Young Jesus in the Temple

Introduction

During lent and March Madness, I've been encouraging everyone to make a 3-point shot by focusing on 3 things: prayer, study, and service. Last week, we talked about prayer. Today, I want to talk about study.  Jesus prayed, but he also studied.  He grew up in a Jewish family that studied the Scriptures in synagogue every week.  And this morning, I want to read an enlightening story about a time Jesus was 12-years-old and his family took him on a special trip to the Temple in Jerusalem.

Luke 2:41-52

41 Every year Jesus’ parents went to Jerusalem for the Passover festival. 42 When Jesus was twelve years old, they attended the festival as usual. 43 After the celebration was over, they started home to Nazareth, but Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. His parents didn’t miss him at first, 44 because they assumed he was among the other travelers. But when he didn’t show up that evening, they started looking for him among their relatives and friends.

45 When they couldn’t find him, they went back to Jerusalem to search for him there. 46 Three days later they finally discovered him in the Temple, sitting among the religious teachers, listening to them and asking questions. 47 All who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers.

48 His parents didn’t know what to think. “Son,” his mother said to him, “why have you done this to us? Your father and I have been frantic, searching for you everywhere.”

49 “But why did you need to search?” he asked. “Didn’t you know that I must be in my Father’s house?” 50 But they didn’t understand what he meant.

51 Then he returned to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them. And his mother stored all these things in her heart.

52 Jesus grew in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and all the people.

Lost and Found

Have you ever lost your child—even for a moment?  My wife and I lost our daughter Grace once while we were shopping at JC Penny. We were talking to my wife's cousin when Grace, who was 2 or 3-years-old, wandered off unnoticed. She was only gone for a moment before we discovered her hiding in a rack of clothes. It's was an awful feeling while we searched for her frantically. I can't imagine how Mary and Joseph felt when they couldn’t find Jesus for 3 days and they had no idea where he was.  It must have been terrifying!

This story reminds me that we are all God's children. We all, also, have been lost and God searches for us frantically until He finds us. Perhaps the best place to get found is in our Father's house. However, because of Jesus, God can find us anywhere, even if we are far, far away from His house.

There is a lot that could be said about this passage, but let’s zoom in on verse 49.  When his parents scolded Jesus for causing them to search frantically for him, he said, “Why did you need to search for me?”  Jesus supposed his location should have been obvious to his parents.  His character, his interests, his very DNA dictated where he would be.  “Didn’t you know that I must be in my Father’s house?”  Let’s look closer at that statement.

Jesus said, “Didn’t you know that I must be in my Father’s house?”  

Jesus was committed to study.  Even as a young boy, Jesus was determined to study the scriptures, listen to religious teachers, and ask questions.  He was an exceptional student.  His love of learning continued throughout his life.

Study is essential to the Christian faith.  Christians are Jesus’ disciples.  The word disciple literally means “student.”  You can’t be a student without study.  If we are going to be disciples who follow Jesus, we must study.

Study establishes our faith, helps us grow, and equips us to serve.  Luke 2:52 tells us, “Jesus grew in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God.”  If study was important for Jesus, we should study too.  But where should we study?

Jesus said, “Didn’t you know that I must be in my Father’s house?”  

In other words:  “Didn’t you know where I would be studying—in my Father’s house?”  Jesus studied in the Church. Jesus was God, but he never separated himself from the Church.  Jesus studied in synagogues and the Jerusalem Temple all his life. These were the Jewish versions of a local church.  The scriptures tell us Jesus attended synagogue every week to teach and study (see Luke 4:16, 31, John 18:20, and numerous other inferences in the New Testament).  He set an example for us.

Jesus transformed the world.  He ushered in God grace and forgiveness and salvation.  And Jesus established the Church to be his bodily presence on the earth.  Matthew 16:18 – “Now I say to you that you are Peter (which means ‘rock’), and upon this rock I will build my church, and all the powers of hell will not conquer it.”

If Jesus didn’t believe in organized religion, he could have easily done away with it.  Instead, Jesus reformed organized religion by forming the Christian Church.  Throughout the New Testament, the Church acts as the representative of Christ in the world.  It is where disciples came to study and grow in the faith so they could go out to serve and spread the Gospel to the whole world.  The Bible tells us the Church is essential.  Ephesians 1:23 says, “And the church is his body; it is made full and complete by Christ, who fills all things everywhere with himself.”  And 1 Timothy 3:15 says, “…the household of God, which is the church of the living God, [is] the pillar and bulwark of the truth.”

Today, the Church continues to fulfill Christ’s plan.  The Church guides our understanding, checks our pride and misapplication of knowledge, encourages and motivates us, equips us to serve, and sends us out on a mission to make disciples of Jesus Christ to change the world.

We have several ways you can get involved in study at my church:

• We are studying THE STORY, by Max Lucado and Randy Frazee on Wednesday nights and Thrusday mornings. The book, which reads like a novel, takes students through the whole Bible in chronological order from beginning to end. We read one chapter a week and then gather together to watch a video about the chapter and discuss it. I invite you to read along with us and come to the study if you live nearby.
• One of the easiest ways to study is to join a small group or Sunday school class.
• Another great way to study at our church is in our youth or children’s ministry. Here, our awesome ministers and volunteers teach the Bible in a relevant, age appropriate ways. EVen if you are not a child or teenager, you can volunteer!  You will be helping out and learning all at the same time.
• Or perhaps you would like to start a new study of your own. Leading a study is one of the best ways to learn. The teacher or leader or facilitator almost always learns the most in a study as they prepare for the class each week.

There is one final, but critical point I need to make:

Jesus said, “Didn’t you know that I must be in my Father’s house?”

Study is About Relationships–Christian study is focused on building a relationship with God and each other.  Remember, Jesus said the first and second greatest commandments are:  “Love the Lord your God… and love your neighbor.”  (Matthew 22:36-40)

So the Christian’s study must be more about transformation than mere information.  What good is it to know a lot about Jesus if you don’t know Jesus?  What good is religious information if it doesn’t transform who you are and the way you live?

I know a man who has a motorcycle, but he's afraid to ride it. He knows all about the bike and how it works. He is constantly customizing the bike to make it the best, safest, coolest bike possible, but he never rides it because he is afraid to leave his house. What good is all his knowledge and work on the bike if he never rides it?

When Christians study, our goal is to have a real relationship with God and His people.  It is more than the satisfaction of a curiosity or fascination with an interesting topic.  Christian study is meant to deepen our relationship with God—to know Him better, to understand His will for our life, to marvel in His glory, and be part of His people. What good is it to know all about Jesus if we don't know him. What good is it to know all about the Gospel if we never go out to share it with someone else and help change the world?

Summary:

In summary, there are three points I wanted you to glean today. First, study is essential to the Christian faith. Second, Jesus gave us the church to help us study. And finally, Christian study helps us build a relationship with God and His people so we can go out and help change the world. Will you be a disciple—a student follower of Jesus?  Will you make a commitment to study—not just so you can be a know-it-all, but so you can know Jesus and his love?

Jesus in the Wilderness

Introduction
             I am encouraging everyone at my church to focus on three things during the 40 days of Lent--prayer, study, and service.  Today, I want to talk about prayer. 
            Prayer is communicating with God. You don’t have to use fancy language or try to impress God (or anyone else) with your eloquent speech. The best prayer is simply you talking to God like you would talk to a trusted friend.
            However, we often forget prayer is also listening. Many times, our prayers are just us talking, but never listening. There’s a cliché that says God gave us two ears and only one mouth so we ought to listen twice as much as we speak. That’s even truer when we come into the presence of God. Do you presume to teach God something He doesn’t already know or impress Him with your clever speech? We should tell God about our day and our struggles and our joys and present Him with our petitions. And we should thank Him and praise Him and glorify His holy name. Yet it is even better and far more beneficial to just be still and quiet and know that He is God and to listen for His holy voice that we might know His thoughts and His purposes for our life. That would be a worthy practice for the 40 days of Lent.
            I want to share a story takes place right at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry. Jesus goes into the wilderness on a pilgrimage to fast. And fasting always goes with prayer. Jesus is listening for the voice of God to prepare him for the next 3 years of his life—a ministry that will be powerful but face many challenges, require great spiritual fortitude, wisdom, and grace, and that will culminate in his arrest, torture, and crucifixion. Ultimately, there will be the final victory of the resurrection and defeat of death, but only if Jesus is completely faithful to God’s plan. So Jesus begins his ministry with an intense period of fasting and prayer.

Slides – Luke 4:1-13

¹Then Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan River. He was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, ² where he was tempted by the devil for forty days. Jesus ate nothing all that time and became very hungry.

³ Then the devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become a loaf of bread.”

⁴ But Jesus told him, “No! The Scriptures say, ‘People do not live by bread alone.’”

⁵ Then the devil took him up and revealed to him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. ⁶ “I will give you the glory of these kingdoms and authority over them,” the devil said, “because they are mine to give to anyone I please. ⁷ I will give it all to you if you will worship me.”

⁸ Jesus replied, “The Scriptures say,

‘You must worship the Lord your God
    and serve only him.’”

⁹ Then the devil took him to Jerusalem, to the highest point of the Temple, and said, “If you are the Son of God, jump off! ¹⁰ For the Scriptures say,

He will order his angels to protect and guard you.

¹¹ And they will hold you up with their hands
    so you won’t even hurt your foot on a stone.’”

¹² Jesus responded, “The Scriptures also say, ‘You must not test the Lord your God.’”

¹³ When the devil had finished tempting Jesus, he left him until the next opportunity came.


The Voice of God vs. the Voice of Satan            In this passage, Jesus communes with God as he fasts in the wilderness, but he also encounters Satan. It is often the case that we encounter Satan when we are looking for God. Why? I will tell you. Satan does not want us to commune with God. His ultimate purpose is to disrupt just such encounters. People may think of Satan’s wants to scare us, or hurt us, or deceive us, or make bad things happen to us. In part, all of these are true. Satan hates us and wants only bad to befall us. However, the greatest and darkest goal Satan has is to keep us from a true relationship with God. For if he accomplishes this, he will ultimately achieve the greatest evil of all which will also include all the other lesser evils.
            If all Satan wants to do is scare us or cause us pain, he could simply show his ugly face and shred our bodies with his evil hands. However, doing so would be the surest way to make us turn to God. (If you saw Satan face to face, you would cry out to God—and He would come running to save you. You would never forget it; you would cling to God forever lest you fall back into the hands of the Devil.) It is much better for Satan that we never know he is the one who torments us. 
           Satan’s goal is to turn our hearts away from God, to make us forget about God. Then Satan will have our souls and can make sport of us forever, torturing us and causing pain, having already accomplish the greatest wound of all—eternal separation from our Creator.
            So when we go looking for God—as Jesus did while fasting in the wilderness—Satan comes along to tempt, to disrupt, to deceive, and destroy.  Satan doesn’t usually come and tell you “I am Satan.” We would never listen to him if he did. Nor does Satan look as you would expect—with red skin, horns on his head, and a pointy tale. Who would take advice from a monster? Satan’s usually comes to us in the same way God does—as a voice in our head as we contemplate the world around us, as we think about our life, as we meditate on the worries we have, as we ponder how we should react and what we should do.
            So you must learn to know the difference between Satan's whispers and the voice of God. And I want to give you some clues to how you tell which is which.

God’s voice stills you; Satan rushes you.

            Satan will push you to always do more and more and more.  He will keep you so busy you don’t have time to look for God or consider if all you’re doing has any real meaning.  But God calls us to slow down.  He gave us a whole day to rest—the Sabbath—so that we can be still and know that He is God.  For when we are still, we become calm.  And when we are calm, we listen with our heart.  And when we listen with our heart, we hear God’s voice.  And when we hear God’s voice, we know Him. 

God’s voice leads you; Satan pushes you.             Jesus said, “Come and follow me and I will make you fishers of me.”  He said, “Come to me, all you who are weary and carrying heaven burdens, and I will give you rest.”  Satan pushes us to do more and more and more.  He literally told Jesus to go jump off the highest point of the temple.  What do you think Satan would do to you?

Sometimes Jesus asks does ask us to do difficult things.  He said his followers must take up a cross and follow him.  But he has already lead the way.  Jesus also carried a cross—a heavier one than you will ever bear.  Jesus is our leader.  Satan is a pusher who has never done anything for us or anyone else.  Listen to Jesus, not Satan.

God’s voice reassures you; Satan frightens you.

We all have doubts.  We all have worries.  We fret over our relationships.  “What did so-and-so mean by that?”  “Can I really trust her?”   “Why is he staring at me all the time?”  “Maybe I shouldn’t have done that.”  “Maybe I should have done more.”  We worry about our children growing up and making good decisions.  We fear we have messed the whole thing up.

Satan loves our inner turmoil.  He directs to the unholy choir of voices singing our perceived failures.  If you listen to Satan, he will rip you apart with fear.  Don’t listen to Satan.  Listen to God.  God reassures you.  He says, “You have done much better than you give yourself credit for.  You are a loved; you are good; you are special; you are doing well.”  He says, “Even your failure are not as bad as you think.”  He says, “We can fix this together.”  He says, “Don’t give up.  Keep on the path.  We will get there together.”  Listen to God not Satan. 

 

God’s voice enlightens you; Satan confuses you.

Do you realize, you don’t have to know everything about everything?  You only need to know what God teaches you to be truly wise.  Wisdom is more about trusting God than knowing information. 

Satan will try to confuse you.  He will cloud your mind to the obvious truths and lead you chasing after knowledge that is irrelevant.  Listen to his dark voice and you will know a bucnhc of stuff about nothing.  But if you listen to God, you will be clear about what really matters and you won’t care about things that mean nothing.  You will be truly enlightened.

 

Slide – God voice encourages you; Satan discourages you.

            God is our Father.  He encourages he children to do their very best.  Satan makes us want to give up and settle for less than our best.

            A while back, I had a daddy/daughter date night with my youngest child, Abigail.  We decided to go out eat dinner.  As we drove to her Red Lobster and passed our church, she asked, "What's up inside that steeple?"  I told her how I had been up in the steeple once to help fix a broken window.  As we ate dinner, I asked her what she wanted to do afterwards.  She replied, "I want to go up in that steeple!"

            I thought that was pretty cool; my daughter wanted to go on an adventure.  And since I'm the pastor and have access and permission to do such things, I could make it happen.  To get to the steeple, you have to go into the attic above the sanctuary.  It's a lot like most attics--dark, dusty, and full of insulation.  You have to be careful to step on the studs, but as long as you are careful it is safe.  It made my young daughter a little nervous, but I was there to make sure she stayed safe and to reassure her.  We climbed the ladder inside the steeple and she completed the challenge--safely under the supervision of her protective father.

            That story reminds me of our relationship with God.  God helps us overcome great challenges and accomplish great things.  We may be nervous or even a afraid of the things we must face.  However, God is there with us to guide us and keep us safe and encourage us so that we can do anything He leads us to do.  Satan discourages us, but God encourages us.

God’s voice comforts you; Satan worries you.

Worry is thinking about the same problem over and over again.  It’s like spinning your tires—it makes a screeching and a lot of smoke and it ruins your tires, but it doesn’t get you anywhere.  Satan loves it when you worry.  It makes you restless.  It fixates your mind on a useless thoughts.  Worry doesn’t leads to anything productive and it keeps you from resting in God’s loving arms.

            God’s voice comforts you, letting you know it’s all going to be OK.  It allows you to rest your mind until your thoughts are clear.  Then you will see the answer is probably so simple or that God has already worked it out for you.  Let God comfort you and don't listen to Satan.

 

God voice convicts you; Satan condemns you.

            God loves us.  And love is more than a sentimental feeling.  Love is far deeper than that.  Love, true love, warns us when we have gone astray.  Jesus’ core message was: Repent of your sins for the Kingdom of God is near! (Mark 1:15).  In Luke 13:3, he warned, “…you will perish, too, unless you repent of your sins and turn to God.” 

            We have all sinned and fallen short of God’s glorious standard.  We are guilty and God convicts us.  But he does not condemn us.  Satan condemns us.  Satan tells us our sins are unforgiveable.  Satan lies and says, “There is no hope for you.  God does not love you anymore.  You might as well give up.  You are not worthy.  You will spend eternity in my hell!”  Do not listen to Satan.  Listen to God.  God says, “You have sinned, but you can be forgiven.”  The Bible says:

·       If we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness. (1 John 1:9)

·       For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 3:23)

·       For “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” (Romans10:13)

·       God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, ⁵ that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (Ephesians 2:4)

·       Though your sins are like scarlet, I will make them as white as snow. (Isaiah 1:18)

·       Anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun! (2 Corinthians 5:17)

·       He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins. (Ephesians 1:7)

·       This is my blood of the new covenant, poured out for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins.  (Matthew 26:28)

·       Now repent of your sins and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped away. (Acts 3:19)

Conclusion

            If you want to know how much God loves you, look at the cross.  He loved you enough to die on the cross to forgive you of your sins.  The cross is clearest statement about the depth of God's love and the forgiveness He offers.  Listen to God's voice in prayer and ignore Satan.

Ask Pastor Chris (a short, quick answer about divine inspiration)

Question:  Did divine inspiration stop with the writers of the Bible? Are there modern writers who are divinely inspired?

Answer:  The writers of the books of the Bible were inspired by the Holy Spirit to share the Word of God.  The Bible is God's magnificent message to us and the final authority for Christian doctrine and practice.  Divine inspiration also guided the compilation of the Bible.  God inspired Christians to use the various books that now makeup our Bible, scribes to copy them, and the leaders to authorize them.  Divine inspiration guided it all.

God continues to inspire writers today.  The difference between the Bible and other books is authority.  The books of the Bible are the "authorized" collection (or canon) of inspired books.  Divine inspiration is only one criterion that determined if a book was included in the Bible.  There are other important factors.  Such as:

·      Authenticity – Is the book generally accurate or a fabrication or forgery?  In the New Testament, authenticity also required the writing to be based upon the preaching/teaching of the first-generation apostles (or their close companions).

·      Timelessness – Is the book useful for people of all times and places (even if it was originally written for a particular time and place)?

·      Consistency – Is the book consistent with the overarching message of the Christian faith?

·      Acceptance – Is the book accepted by the majority of the Christian community? The books of the Bible were widely used and recognized by early Christian communities as inspired, authentic, and timeless over the first four centuries of our faith.  Their leaders gathered in a council to "authorize" the Bible.  They affirmed the books were given by God as an authoritative and timeless guide to Christian doctrine and practice.

Although there are inspired writers and books today, they do not have the authority of the Bible because they cannot match the authenticity, timelessness, consistency, and wide acceptance of the Bible.  The Bible is the only book authorized to serve as God's Holy Word.  It contains everything we need to find salvation and live a Christian life.

Pivot

Luke 3:7-9
7 When the crowds came to John for baptism, he said,
“You brood of snakes! Who warned you to flee the coming wrath? 8 Prove by the way you live that you have repented of your sins and turned to God. Don’t just say to each other, ‘We’re safe, for we are descendants of Abraham.’ That means nothing, for I tell you, God can create children of Abraham from these very stones. 9 Even now the ax of God’s judgment is poised, ready to sever the roots of the trees. Yes, every tree that does not produce good fruit will be chopped down and thrown into the fire.”

Mark 1:14-15

¹⁴ Later on, after John was arrested, Jesus went into Galilee, where he preached God’s Good News.
¹⁵ “The time promised by God has come at last!”
he announced.
“The Kingdom of God is near! Repent of your sins and believe the Good News!”

Understanding the Scriptures

            John the Baptist is the speaker in the Luke passage.  You may have heard of him.  John the Baptist was a fire and brimstone preacher. He didn’t cut people any slack. He’s known for preaching harsh, judgmental messages that pointed out people’s sins and called them to repent.  A lot of people in John’s day thought they were safe from God’s wrath because they were Jews—descendants of Abraham, God’s chosen people.  John thought differently. He called even the most righteous of them--the Pharisees--a brood of vipers! The fact that someone was a descendant of Abraham meant nothing to John.
            If John were here today, he would bluntly proclaim it doesn’t matter what your parents and grandparents believed or did. All that matters is what you believe and do.   And John would look at you with his fiery eyes of judgment and boldly preach: “You need to repent! You need to turn away from your sins and turn to God!”
            Most people today don’t like to hear that message. We’d much rather listen to Jesus—who was kind and healed the sick and ate with sinners and turned water into wine.  Our popular image of Jesus is a forgiving man who carries sweet little baby lambs around all day.  However, the Bible tells us Jesus preached the same message as John.  The “Good News” Jesus preached was this: “The Kingdom of God is near! Repent of your sins and believe the Good News!” (Mark 1:15)  Repentance was as much a part of Jesus' message as John's. 

Repentance - The Pivot
            Yesterday was Ash Wednesday. Ash Wednesday is the first day of the season of Lent. For
Christians, Lent is a 40-day period of spiritual preparation leading up to Easter. During Lent, we turn away from more worldly pursuits and focus on spiritual growth through prayer, study, and service.  This year, Lent runs from March 1 – April 15.  (By the way, if you look at a calendar and count up the days, you’ll find it’s actually 46 days. That’s because we don’t count the 6 Sundays in Lent. On Sunday’s, we always celebrate the resurrection of Jesus. And it just doesn’t seem right to mourn and fast and be somber when you are celebrating Christ victory of sin and death. So we get a break from Lent on the Sundays. That leaves 40 days.)
            This year, Lent coincides with the NCAA Men’s College basketball tournament, popularly known as March Madness. So I will draw some parallels between the Christian faith and basketball.  In basketball, you cannot walk or run without bouncing the ball (known as dribbling).  If you stop dribbling, you cannot move anymore. You must stay in place. The only thing you can do is pass the ball to another player, shoot at the basket, or pivot.  Here’s how you pivot. You keep one foot firmly planted and you pivot (or turn) around on that one foot. With a pivot, you can legally turn all the way around without moving forward or backward.
            The pivot is a good illustration for repentance.  Repentance 180 degrees pivot.  It is pivoting (or turning) away from sin and bad behavior toward God.  When we think about repentance, we usually emphasis the bad things we’re going to stop doing. “I’m gonna stop being so selfish…” That’s good! However, don’t forget you are pivoting away from sin toward God, which ought to lead you to do other things, good things. Here’s some examples:

• Pivot away from being selfish and judgmental and learn to serve others.
• Pivot away doing everything your own way and pray more to ask what God wants.
• Pivot away from just entertaining yourself and focus more on studying God’s Word. 

            The pivot—repentance—is the key to key to success in the Christian faith. You can’t be a Christian without it. 

The 3-Point Shot
            The key to success in a basketball game is often the 3-point shot. The 3-pointer was not always part of the game.  It was introduced in either the 1960s or 70s and it has changed the game.  Normally you get two points for making a basket.  However, if you are farther away—past the 3-point line—you get three points.  The 3-pointer has made teams with shorter players more competitive against taller teams.  The shorter players may be less effective driving to the basket for a lay up, but they may still hang back from farther away and score more points if they are accurate shooters.  This has changed the way many teams play the game.  Coaches need different game plans.  The 3-pointer has also made it possible for teams who fall behind in the score to catch up more quickly.
            But that's basketball.  I’d like to challenge you to attempt a different kind of 3-point shot during Lent. This 3-point shot will help you pivot away from sin toward God.  For the 40 days of Lent, I challenge you to focus on three things:  prayer, study, and service.
            1 - Prayer.  I challenge you to pray more during March Madness.  Pray at least five times every day.  That might seem like a lot for some people, but it's not as hard as you think.  Say a prayer when you wake up; it will help set the tone for your whole day.  Then pray again before you go to bed; it will help you have a more restful sleep.  Add to this a blessing before every meal (most people eat three meals each day) and you have a total of five prayers for the day.  You can also pray at other times during the day: while you are driving (keep your eyes open!), before a test at school or important meeting at work, as you think of something for which you're thankful, or whenever you think about praying.  Focusing on prayer will help you grow closer to God during the 40 days of Lent.
            2 - Study.  I challenge you to study God's Word more during March Madness.  Perhaps you could read one chapter of your Bible each day; you could start with the Gospel of Matthew.  Another idea is to spend a set amount of time--10 or 15 minutes--hand copying the scripture.  This can be a very effective method for those who struggle to focus while they read (and it will let you practice yor handwriting).  Maybe you could join a Sunday school class or Bible study if you are not already part of one.  I invite you to come to my church on Wednesday nights or Thursday mornings for our study "The Story"   We have classes for kids, teens, and adults.
            3 - Service.  Do something selfless every day to help someone else. It cold be a kinds word or offering a prayer for someone on Facebook.  We will have some opportunities at my church you can pug in to serve.  On Sunday, March 19, we will offer several outreach projects in or for our community.  On March 26, we will have a spring cleaning day at my church.  People will serve by cleaning up and making repairs to the church facilities.  We have other opportunities to serve as well.  I invite you to join us for one or more or all of these service opportunities.  It will help you grow closer to God as you serve.

I challenge you to make 3-point shot for March Madness.  Focus on prayer, study, service.  Try it for 40 days and see if it doesn't help you grow closer to God.  I pray you have a meaningful and holy Lent.

 

Ask Pastor Chris 3 - Questions About Judging

Introduction
            Ask Pastor Chris has been a fun and interesting message series fro me to preach. I have enjoyed receiving questions and talking with people about them over the last month. You can find some of the answers on my blog—PastorChrisMullis.com. Today I will address a few questions dealing with accountability, discernment, and being judgmental. This will be my last official message in this series, but you can always ask questions. I like to know your questions as it helps me know what to preach and teach about. Plus, I may write about some of the other questions on my blog, in our church newsletter, or in the bulletin. 

Matthew 7:1-6¹ “Do not judge others, and you will not be judged. ² For you will be treated as you treat others. The standard you use in judging is the standard by which you will be judged.

³ “And why worry about a speck in your friend’s eye when you have a log in your own? ⁴ How can you think of saying to your friend, ‘Let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye,’ when you can’t see past the log in your own eye? ⁵ Hypocrite! First get rid of the log in your own eye; then you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend’s eye.

⁶ “Don’t waste what is holy on people who are unholy. Don’t throw your pearls to pigs! They will trample the pearls, then turn and attack you.

Understanding the Texts
            Boy, that Jesus has a way with words! Doesn’t he? “Why worry about the speck of dust in your friend’s eye when you have a log in your own eye?”  Jesus warns us not to judge others. Or does he?  He does say you will be judged by the same measure you judge others. Which seems to mean, “Don’t judge, at all.” However, that also means you can judge, just that God will judge you by the same standard.  Jesus also says you can help your friend remove the spec his eye, but only after you remove the log from your own. So there is still the possibility of dealing with your friend’s problem.

            Jesus also goes on to say don’t waste what is holy on unholy people.  Jesus says “Don’t throw your pearls to pigs.” Well how do you know they are pigs unless you judge them to be pigs? Isn’t that judging?  I think about his advice whenever I am faced with a drunk person who wants me to give them advice or who wants to discuss deep topics like religion or philosophy.  Have you ever tried to give advice to a drunk person?  It's pointless.  Even if you can get them to understand, they'll likely to forget what you said once they sober up!   

Judging Believers vs. Judging Non-believers
            The Apostle Paul had something interesting to say to the Corinthian church about judging people. Listen to what he said in 1 Corinthians 5:12-13 – “12 It isn’t my responsibility to judge outsiders, but it certainly is your responsibility to judge those inside the church who are sinning. 13 God will judge those on the outside; but as the Scriptures say, “You must remove the evil person from among you.”

            Are Christians supposed to have a double standard? Well, actually, yes!  Christians should hold each other to higher standards than people who do not believe in Christ. The problem within the church often is we expect non-Christians to live up to Christian standards. So we like to complain about the moral depravity of the people around us who don’t live the way Jesus says we should. Well, if they don’t believe in Jesus, why should we expect them to live the way Jesus teaches?

            Paul says we should focus on holding believers accountable and leave the judgment of unbelievers to God.  Christians need to hold one another accountable. It is a basic need of spiritual growth. A Christian friend recently asked me to hold him accountable for his foul language. He is a Christian and also a leader who people look up to. Yet, he has always struggled with using vulgar language. He recognized this and decided to make a change. He also recognized change would come easier if he had a Christian brother holding him accountable. He asked me and I have and he is getting better.

            Who is holding you accountable? Do you have a Christian brother or sister that needs you to hold them accountable?

Judgment vs. Being Judmental

           We need to recognize there is a big difference between what Jesus said about exercising judgment and being judgmental. People today love to quote Jesus and say, “Judge not, lest ye be judged!” Usually, they says this when they or someone they care about is feeling judged or self-conscious. A lady once came to my churches seeking money early in my ministry.  We were a small church and had no funds to help pay her $500 rent as she requested.  I told her this and started to explain how the Salvation Army in town could help her, but I didn't get the chance.  She stormed out of my office yelling "Well, the Bible says judge not lest ye be judged."  I was certainly not judging her; I was trying to help her.  Unfortunately, she was too self-conscious of her situation or had been rejected too many times and angry and stormed out misjudging my intentions.

            Jesus never meant we aren’t supposed to have good judgment. Quite the contrary, he taught we should be careful to judge people correctly—especially in a world full of liars, hypocrites, deceivers, and false teachers. In Matthew 7:15-17, Jesus said, “Beware of false prophets who come disguised as harmless sheep but are really vicious wolves. You can identify them by their fruit, that is, by the way they act. Can you pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? A good tree produces good fruit, and a bad tree produces bad fruit.” Jesus taught how to make good judgments about people.  And he said this in the same passage where he warned us to be careful about judging people.  So we need discernment. Don’t let people guilt you into abandoning good judgment by their misguided admonition: “Judge not, lest ye be judged!”  

            Jesus warned us not to be judgmental. Having a judgmental attitude is different from exercising good judgment. Being judgmental is “having or displaying an excessively critical point of view.” It is the self-righteous, holier-than-thou attitude we sometimes have when we think we are better than someone else.  It can be as unintentional as judging a book by a cover. A friend of mine related how he sometimes wrongly pre-judged his soldiers when he was an infantry officer in the Vietnam War. He said, “The most unassuming guys turned out to be the best warriors, the most determined fighters and did their work without complaining.”

            You may not be a soldier, but you might misjudge your employees or co-workers or potential friends based on your preconceived notions. You might miss out on a very good relationship because you “judged a book by its cover” without really finding out who a person is.

            Another type of judging is when we think we are better than someone else. In a sick way, it makes you feel better about yourself when look down on someone else. However, you are only lying to yourself when you do this. The fact is, you are not better than anyone else. Thinking you are is unhealthy, mean, and simply evil. Furthermore, it is ludicrous. It is like pointing at someone derisively because they have a hole in their pants while you are walking around naked! This kind of judgmentalism blinds us to our own faults, while tearing down other people that God deeply loves and wants us to love.

            There is another kind of judgmentalism that is so ridiculous and yet so prevalent we almost all

do it. I call it “National Enquirer Judgmentalism.” Here, we are judge people we’ve probably never even met and know nothing about.  It is the politician or celebrity we gossip and speculate about. I’m not talking about trying to make an educated decision about who to vote for. I’m talking about the way we “entertain” ourselves with so-called “news” speculating about the politics, motives, and lifestyles of famous people.  We even make judgments about the character of more ordinary people who make the news. A police officer in Missouri allegedly shoots an unarmed black man and suddenly everyone has an opinion. You don’t know the officer or the black man or the community or anything at all about the situation (except what the “news” is telling you) and suddenly you are an expert with an opinion. Or maybe a woman allegedly poisons her husband in California and suddenly it’s a national gossip story and everyone’s talking about if she did it and why.  What business do we have passing judgment on these things?  Does it make any real difference to our lives here in Dalton, GA?  Is it up to us to make a judgment? Don’t we have enough to worry about already?  Perhaps we would all be better off not to stand in judgment of people we’ve never met, about things that don’t concern us, in places we’ve never been.

How Do We Stop Being Judgmental?
            Here now, Jesus’ warning judging starts to make sense: “Judge not, lest ye be judged.” But how do you stop being judgmental? Here are four tips that can help you stop judging others.
            First be aware you have a problem.  Here are some clues you might be judgmental:

• Do you put most people you meet in some category? (Young, old, religious, heathen, rough, liberal, conservative, etc.)  Labeling people is a good indication you have a judgmental attitude.
• Do you make judgments about people based on their appearance?  ("That guys got a lot of tattoos; he must be a rough character."  "She's too quiet.  She must be shy or stuck up."  "He's dressed up in a nice suit.  He must be rich."  "She's too fat.  She must be lazy.")  It's not a good idea to judge people on their appearance before you have a chance to get to know them.  And it's an indication you are being judgmental.
• Do you gossip about others?  Judgmental people often derive pleasure from gossiping about others.
• Do you form opinions based on what others say about someone?  This is another way we are judgmental.
• Do you have contempt for people who disagree with you?  This is something we struggle with greatly in our divisive world.  "Those liberals/conservatives/republicans/democrats are idiots!"  If this is you, you are being judgmental.
• Do you have a negative or distrustful outlook of people in general?  This is a common characteristic of judgmental people.

            Second, love yourself and don’t compare yourself to others. One of the biggest causes of being judgmental is our need to feel good about ourselves.  We put other people down--either to others or in our own mind--and it makes us feel superior.  This isn't much different from what a kindergarten bully does on the playground when they beat up or belittle a weaker person in order to make themselves feel better.  We don't need to compare ourselves to anyone else.  We are not better than anyone else, but no one else is better than us either.  We are all unique, special, people with great value and each of us is loved by God.  Find your worth in God's love and don't seek to bolster yourself by judging others.

            Third, try to understand and empathize.  Put yourself in someone else’s shoes. It's so much easier to judge people who are “not like us.” That’s why it’s easier to gossip about and judge celebrities, politicians, and athletes. We don’t see them as regular people like us. However, when we see someone as our brother or sister, we get less pleasure from putting them down. Try to understand people and feel what they feel and you will be less likely to judge them unnecessarily.

            Fourth, stop gossiping.  Gossip is a way we derive pleasure from our judgmentalism.  Don't indulge in the pleasure reward and you will have less reason to judge people.  It just wont be as fun.

Conclusion

            We all have our struggles.  Maybe some of you struggle with being judgmental.  Ask God to help you get rid of your judgmental attitude.  Recognize you have a problem.   Love yourself and stop comparing yourself to others.  Ask God to help you empathize more and judge less.  And stop gossiping.
            Perhaps you need someone to hold you accountable.  Tell someone you trust you are trying to be less judgmental and ask them to pray for you, encourage you, and hold you accountable (just like my friend asked me to hold him accountable for his language).
            Maybe as you're reading this, you realize you need to use better judgment.  God gave you a brain and intuition.  He wants you to use it.  Pray for discernment.  Get advice from trusted people.  And make a proper judgment about someone or some situation in your life.  Seek to make better judgments about your family, your job, or an important decision you need to make.  Don’t be afraid.  Ask God to help you and He will be your guide.

Ask Pastor Chris (a short, quick answer to a question about incest)

Here's a quick answer to a question I received this month:

The Question:  What does the Bible say about incest?  If we are all created from Adam and Eve, then we all commit incest, right?

My Answer:  No.  Although everyone is distantly related through Adam and Eve, we do not commit incest.  The definition of incest is: “sexual relations between people classed as being too closely related to marry each other.”  In the Bible, Leviticus 18:6-18 and 20:11-21 name some of the family relationships considered too close for sexual relations.  These include your parents, step-parents, grandparents, children, grandchildren, siblings, half-siblings, step-siblings, aunts, uncles, and a few other close relatives.  More distant relatives are not off limits.  Today, most states follow similar regulations as the Bible in regards to marriage between relatives.  Typically in the United States, relatives cannot marry unless they are no more closely related than second cousins.