JESUS-ON JUDGING OTHERS

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In the next two verses Jesus teaches His disciples two negatives and two positives: "Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you."
The 2 negative commands are (1) Do not judge and (2) Do not condemn. Jesus isn't throwing out the need for discernment in order to make judgment calls or personal life decisions. He is not speaking of this kind of judgment (discernment). He is referring to judgment that condemns and sentences a person, when that right only belongs to God, Himself.

The 2 positive commands are (1) Forgive and (2) Give. This goes right along with the preceding section where Jesus urges His disciples to love their enemies. Instead of condemning and judging them; forgive and give to them. It's an attitude.

Now NOTE something else here. In each case there is a return on investment. On the negative side, if you judge and condemn another, you will be judged and condemned in the same way. This works in everyday life. If you are critical of a person's parenting style, you will likely be judged on your parenting style. So, watch out how you judge another. First, you don't have the right to condemn and sentence anyone and you will, most likely, stir that person up to come right back at you.

On the positive side, if you give and forgive, there will be certain consequences come right back at you. If you forgive, you will be forgiven. If you give, it will be given to you. This is not the principle of Karma, but it is a reciprocal principle of life. When you forgive someone, you will receive and experience forgiveness in the very act. If you give to someone, you will receive back in the very act of giving. Don't misunderstand. Your enemies you forgive and give to will not forgive you or give something to you. It's the Most High God Who will forgive and give to you, His children. Jesus then turns their attention to a parable: He also told them this parable: "Can the blind lead the blind? Will they not both fall into a pit? Students are not above their teacher, but all who are fully trained will be like their teacher.

It's as if he were saying, listen carefully and don't think you know it all. If you want to be able to judge and discern accurately you need to be fully trained by me and undergo a spiritual change of heart. This is why it's so important to follow the teachings and principles of Jesus-to be trained by Him.

As you are being trained, you must learn to see more clearly. Jesus uses a humorous illustration here: "Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in someone else's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say, 'Friend, let me take the speck out of your eye,' when you yourself fail to see the plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from the other person's eye.

To sum up this section: 1. Jesus prohibits His disciples to condemn anyone.

2. Jesus promotes doing something positive toward others-to give them some slack-to forgive them and give to them.

3. Jesus wants His disciples to be fully trained by Him.

4. Jesus shows His disciples that the whole issue of discernment and making judgment calls about others requires that they see more clearly.

And, what is needed to see clearly? We as His disciples must always look at ourselves first and deal with the logs hanging out of our eyes. Then, we will be able to see more clearly how to help another remove a speck from his eye. It's not just the ability to see more clearly how to help others with their problems.

There is another factor at play here. If you take care to deal with your own problems, you will have a greater compassion to deal with others-even your enemies. You will have what it takes to forgive and give to them, because you have either done the same thing or worse yourself.

You know the drill: IF NOT FOR THE GRACE OF GOD, I could be in the same mess with the same eyes full of specks. Personal transformation through Jesus is the only way to change the world around you. But note that it all begins with you!

HOW TO KILL YOUR ENEMIES

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In Luke 6:27-36 Jesus gives a revolutionary plan for killing off all of your enemies. Let's check it out: "But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn the other also. If someone takes your coat, do not withhold your shirt. Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. Do to others as you would have them do to you.  
"If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that. And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, expecting to be repaid in full. But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.

Now this is kingdom of heaven talk in a revolutionary way! If you only love those who love you, what's so great about that? Absolutely nothing! Or if you do good to those who are good to you? Big deal! Then He speaks of lending money. This moves from preaching to meddling real quick. If you lend someone money, expecting to get it all back? Big deal! There is nothing so hot or different about that.

So Jesus gives three dimensions of kingdom living with respect to your enemies-those who are against you in some way. First-love your enemy. Second-do good to your enemy. Third-lend money to your enemy without expecting to get anything back.

In the prior paragraph He gives what may be used as the practical steps for loving, doing good and lending to your enemy.
 
Step #1-Do good to those who hate you. You see, Jesus is not talking about having sweet, ooey-gooey feelings for your enemies, but acting out your love-do good to them.
 
Step #2-Bless those who curse you. Instead of a curse for a curse, give them a blessing. A blessing is speaking well of them, giving them a gift or praising them for something in them.
 
Step #3-Pray for those who mistreat you. Now, Jesus takes it to the highest level-pray for them. Pray for them? My natural tendency is to pray against them. Jesus says, "Pray for them."

Then Jesus offers one of the most quoted illustrations. He says that when a person slaps you on the cheek, turn your cheek so your enemy may slap the other. Wow! This is not just revolutionary, but sure suicide!

What Jesus is setting forth here is the difference between living in the kingdom of man, which is full of retaliation and getting even, and the kingdom of heaven or kingdom of God. Jesus ushered in the kingdom and taught the good news of the kingdom everywhere He went. According to Jesus, living by the kingdom principles is not only revolutionary, but it is the best, most rewarding way to live-both here and now and for all eternity. This is why Jesus says your reward will be great and you will be considered children of the Most High God.

But wait a minute. Turn your cheek to be slapped again? Are you kidding? Think about this. The kingdom of man is all about the physical-the external. The kingdom of heaven is all about the spiritual-the internal. You are to take another external slap in order to heal this person on the inside. You see, this person who slapped you (did something against you) must be hurting very deeply on the inside. So, what's a little bruise on your cheek (or on your self) matter compared to the bruising that is in his heart. And, the Most High God will be on your side working through you.

Don't get hung up on the literal slapping on the cheek, but see it as an affront to you. He is not condoning staying in a physically abusive situation in your family. But the revolutionary principle is found in the last line of this paragraph: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. It's the golden rule, quoted by nearly all religions and recognized as the most fundamental way of living ever. This is at the foundation of what Jesus is saying when He says to love your enemies. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

This revolutionary kingdom principle doesn't need further explanation or proof that it works. We can all bring up impossible situations where there is no way this will work. Your mind has probably been flooded with all sorts of "exceptions" to what Jesus is saying. But here's the problem. All of your exceptions are theoretical, not realities until you actually practice the principle.

You see, Jesus and His principles need no further defense. Jesus and His principles require action. Don't just tell people about Jesus; be Jesus to those you love and especially to those who don't love you. Love your enemies. Try it out and watch Jesus begin to work in them and, more powerfully, within you.
 
KILL OFF ALL YOUR ENEMIES BY LOVING THEM.

JESUS-SENSING MAN'S NEED FOR GOD

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In the 6th chapter of Luke, beginning with verse 17, we again see Jesus surrounded by people from all around the region:  
He went down with them and stood on a level place. A large crowd of his disciples was there and a great number of people from all over Judea, from Jerusalem, and from the coastal region around Tyre and Sidon, who had come to hear him and to be healed of their diseases. Those troubled by evil spirits were cured, and the people all tried to touch him, because power was coming from him and healing them all.

NOTE this mini-seminar of Jesus is not on the mount as in Matthew 5-7, but on the plain. There is wide spectrum of people from all over the coastal region to the west and all the way from Judea and Jerusalem. Jesus continually taught those who would listen about the kingdom. He's at it again here with the teaching and the touching of the kingdom. Jesus didn't just talk a good game; He practiced it.

Also NOTE that Jesus uses four metaphors in this message-poverty, hunger, weeping and personal rejection. Let's look at them.
 
Looking at his disciples, he said: Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. Blessed are you who hunger now, for you will be satisfied. Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh. Blessed are you when people hate you, when they exclude you and insult you and reject your name as evil, because of the Son of Man. "Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven. For that is how their ancestors treated the prophets."
 
"But woe to you who are rich, for you have already received your comfort. Woe to you who are well fed now, for you will go hungry. Woe to you who laugh now, for you will mourn and weep. Woe to you when everyone speaks well of you, for that is how their ancestors treated the false prophets."

Jesus is not exalting poverty, but illustrating a person who senses his or her need for something. He uses this with all four illustrations here-poor, hungry, weeping, rejected. In each case Jesus is describing a person who senses his need for God. Those who are poor are those who own and embrace the kingdom of God. Those who are hungry know real satisfaction. Those who weep have a laughter of joy in their hearts that sustains them. Those who are hated and rejected, feeling on the outside, can stop right now and rejoice.

Those who live life in the invisible kingdom of God are vitally aware of their need for God. Those who are rich tend to believe they have no need for God or anyone. Those who are well fed don't sense a need for God's feeding. Those who laugh will be weeping and mourning when they understand that they have missed the real thing-the real life-the kingdom of God.

In addition to sensing your need for God, Jesus is stressing that there are two kingdoms. You are living between two kingdoms now that the kingdom of God is here and accessible to you on earth. This fits with what Jesus told the religious leadership. He said that He came as a physician seeking to help those who are sick, not the healthy.

So, Jesus uses these four metaphors to speak of spiritual poverty, hunger, weeping and rejection. And He carefully points out the blessings for those who sense their need for God:

FIRST-You own the kingdom of heaven. SECOND-You have an indescribable satisfaction. THIRD-You have a laughter in your heart. FOURTH-You can rejoice in the midst of being hated, rejected and excluded from man's kingdoms.

Why? Because you are living life in a different sphere-the sphere that you were created to live in. You see, you were created to live your life according to the kingdom of heaven. It makes sense to live life this way. It's natural or better yet, it's supernaturally natural.

This is why I've said for years that in order to turn the world upside down, you must turn man rightside up. And, Jesus through His kingdom is the only way to that kind of personal transformation. Here we are again, back to the two most important issues in the universe-the person of Jesus and His program, the kingdom of God. A friend of mine appropriately calls it "The Unshakable Kingdom and the Unchanging Person."

JESUS SELECTS 12 MEN

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Out of all of the disciples or followers of Jesus at the time, Jesus chooses 12 to fill the role of apostles. Before choosing these men, Jesus thoroughly prepares Himself to make these choices. We get a glimpse of this scene in Luke 6:12-16. One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God. When morning came, he called his disciples to him and chose twelve of them, whom he also designated apostles: Simon (whom he named Peter), his brother Andrew, James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, Simon who was called the Zealot, Judas son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.

After praying all night, Jesus chose 12 men out of the group of the many followers. He chose them to fill a certain role-to be apostles. An apostle literally means to be one who is sent. Jesus wanted a few-the 12-to serve as "sent ones" who would go out to spread the Good News of Jesus and the Kingdom. In my opinion, we don't have the "office" of apostle any longer. However, we do have today those who serve as apostles, those who are sent into new areas to introduce Jesus and the Kingdom there.

NOTE what Jesus did before selecting the 12. He prayed all night. Have you ever wondered what praying all night might be like? Do you think Jesus did all of the talking? My first thoughts have always been that I wouldn't be able to last, because my requests would run out. I've done lots of thinking about this and have come to realize through several of my friends that there are two dimensions to prayer. Naturally, there is the asking where you do all of the talking. This is legitimate and encouraged everywhere in the Scripture. This is by far the most common understanding and practice throughout the world.

However, there is a second dimension to praying that is not understood and commonly practiced. This is to listen! That's right, listen. After you have expressed your heart and desires before the Lord, it's important to spend some time quietly before God in order to hear from God. So, God has heard from you and then He wants you to hear Him.

Think of it this way. Suppose you go to your father and ask several questions, then as soon as you have finished expressing your question or questions, you split. "See you later, dad." Now, what's missing here? Well, you are asking questions and not waiting around for the answers. This is precisely what we do with God. We ask and plead and beg and ask some more, but we don't take the time wait for the answers. Then, after praying in this way, we wonder where God is and what He wants from us. You see, He really wants to give you His wisdom and His perspective on the matters you have brought before Him. He would love to give you some answers to your questions.

When I first prepared a message on prayer years ago, I discovered a great saying about prayer that has stuck with me. It is simply, "PRAYER DOESN'T NEED PROOF; IT NEEDS PRACTICE." Now, that says it all. It's so easy to cuss and discuss all we know and all our experiences with prayer. We can do so much that we end up in what is called analysis paralysis. Prayer is the missing link in our lives that without it, we can miss all that God is trying to say to us. If we only ask God for things and don't wait around to hear the answers, it's no wonder we're confused about God. It's no wonder we tend to doubt that He cares. It's no wonder we tend to think that God is too silent in our lives. It's no wonder we wonder if God is really there at all. If all you do is talk, you'll never hear His voice.

JESUS HEALS ON THE SABBATH

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In Luke chapter 6 we come to a segment where there is a conflict over the issue of keeping the Sabbath. In addition to fraternizing with sinners as Jesus often did, the breaking of the Sabbath was a major sensitivity to the religious leadership of the time.  
One Sabbath Jesus was going through the grainfields, and his disciples began to pick some heads of grain, rub them in their hands and eat the kernels. Some of the Pharisees asked, "Why are you doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath?"

You see, the Pharisees being a hypercritical bunch taught that you can't even rub the wheat kernels in your hand or you are working and threshing the grain.
Jesus answered them, "Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry? He entered the house of God, and taking the consecrated bread, he ate what is lawful only for priests to eat. And he also gave some to his companions." Then Jesus said to them, "The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath."

The point here is that when David and his men were hungry, the need of their hunger superseded the law of what to do with the consecrated bread. Then, Jesus points out that He, Himself, is the Lord of the Sabbath, so He can do anything on this day.

Right after this, Jesus went into the synagogue and was teaching there. He spotted a man who needed His help. I think Jesus saw this as a perfect opportunity to make His point further. It's like Jesus went out of His way to heal a man on the Sabbath. Check out what happens here:
 
On another Sabbath he went into the synagogue and was teaching, and a man was there whose right hand was shriveled. The Pharisees and the teachers of the law were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, so they watched him closely to see if he would heal on the Sabbath. But Jesus knew what they were thinking and said to the man with the shriveled hand, "Get up and stand in front of everyone." So he got up and stood there.

Jesus really sets up this miracle, so that everyone will see it and get the point. I'm sure it was clear that Jesus was going to disregard the Sabbath laws in order to heal this man.
 
Then Jesus said to them, "I ask you, which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy it?" He looked around at them all, and then said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." He did so, and his hand was completely restored. But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law were furious and began to discuss with one another what they might do to Jesus.

Jesus wasn't opposed to keeping the Sabbath. What He was opposed to was making the Sabbath so prominent that it became the new God that threatened the vitality of a relationship with Him. In another Gospel Jesus said that "man was not made for the Sabbath to serve it, but the Sabbath was made for man" to enjoy and get a rest from the stresses of life.

Sabbath is for man to enjoy. Before finishing up on this paragraph, I want to clarify what keeping Sabbath might entail. Here are a few reflections on the proper view of Sabbath:

1. Sabbath is A SANCTUARY IN TIME! 2. It's A TIME TO DISCONNECT FROM THE RAT RACE OF LIFE TO REST! 3. A TIME TO KEEP YOURSELF PLUGGED INTO GOD NO MATTER WHAT! 4. A TIME TO CULTIVATE JOY & HAPPINESS IN YOUR SOUL! 5. A TIME TO SEEK GOD'S WISDOM! 6. A TIME TO REFUEL YOUR GRATEFUL HEART! 7. A TIME TO RECONNECT WITH YOUR CORE VALUES! 8. A TIME TO GET IN SYNC WITH THE RHYTHM OF CREATION! 9. A TIME TO ENJOY GOD'S SALVATION FOR YOU! 10. A TIME TO HANG OUT WITH JESUS!

This last reflection is exactly where Jesus was from the beginning. He invited all who wanted to follow Him to come apart for awhile and just be with Him. This is just as vital today. Jesus is still calling men and women to come and just be with Him.

There's a great statement that has caught the theme of keeping the Sabbath: It is "COME APART FOR AWHILE OR YOU'LL JUST COME APART." Since Jesus is the Lord of the Sabbath, then He can make it all work best without any legalistic system of do's and don'ts for you to perform. So, think about it. COME APART FOR AWHILE OR YOU'LL JUST COME APART.