Opening Illustration
(Brett’s story about a gentlemen in MacDonalds)
The way we view situations in life, the way we perceive people/events around us- not always accurate. Certain elements affect our judgment and we do not always accurately perceive reality or we make a hasty judgments about people. i.e. the color of a pill can make us feel like one pill is more potent than another (black or red- strong, white- weak), the color of a uniform can affect how referee views a play. Team dressed in black- appeared more aggressive than- team dressed in white.
Story- Burt Reynolds- before he was famous- was in a bar. A man w/broad shoulders beside him at the bar began shouting obscenities at- couple seated nearby. Reynolds cautioned him to watch his language. The guy w/broad shoulders turned on Reynolds. Reynolds planted his feet- hit him w/strong right to the side of the head. It was only as the guy was flying through the air that he noticed he had no legs. He had taken in certain aspects about the man but totally missed other aspects about the situation, like the man’s legs and his wheel chair sitting in the corner.
(Why We Make Mistakes, Joseph T Hallinan)
Our perspective on life’s situations/in particular, the way we view people, is not always accurate.
Our judgments-often based on incomplete information and affected by subconscious biases that we have.
Samuel sent by God to anoint the next king …
1 Sam 16:7 But the Lord said to Samuel, "Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart." NASU
Samuel looked at Eliab’s outward appearance- made the judgement- based on his outward stature, that
he had the character to be a king.
Jesus ministered to tax collectors/sinners …
Mtt 9:10-11
When- religious leaders saw Jesus ministering to tax-collectors/sinners-they made-judgment about Him.
Jesus- visiting in the home of a religious leader- a woman- known as a sinner came into Him to anoint Him with this expensive oil.
Lk 7:37-39
They misjudged both Jesus and the woman, and did not see how His love had changed her inwardly.
Introduction
(Disclaimer- some might think this word is specifically for them because of a recent situation in your life- I can think of several situations where someone might feel like this- but that is not why I am sharing what I am sharing this morning- this is a topic that is bigger than you/your situation and touches all of us- however, if the shoe fits, wear it.)
Next week Pastor Mario from Guatemala will be visiting with us- he will speak Sunday.
God has opened doors for us to network with other people/ministries, locally/overseas,for the purpose of building God’s Kingdom.
Church, we are to be about Kingdom business.
We are learning to work w/people from different cultural backgrounds/personalities/passions.
That may mean working w/people that we consider to be weird/strange or at least different than we are.
We pray the Lord’s prayer, do we believe it …
Mtt 6:9-10 NASU
9 … ’Our Father who is in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name.
10 ’Your kingdom come.
Your will be done, On earth as it is in heaven.
Are we ready for Kingdom principles to be established on earth or in our own lives.
In the broader sense are we ready for the Lord to return- 2nd coming of the Lord/day of judgment.
In the immediate sense are we ready for the Lord to change/form/shape us into a vessel
He can use NOW to build- His Kingdom here.
Are we ready for God’s Kingdom?
Pool of Bethesda …
Jn 5:2-9
Jesus walked into this area of sick people and healed only one man- why?
In other scriptures it says that Jesus healed all those who came to Him- why here only one man?
Perhaps only one man was ready to receive the work of the Kingdom of God in his life then- his NOW.
Are we ready for the Kingdom of God to come?
Do we know what it is going to cost us?
City of Nain …
Lk 7:11-16
Mother/others- leaving the city to bury her son.
They had one purpose in mind- Jesus had another.
They were going to bury a man- given up- it was over- he was dead …
but Jesus- came for- entirely different reason.
He was came to bring …
a new beginning, resurrected life.
They were not ready for the Kingdom of God.
Church, are we/you ready for the Kingdom of God.
A New Commandment
Lets test our readiness with the words of Jesus, this is a Kingdom principle …
Jn 13:34 "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. NASU
Listen- Jesus explains how we can apply that truth ...
Lk 17:3-4
3 "Be on your guard! If your brother sins, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him.
4 "And if he sins against you seven times a day, and returns to you seven times, saying, ’I repent,’ forgive him." NASU
Whoa- that sounds hard- not sure I want to do that.
Jesus- dying on- cross at the hands of His murderers-
Lk 23:34 But Jesus was saying, "Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing." And they cast lots, dividing up His garments among themselves. NASU
We are instructed- love/forgive the way Jesus did …
Your Kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven?
Jesus does not cut us any slack because of …
past life experiences or
how horribly we have been treated by others.
Are we ready for Jesus to come/for His Kingdom?
One of my passions is that we, as the church, learn how to love as God has loved us- love …
the world,
our family,
one another, our brothers and sisters in Christ,
those we have to work/serve with,
those who have offended us,
those who have hurt us.
1 Cor 13:1-7
Tough, difficult, Kingdom principles- are we ready?
Illustration- open up a Rocher and eat it- umm good- I love chocolate. Pass out (throw) several to people and ask them to eat it. Is that not good. Ummm- I love chocolate. How many chocolate lovers do we have here? How can we so easily love chocolate and yet not love our brother or sister for whom Christ died?
A man gave His life for them,
making them my brother or sister.
Article on making mistakes …
Article in Reader’s Digest …
7 Dumb Things We Do by Joseph T Hallinan
We have all said, “To err is human.” According to Hallinan, human error plays a major role when things go wrong: airplane crashes (70%), car accidents (90%), workplace accidents (90%). As people we tend to make mistakes- all of us- not just the other guy.
Have you ever noticed how easily you can dismiss your own mistakes and get so upset at others?
Mr. Hallinan identifies 7 common mistakes people make- I want to look at three of them …
1. We make slips of the tongue
These are called TOTs- tip of the tongue errors.
Call someone by the wrong name, misspeak, say something stupid, offend someone w/your words.
Ja 3:5-10
We need to be careful what we say about one another.
2. We wear rose-colored glasses
Without trying to intentionally distort the truth we are prone to seeing our own words/actions in a
more favorable light than others may see them.
We reconstruct our memories in a self-flattering way.
Pro 16:18 Pride goes before destruction,
And a haughty spirit before stumbling.
We need to learn how to accurately judge our own actions and words.
3. We think we are better than we are
When people were asked how susceptible they were to judgmental biases,
most claimed they were less biased than others.
Difficult to see ourselves as average/below average- in many areas- see ourselves as better than others.
This leads us to an inflated picture of ourselves and we often put ourselves above others.
Rom 12:3 For through the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith. NASU
Interesting, people who are depressed, tend to be more realistic in evaluating themselves.
I have a passion for our church, that we truly learn how to love one another.
I know some of us act like jerks- I am a jerk sometime
We all …
make mistakes,
have issues,
have strengths and weaknesses,
have personality quirks,
have personal biases,
have hurts from the past that mold who we are today and affect how we respond to life,
look at life through rosy-colored glasses that distort true reality, AND …
we are all in a process of ‘being saved.’
One of my pet peeves- one thing- try hard not to do…
I try not to decide in my mind why someone said something or did something. As people we have a tendency to assign motives to the words and actions of others.
Unless God has given you- gift of mind-reading, you do not know why someone does/says what they do.
You do not know what is in their heart, whether there was mal-intent or no intent at all.
I will answer to God for my words and my actions-
so will they, so will you!
Rom 14:4 Who are you to judge the servant of another? To his own master he stands or falls; and he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand. NASU
My passion is for every member of our congregation to see and experience God’s love.
Why? So we can feel good about ourselves?
No- so we can turn around and love others the way we have been loved.
So we can be Kingdom builders.
I do not like it when people walk around w/attitudes towards one another.
We need to learn how to …
work together,
play together,
fight together (properly), and
love together.
We are God’s children, His sons and daughters.
He believes in big families- so together we can accomplish great things for His Kingdom.
How can we love those we do not like very much?
1. Pray for them
It is hard to be mad, bitter, and resentful for someone you are sincerely, diligently praying for.
2. Invest time and money in them
We tend to value that which we invest in.
Take them out to breakfast/dinner, send them an anonymous gift or donation.
Take the initiative to love someone you struggle with.
3. Receive correction
Do you realize in a relationship, that you might be part of the problem- it is not always the other guy.
As children of God, we need to be able to receive the correction of our loving Father.
God may at times use others to correct us, whether they realize they are being used by God or not.
Will we be humble enough to look beyond the person and see the God behind the correction?
God used wicked nations to judge Israel.
The people God uses to judge us may not …
have it all together themselves, or
they may do it wrong.
What are we going to do about that?
Focus on how it was done inappropriately or
humbly submit to God/learn what we can.
A son of the Kingdom receives correction knowing that it will help him grow spiritually.
Conclusion
Let me end with the words of scripture …
Phil 2:3-11
