Bulletins - Sunnyside First Baptist Church

Matthew 7:1–12
— Good morning and welcome to First Baptist, my name is Pastor Jeff Pagel
— Thank you for choosing to be here this morning
— This mornings message is a difficult one.
— Our passage this morning… Pokes at a common mis-understanding of a difficult passage.
— But there is a greater “understanding” of this passage
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Matthew 7:1 “Judge not, that you be not judged.”
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— The church has literally for hundreds of years ignored our responsibility as followers of Christ
— To discover, discern and decide some very important issues all the while “hiding” behind this verse.
— Our internal “compass” has been drawn away from pointing straight north to being drawn away
— Let me be clear…
— We are NOT to judge in a hypocritical manner
But we are called to apply… Discernment and wisdom to legal, moral, ethical, and spiritual matters.
— With those things in mind, I’d like to start with an illustration
ILLUSTRATION — “THE DIRTY WINDOW”
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— When a window is dirty enough, the whole world outside starts to look dim. — The problem is not always what is outside. — Sometimes the problem is the glass through which we are looking through
— We have exchanged what is “right” for what is “fair”
— We have exchanged our “true north” to point towards something much less.
— in our efforts to avoid conflict, to not point to the speck in another’s eye, while ignorning the piece of lumber in our own eye.
— We have instead opted to do nothing in the face of sin, dissension, and division.
— That’s how we have “clouded” the glass that we look through.
— It clouds judgment. — It distorts perception.
Jesus cleans the glass AND makes it clear
PASTORAL OPENING
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— Church, this is one of the most quoted and most misunderstood passages in the Bible. — “Judge not” is often used as if Jesus were forbidding all moral, ethical and legal discernment.
He is not doing that… He is condemning hypocritical judgment.
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— We are going to sort through these issues this morning
— I like to work from a “guiding question” one that sets the tone and direction of the message.
GUIDING QUESTION - What kind of heart does Jesus want His people to have toward others and toward God?
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— As we begin this morning let’s pray
OPENING PRAYER
—Father, as we come before Your Word today, we ask You to clear our vision.
— Help us to see what You want us to see—not through pride, fear, frustration, or the noise of the world, but through the eyes of Jesus…
— Soften our hearts where they have become guarded.
— Quiet our spirits where they have become anxious. Humble us where we have become too sure of ourselves.
— Teach us to walk in the gentleness of Christ, the wisdom of Christ, and the discernment of Christ.
— Give us ears to hear Your truth, courage to obey it, and grace to live it out with love.
— Shape us today—not merely to know more, but to become more like Jesus.
In His Name we pray… Amen.
INTRODUCTION
— Jesus warns against hypocritical judgment. — Then He calls for wisdom and discernment. — Then He urges bold asking, seeking, and knocking. — Then He summarizes Kingdom ethics in one clear sentence… Love one another.
— Let’s look at the first of our three points
#1 JESUS CONDEMNS HYPOCRITICAL JUDGMENT, NOT HOLY DISCERNMENT
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— Our passage is
Matthew 7:1–6 ESV
1 “Judge not, that you be not judged. 2 For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. 3 Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? 4 Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s [or sister’s] eye. 6 “Do not give dogs what is holy, and do not throw your pearls before pigs, lest they trample them underfoot and turn to attack you.
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— The issue is not moral clarity here. — The issue is prideful blindness.
— Looking beyond sin, and legal and moral failure
The image of a log in one eye and a speck in another is intentionally vivid.
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— It creates for us an example… I think one we have overly rely on to avoid tough talk. — We must judge, we must discern, we must make decisions by the only measure that matters… What does scripture say?
Psalm 130:3–5 “3 If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand? 4 But with you there is forgiveness, that you may be feared. 5 I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word I hope;”
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— The psalmist is telling us that our “iniquities” or sin would destroy us… we could not stand.
— Then immediately calls us to ask forgiveness and in return to our reverent worship of the Lord.
— let’s look at the NT
Galatians 6:1 “Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted.”
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— We have all sinned… we have all missed the mark
— We all deserve the opportunity to be engaged with gentleness to win us back.
— I’ve been treated HARSHLY, UNFAIRLY and so have you.
— Some abandon the church because of the treatment others have given them
— Look at that last statement
— Keep watch on yourself… lest you too be tempted
— tempted with what? in other words don’t get caught in the snare of sin.
— What does that mean for us… That means discernment is still necessary. — Grace is not gullibility. Grace is FREEDOM!!!
— Earned by our Faith in Christ.
— Some Applications for us
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Application: The church must tell the truth about sin, but never from a throne of superiority.
—- We speak truth as forgiven sinners, not as moral experts standing above others.
— Our tone must carry both conviction and compassion, because the goal is not to win an argument but to restore a soul.
Application: When we confront sin, we must first remember our own need for Grace.
— The church loses its witness when it speaks with arrogance, but it reflects Jesus when it speaks with humility, tears, courage, and hope.
Application: Truth without humility becomes harsh.
— Humility without truth becomes weakness.
— But truth spoken in love becomes a doorway for repentance, healing, and restoration.
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— Let’s move to point #2
#2 JESUS INVITES HIS PEOPLE TO ASK, SEEK, AND KNOCK WITH CONFIDENCE
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— Our passage is from Verses 7-11.
Matthew 7:7–11 ESV
7 “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. 9 Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? 11 If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!
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Let me summarize…
— Ask. — Seek. — Knock.
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— These are written in the greek present tense
— keep asking, keep seeking, keep knocking.
— These are not pressure tactics against God.
— These prayers if you will… ask, seek, knock are all deeply rooted in who we are as followers and who He is as God
— It’s a continuation of our relationship with God rooted in the goodness of the Father.
Question: If earthly fathers give bread, not stones, and fish, not serpents, how much more will the heavenly Father give good things to His children?
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— He loves us, He created us, He wants eternity for us
— He will give us all that we need and frankly alot of what we need.
Application: Pray with confidence because you are coming to your Father, not a stranger.
— Jesus is not teaching us to beg at the door of a reluctant God.
— He is inviting us into the heart of the Father.
— A child does not come to a good father with a legal argument. A child comes with need.
— A child comes with trust.
— A child comes because relationship has already opened the way.
Application: Keep praying even when the answer is not immediate.
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— Jesus says, “Ask… seek… knock.”
And the way this is written carries the idea of continuing.
— Keep asking. — Keep seeking. —- Keep knocking.
Application: Trust the goodness of the Father even when His answer is different than your request.
— Jesus gives us a simple picture.
— If a son asks for bread, a decent father does not hand him a stone. — If a son asks for fish, a decent father does not hand him a serpent.
So we pray with open hands.
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— Jesus gathers the ethical vision of the Bible into a sentence ordinary people can understand and cannot escape.
Application: Christian love moves first. It does not wait to be deserved.
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— Jesus says, “Whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them.”
— Jesus calls His people to active love.
— Kingdom love moves first.
— It forgives before the apology is perfect. — It listens before assuming the worst. — It speaks gently before anger takes over. — It serves before being noticed. — It shows Grace before the other person has earned it.
That is not weakness.
That is Christlikeness.
Application: The way we treat others reveals what we truly believe about Grace.
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— It is easy to talk about grace.
— It is harder to practice grace when someone irritates us, disappoints us, misunderstands us, or fails us.
— But Jesus does not allow us to separate our theology from our behavior.
— If we believe God has been patient with us, then we must learn patience with others. — This does not mean we ignore sin. — This does not mean we pretend everything is fine. — This does not mean we erase wisdom, boundaries, or discernment.
But it does mean our posture should be shaped by the grace we have received.
— We need to treat others to “GRACE FIRST”
Application: The Golden Rule must shape the culture of the church.
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— In case you forgot or maybe never knew
— This is the “Golden Rule”
Matthew 7:12 “12 “So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.”
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— Jesus says this one sentence summarizes the Law and the Prophets.
— That means this is not a small command tucked away in the corner.
— This is kingdom culture.
So we should ask: what kind of church are we?
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— Do we speak to people the way we would want to be spoken to? — Do we handle conflict the way we would want conflict handled with us? — Do we extend patience the way we would want patience extended to us? — Do we care for the hurting the way we would want to be cared for if we were hurting?
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— A church can have correct doctrine and still have a cold spirit.
— A church can preach grace and still practice suspicion.
— A church can sing about love and still fail to love the person sitting across the aisle.
Jesus will not let us hide behind religious language.
He says, “Do also to them.”
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GRACE-DRIVEN FOCUS STATEMENT: Jesus forms a people who are:
humble instead of harsh,
prayerful instead of self-sufficient,
and actively loving instead of passively indifferent.
Because Grace clears the eye, softens the heart, and opens the hand.
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— Let’s look at our Guiding Question
GUIDING QUESTION - What kind of heart does Jesus want His people to have toward others and toward God?
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— A humble heart toward others. — A dependent heart toward God. — A generous heart in daily relationships.
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CLOSING PRAYER
— Father, make us humble, discerning, prayerful, and loving. — Let the gentleness of Jesus mark our lives and our church. — In Jesus’ name, Amen.
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— Please stand for the reading of our final psalm
CLOSING PSALM
— Psalm 25
Psalm 25:1–7 ESV
1 To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul. 2 O my God, in you I trust; let me not be put to shame; let not my enemies exult over me. 3 Indeed, none who wait for you shall be put to shame; they shall be ashamed who are wantonly treacherous. 4 Make me to know your ways, O Lord; teach me your paths. 5 Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all the day long. 6 Remember your mercy, O Lord, and your steadfast love, for they have been from of old. 7 Remember not the sins of my youth or my transgressions; according to your steadfast love remember me, for the sake of your goodness, O Lord!
- - Ezekiel 1:1–2:2NIV2011
- - Ezekiel 2:2NIV2011

Ezekiel 1:1–2:2NIV2011

Ezekiel 2:2NIV2011