brother and my sister, 34:02 just go and sin no more. 34:04 You know, my response to that 34:06 is I gave my response to that thread 34:07 and I remember space saying specifically 34:09 gave you some scriptures about how homosexuality is a sin. 34:12 It's not of God's character. 34:14 But at the same time that person 34:15 who is a homosexual is God's child. 34:18 Amen. 34:20 And God love, He died for that person. 34:21 Amen. 34:22 And for whatever reason that person feels that 34:24 that lifestyle is okay. 34:25 We are not to condemn the person 34:26 we are to rightfully call what it is. 34:29 But with that, also have to remember 34:31 that while that person still needs sanctification from sin, 34:34 so do I. 34:36 So I say on that thread very clearly, 34:37 look, I'm not judging anyone. 34:39 Because the truth is, 34:41 we're all not making it out of here 34:42 until we surrender all of self and all of our sins to Him. 34:46 So whether you're, you know, 34:47 caught up in homosexuality or drug abuse 34:50 or whatever you're saying... 34:51 Or gossip or backbiting. 34:54 Yeah, all of these things that some of us 34:56 call little white sins, 34:57 a little white lies or whatever, you know, 34:59 sin is sin in the eyes of God 35:00 and until we surrender it all... 35:02 Amen. 35:03 All of us have no point to point another finger 35:05 at another brother and sister and say, 35:07 hey, you're this and you're that 35:08 you're gonna go to hell if you don't 35:10 and I've heard Christian say that, 35:11 you're gonna go to hell if you don't, 35:13 and there's where the condemnation comes in, 35:15 and I think that's the spirit that Christ is addressing. 35:18 Be careful. 35:20 Be careful where you're going with that kind of intention 35:23 that while we are to call it what it is, 35:25 we have to be careful 35:27 in the spirit that we deliver that 35:28 because if we deliver or condemn someone 35:30 to hell's flames, 35:32 because we think that they're against God, watch out, 35:35 because that same might come back. 35:37 In fact, let me address this. 35:38 I know I'm on this. 35:40 I better say this really quickly, 35:41 I'm gonna forget. 35:42 Paul, now this is where it gets serious I think, 35:46 this concept of judgment, 35:47 this is where it gets really serious 35:49 for me personally. 35:51 What is blasphemy? 35:55 Because oftentimes, we as Adventist I know, 35:58 we quickly go to, you know, the two major, 36:00 you know, claiming to be God, 36:02 you know, claiming to forgive sins 36:03 and we use that in a very appropriate way 36:05 in our evangelist series, 36:07 but I think sometimes we forget 36:09 that there's a third major aspect 36:11 of that and Paul, Paul brings it out right here. 36:13 Notice 1 Timothy 1:13, notice what Paul says here, 36:19 and we're gonna dig a little deeper 36:20 into the seriousness of this condemnatory spirit 36:24 that Jesus is addressing with this measure 36:26 that will be met back to you or given back to you. 36:30 Notice what he says here in 1 Timothy 1:13. 36:34 Paul is telling off on himself, 36:36 he is confessing who he once was, he says, 36:40 "Although I was formerly a blasphemer," 36:43 and I know there's a comma there, 36:45 we're going to separate the thought, 36:46 but in the original there's not a comma. 36:48 There is no there is no, 36:49 there's a continual thought here. 36:50 Notice, "Although I was formerly a blasphemer, 36:53 a persecutor and an insolent man, 36:55 but I obtained mercy 36:57 because I did it ignorantly and unbelief." 36:59 Now what is Paul addressing here? 37:01 Paul called himself a blasphemer, 37:02 he blasphemed against God. 37:03 Now how did he blaspheme against God? 37:05 Well he says, he was a persecutor. 37:07 What was the foundation 37:09 and the driving vehicle of that persecution? 37:12 Because he thought he was doing God a favor 37:15 by playing the role of God and condemning someone 37:21 that he did not have the authority to do. 37:23 And so what I wanna just hit the foundational issue of this, 37:26 I believe, is that blasphemy is not... 37:29 Sometimes we just nail it down to three and not you know, 37:31 claiming to be God, you can be a blasphemer. 37:35 You can blaspheme against God, 37:37 by assuming any authority that only belongs to God. 37:39 Amen. 37:41 And we are to rightfully judge according to the authority 37:43 that has been given to us spiritually from the Bible 37:47 but when it comes to condemning someone else, 37:49 or telling someone you're going to go to hell, 37:51 and you're this and you're that because of something 37:52 they may or may not have done, 37:54 we have to be careful 37:55 because Christ warns us that same condemnation 37:58 may come upon you because you're playing my role 38:01 and you are not the judge, God is the judge. 38:04 And we forget, oh, 38:05 we have a grade system in our minds for sin. 38:11 That's a grade A sin, boy, that's a big E, you know, 38:15 and then we come down to our little sins. 38:17 We say, well, it's not so big. 38:20 And God doesn't have, in is sin... 38:22 That's right. For a holy God. 38:23 That is true. 38:25 So, that's where we're making our mistake. 38:26 Even, you know, and that's, 38:29 I think that's why we are to pray for our enemies, 38:34 love our enemies is because God loves us 38:37 even when we're enemies. 38:39 Amen. 38:40 And He doesn't judge us that way. 38:41 And he makes it perfectly clear. 38:43 Forgive and you will be forgiven. 38:44 Amen. That's right. 38:45 So, you know, I mean, 38:47 that spiritual love one more time. 38:48 All right, let's get to one of my favorite scriptures 38:52 and that is Mark 4:24-25. 38:58 Robert, you wanna read that one? 39:00 Yes, I will. 39:01 "Then he said to them, 39:03 'Take heed what you hear with the same measure you use, 39:06 it will be measured to you and to you here, 39:08 more will be given. 39:10 For whoever has to him more will be given, 39:13 but whoever does not have even what he has 39:16 will be taken away from him.'" 39:18 What a fascinating now, 39:20 let's read it from the Amplified. 39:23 I love it from the Amplified. 39:27 Mark 4:24-25. 39:29 He said to them, 39:31 "Be careful what you are hearing. 39:35 The measure of thought and study you give 39:39 to the truth you hear 39:42 will be the measure of virtue and knowledge 39:46 that comes back to you 39:48 and more besides will be given to you who hear. 39:53 And you know the word hear means literally, 39:57 I mean from the Old Testament 39:58 when it was saying, hear, O Israel. 40:01 When God said, if you will hear My voice, it meant to obey. 40:04 Oh, absolutely. 40:05 So he says, let's see, 40:09 the virtual knowledge that comes back to you more 40:11 besides will be given to you who hear, 40:14 for to him who has will more be given, 40:18 from him who has nothing, 40:21 even what he has will be taken away by force. 40:25 Wow, I just had an epiphany. 40:28 I'd never read that verse in that light before. 40:31 And you realize what verse 25 40:34 is saying in light of the previous verses. 40:36 Yeah. That is powerful. 40:38 It is. 40:40 That the knowledge that you judge by, 40:42 that is powerful. 40:43 The measure of the thought and study 40:45 you give to the truth you hear. 40:47 So in other words, 40:49 before we go into a judgment state, 40:52 we have to first educate ourselves. 40:54 We have to look into it, study the situation, 40:57 study what it is before we go to make a judgment on that. 41:01 That was a Holy Spirit light bulb moment. 41:03 Yeah. 41:04 What's amazing to me is that there is a verse 41:07 and I'd have to find it. 41:08 But basically what it says is, you can know all things. 41:13 1 Corinthians 13. 41:16 You can have everything down path 41:18 but if you don't have love, you have nothing. 41:21 That's right. 41:22 And I think that's the summary for all of this. 41:25 You supposed to, you have to guys 41:26 looking for us to love our neighbors, 41:28 whether the neighbor is right or wrong, 41:30 he's looking for that love in ourselves. 41:32 And if we don't have that love, 41:34 that's what condemns us. 41:36 So let's talk about this then, in the context of love. 41:40 To me, what Mark 4:24 is saying is, you listen, 41:46 and you respond, as you put into practice, 41:50 that which you are being taught. 41:53 You know, sometimes I'll study something out really deeply. 41:58 And man, it's good stuff but then if I don't go teach it 42:03 or if I'm not putting it into practice, guess what? 42:07 I'll find it again a year later, 42:10 and I'm reading it and going, oh, wow. 42:14 So, to me when he says, 42:17 be careful what you're hearing. 42:19 First of all, we need to be hearing the truth. 42:21 You need to be careful what you're hearing, 42:24 you know and if you don't know enough 42:26 to discern the truth, 42:29 stick to the Word of God, sometimes, now I love to read, 42:32 but some books you got to know enough 42:35 to where you can say, 42:37 well, this author's off a little bit here 42:39 or they are off, you know, 42:41 I was reading a paraphrase Bible the other day, 42:45 a New Living type version, 42:47 and it's really interesting, but then you come to one 42:50 that you knew was an interpretation 42:53 and you're on, let's scratch that part out. 42:56 But be careful what you hear 42:59 and then the measure of thought and study you give 43:04 to what you do here, 43:06 the more you put it into practice, 43:09 then it's only when you're practicing 43:12 the Word of God that he can help. 43:13 I mean that you're open to Him to receive more. 43:17 You had a thought on this, didn't you? 43:18 I was gonna say, in preparing for this, 43:20 I haven't heard quite the perspective 43:23 that I was coming from or getting from this. 43:24 Sure. 43:26 And it was more that, 43:27 I guess I was my more analytical side 43:28 was looking at the word measure 43:30 and the word measure means to compare to a standard. 43:33 And so I've come through, 43:35 come to this whole study a little bit differently for me 43:37 from where I'm at 43:39 and that measurement, all these, 43:41 every time I see the word measure, 43:42 I see comparison to standard, and Jesus is our standard. 43:46 Amen. 43:47 And he said earlier in the study, 43:50 the word focus came out of your mouth what we focus on. 43:52 So I see this all as a viewpoint, 43:57 a focus, a perspective, a standard. 44:00 So the measure is not, for me at least 44:03 where I'm interpreting now is not, 44:06 it's not a quantity of stuff. 44:07 It's a standard by which we're comparing. 44:11 It's a person. 44:12 It's a person. 44:13 And for me, 44:15 I've been kind of camping recently 44:16 on the word Behold and my, 44:19 and there's a lot there 44:21 but so in my one of my duties here 44:22 at 3ABN is to edit the Sabbath School panel 44:25 and that's really rewarding. 44:27 I enjoy it and but I get to sit and listen to YouTube 44:31 and among others, and in fact, 44:34 sometimes I'll go down the hall, 44:35 you know, spend hours editing, 44:37 looking at these guys listening to them, 44:39 it's a great privilege and a benefit. 44:40 Oh, praise the Lord. 44:42 But then I'll get up to go get drink water 44:43 and I'll run into one of you and I'm like, it's great, 44:45 it's kind of a weird situation anyway. 44:46 I bet it is. It's a lot. 44:48 Anyway, I was listening the other day. 44:49 Recently, Pastor Kenny Shelton said something 44:52 and you know, you've heard that saying 44:54 that we become like the people we hang around with 44:57 a more modern version would be like 44:58 you are the compilation 45:00 of your five people you hang around with the most. 45:03 Anyway, he was doing Sabbath School panel, 45:04 he said something almost as a little throwaway. 45:07 And you know how when you have that moment 45:08 like you just get hit by a thunderbolt? 45:10 And he just said, 45:12 simply that you become what you behold, 45:16 a man that God just stopped you on track. 45:19 Absolutely. 45:20 And I've been camping on that for weeks now just beholding. 45:22 Can I read something? 45:23 I want to read this because I love it. 45:25 And it's in 2 Corinthians 3:18, isn't it? 45:29 Where is, where is it? 45:31 I'm in 1 Corinthians. 45:32 I just love that when you're ready to read 45:36 2 Corinthians 3:18 45:39 is where this principle comes from. 45:43 Paul says, "We all with an unveiled face 45:47 beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, 45:51 are being transformed into the same image 45:55 from glory to glory, 45:57 just as by the Spirit of the Lord." 46:00 One time the Lord. 46:02 You know, I love to pray God's promises. 46:05 So I am praying this promise and I'm saying, 46:09 and I know that he calls things that are not 46:11 as though they already were. 46:12 But I am praying and saying, 46:14 Oh Lord, thank you 46:15 that You're leading me by Your Spirit 46:17 from glory to glory, 46:19 from one level of your character to the next. 46:22 And, you know, by beholding You in the mirrors, 46:25 this is what I think of this the mirror, 46:28 that that You're leading me to become more like You 46:31 and all of a sudden, and you guys know me, 46:33 I'm not a weepy woman. 46:35 But in the presence of the Lord, I can be. 46:38 And all of a sudden, I'm weeping and saying 46:40 Lord, I don't feel like I'm becoming more like you. 46:43 I mean, I know this is one that 46:45 that I'm calling something 46:47 that's not as though it already were. 46:50 And God gave me the most incredible vision. 46:54 And I used that word and some people say 46:56 who do you think you are? 46:57 Yeah. 46:59 Have you ever prayed and while you're praying, 47:02 it's suddenly like there's a little movie going on. 47:06 And what I saw was the steps 47:10 that went way up into the clouds 47:13 and I am running along, 47:14 maybe like on the third of the way. 47:17 I'm running along this step 47:19 and I'm looking over my shoulder 47:21 and all of a sudden, wham, I hit the wall. 47:24 And oh, I forgot to tell you 47:26 that when I was praying as God says, 47:28 I will soon explain to you the wall that you are heading. 47:34 And I'm like, "Oh, that was just me. 47:37 I mean, I heard the still small voice. 47:39 It wasn't a voice speaking out loud. 47:42 But when he said that, 47:44 it gave me so much hope 47:45 because it was like, yeah, I'm hitting a wall. 47:49 Right. So I hit the wall. 47:52 The wall turned out to be the side of the next step. 47:56 And it's like, Lord, what do I do now? 47:59 You know, I mean, I want to come up. 48:03 And you know what he said to me? 48:05 The wall of resistance is what he called it. 48:07 Right. 48:09 He said, 48:10 "The wall of resistance that you are hitting 48:13 is the wall of self preservation." 48:19 How strong is that, think about that. 48:21 Wow. 48:22 The wall of resistance you're hitting 48:23 is the wall of self preservation. 48:26 So in order to go to the next level of His glory, 48:30 you become like who you behold, 48:33 but to go to the next level of this glory, 48:35 I had to be willing to give up more of self. 48:39 And then it's like, Lord, how do I get there? 48:42 Well, you know, David said in 2 Samuel, 48:45 he says, "By my God, I leap over the wall." 48:48 So he reaches down with his mighty right hand 48:50 when we're ready to give up a little more of self. 48:54 God reaches down and pulls us up. 48:58 Isn't that what love is? 48:59 Love is giving up himself. Absolutely. 49:02 That is where everything revolves around. 49:04 Sure. 49:05 I think of a little story really quick. 49:08 I was really young. 49:10 And I was always fascinated with science. 49:13 And I read the science book 49:14 that a diamond was the hardest substance on earth. 49:18 So my mother was in the shower, 49:20 she was a Baptist and she had a wedding ring. 49:23 And I went, took her wedding ring 49:25 and I took it down to the basement 49:27 and I popped a little diamond out of it on the concrete 49:30 and got a hammer and whacked it as an experiment 49:33 because a diamond is the hardest substance on earth. 49:36 I expected the hammer to bounce back, 49:38 the diamond would still be there, 49:40 well, it shattered all around, 49:41 it shattered like powder on the ground 49:43 and I started crying. 49:46 And I went to my mom, and I showed her the ring. 49:50 And I showed her the basement and I was on the floor. 49:53 I deserve the spanking or I deserve something. 49:57 And my mother does hug me and she said baby. 50:01 I still remember that she just said baby, you know, 50:03 that really warmed me right there, 50:05 my mother practiced love. 50:08 Praise the Lord. 50:09 She was more liberal with others 50:11 than she would be with her, with herself. 50:13 Yeah. 50:14 And I think that's what the Lord does with us. 50:15 Absolutely. 50:17 He sees our flaws, He sees our mistakes. 50:18 He sees the silly things that we do. 50:20 Sure. Yet He practices love. 50:22 That's right. That is His measure. 50:24 Absolutely. You know, I have to go back. 50:27 I mentioned I had an epiphany earlier. 50:32 Let's read these verses again. 50:34 We often isolate this text from Mark Chapter 4, 50:37 where it says take heed, what you hear 50:40 with the same measure you use, 50:41 it will be measured to you 50:44 and to you who hear more will be given 50:46 and then verse 25. 50:47 I've read this for many, many years 50:49 and I didn't quite fully understand it. 50:51 Notice this, "For who whoever has 50:53 to him more will be given, 50:54 but whoever does not have 50:56 even what he has will be taken away." 50:58 So we often also obviously, 50:59 sometimes isolate that text 51:01 and we often think you know more people 51:03 who have more and more given people who have less, 51:05 and we kind of generalize that text 51:07 but if you read it within context, notice, 51:09 notice Matthew Chapter 4, the context of Matthew 4, 51:12 Christ has just given the Parable of the Sower. 51:14 Absolutely. That's right. 51:16 And then right above, 51:17 right below that the Parable of the Sower, 51:19 which is above verse 24 that we just read, 51:22 notice what He says here, 51:24 is the lamp brought 51:25 to be put under a basket or under a bed. 51:28 So what is often we liken a lamp unto, 51:33 or the Word of God is likened unto the lamp 51:35 to my feet, a light unto our path. 51:36 And then if you read the Amplified Version 51:38 that we just read, 51:40 it just really kind of helped bring this. 51:41 It says here, 51:43 and he said to them, 51:44 "Be careful what you are hearing the measure." 51:46 Notice in parentheses here, of thought and study, you give 51:50 and then in parentheses again 51:52 to the truth you hear will be measured, 51:56 will be the measure and then in parentheses 51:58 of virtue and knowledge notice, that comes back to you. 52:03 So you read this in context of Mark Chapter 4 52:07 when Christ says for whoever has 52:10 to him will be more given and whoever does not have, 52:14 even what he has will be taken away from him 52:16 in context in this passage will come... 52:18 And in the Amplified, it's by force. 52:21 Yeah. 52:22 It's the devil 52:24 picking that seed off of the hard ground. 52:25 Absolutely, so when knowledge comes to us, we have, you know, 52:29 we have a responsibility to exercise, 52:32 good judgment to receive that light when it comes. 52:35 And another text that came to my mind 52:37 in connection with this is 2 Thessalonians Chapter 2. 52:41 Notice what Paul says here, we read it all the time. 52:43 But notice verse 10, 52:44 "And with all unrighteous deception 52:46 among those who perish, 52:47 because they did not receive the love of the truth 52:49 that they might be saved. 52:51 And for this reason, 52:52 God will send them strong delusion 52:53 that they should believe a lie." 52:55 Continue to believe that lie, 52:57 so when you read that in the measure you use. 53:01 When God sends you lie, 53:03 when God sends you truth, that's powerful. 53:04 I never considered it this way, 53:06 when God sends you life too much that has, 53:08 in other words, in order for you to have, 53:10 you have to receive. 53:11 If you come to me and say, 53:12 Man, I'm gonna give you a million dollars, 53:14 I have to receive that million dollars. 53:16 And so God is saying too much has, 53:18 in other words, you received that light, 53:20 you've received that wonderful blessing 53:23 that God has given you. 53:24 If you've received it, and you have much of that, 53:26 he's going to continue to give you more 53:27 because your receiver of that which is good, 53:30 but you, if you reject that, 53:31 and therefore you have none. 53:33 In fact, the New King James Version, 53:35 notice what it says here, we just read it, 53:37 not the Amplified 53:38 but the New King James it ends with 53:40 it says here, to him, more will be given, 53:42 but whoever does not have 53:45 even what he has will be taken away. 53:48 So in other words, you know, that's to me, that's important 53:50 because when you're talking about this subject, 53:52 the measure you use, exercising righteous judgment, 53:55 we have, we have a responsibility 53:58 on the part of ourselves as Christians. 54:00 Amen. 54:01 That in order to be able to stay in the Lord 54:03 and to exercise righteous judgment, 54:05 we have to be open to receive. 54:07 We have to be open to receive the blessings 54:09 and the knowledge and the wisdom 54:10 and the truth He has given us 54:12 so that we can receive more and more from Him 54:14 to exercise that good judgment, 54:17 that that mercy and that compassion 54:18 and that love can pour forth from us 54:20 as a good example to others. 54:22 So I have a question. Yeah. 54:24 Everywhere that I read measure, 54:27 if I replace it with love, does that fit? 54:30 I think so. So is love the measure? 54:33 That's my question. That's really... 54:35 Absolutely man. 54:37 Fabulous question. 54:38 Because you had said earlier, Robert, 54:41 that the measure is a standard and you know, 54:45 when you said that love is unselfish, 54:47 we don't think of that, 54:49 we're not talking about the word love 54:51 in the English language, 54:52 because love can be very selfish 54:54 if it's just among two people. 54:56 I can do all kinds of good things 54:58 for this man here just so he'll be good to me. 55:01 It can be selfish, I'm wanting something, 55:04 you know, I'm wanting his love. 55:05 God's love is totally unselfish. 55:09 When you think of, the creator of the world 55:11 came down and died on a cross. 55:12 Right. 55:14 I mean, first He became a human being, 55:16 I cannot imagine that. 55:18 So, yes, the measure is the love of God. 55:22 Praise God. It is Christ. 55:24 It is Christ. God is love. 55:26 Halleluiah. Praise God. 55:29 That's amazing. Halleluiah. 55:31 I want to say one quick thing. 55:32 I know we're running out of time. 55:34 So I just want to say this. 55:35 I'm telling on myself, 55:37 but you know, even in prayer, 55:41 if you wanna hear the voice of the Lord, for me, 55:45 15 minutes of prayer isn't gonna get it done. 55:49 I mean, it takes where Jesus said, 55:52 "Can you not tarry an hour." 55:54 It takes some time really, 55:58 presenting all my praise 55:59 and Thanksgiving and giving Him, 56:02 you know, praying back His word 56:04 and then listening for that still small voice. 56:07 You know what, can you imagine? 56:09 I did that every day for almost 12 years, 56:12 an hour a day 56:14 and I heard the voice of the Lord 56:16 almost every day and I mean, the still small voice. 56:19 But guess what? 56:20 When I get so busy that I don't do that. 56:24 I don't hear that. 56:25 And I was praying this past weekend 56:28 and saying, Lord, how can I hear your voice? 56:31 And I mean, 56:33 God doesn't speak volumes to me, few sentences, 56:36 and He usually says, look it up. 56:39 But sometimes what we have, if we don't practice it, 56:44 the measure of thought and study you use 56:47 will be the measure that's given back to you. 56:48 Wow. 56:50 Wow, praise the Lord. 56:51 We're out of time. Thank you so much. 56:54 Thank you first, we'll start with you, Robert, 56:57 that the measure is a person. 56:58 That's right. 57:00 And that you've said the measure is love 57:01 'cause we know the person is love. 57:03 God is love. Amen. 57:05 And thank you for sharing that epiphany. 57:08 And thank you, JD, for those incredible stories. 57:12 I love his insight, it's so powerful. 57:15 I know, I know. 57:16 We are so glad that you joined us tonight 57:19 and we hope that you have a very blessed Sabbath. 57:22 But our prayer for you 57:24 is that the grace of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, 57:27 the love of the Father, and the fellowship 57:29 of the Holy Spirit will be yours, 57:31 not just the Sabbath, but every day. 57:35 God bless you. |
Revised 2019-08-22