The Heart of the Matter
Matthew 7:1-23
Following Christ’s message is essential, but we have to be cautious not to become what he was preaching against.
SLIDE #1
INTRODUCTION
• Since the opening words of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus turned the world of His audience upside down with His radically different teaching on the subject of righteousness.
• Jesus will now turn to the heart of the matter.
• Your heart and where your heart is invested play a vital role in how or if you will live out your faith.
• Will you have a Pharisee faith, looks good on the outside, but is a trainwreck on the inside, or will you live out a faith that is pleasing to God.
• And as a side note, if you chose the latter, life will be good, fulfilling and complete!
• Jesus now turns the message to warnings associated with this “new” understanding of righteousness.
• Jesus is trying to warn his hearers that, if they’re not careful, they could become exactly what he has been warning against.
• For instance, using a very explicit illustration, Jesus warns against becoming a new breed of Pharisees that spots the sin in others but is blind to one’s own faults.
• In the lengthy section of text we will cover together today, Jesus is going to share three areas our hearts need to be centered upon so that we can live a life that is truly pleasing to God.
• I have said this before. Until one changes their heart, what they do on the outside means nothing.
• The religious leaders were in the mode of living life.
• When you give your life to Jesus, it is vital that you allow God to work on your heart.
• Today we will examine three areas that our hearts need to be centered so that we can live a life that is fruitful and pleasing to God!
• We will not cover all 23 verses in detail; we will focus a little more on the big picture these gems lay put for us.
• Jerry spoke about some of the verses that people know who do not know anything about the Bible, and today we will see one in the opening verse of chapter 7!
SLIDE #2
Bible Verse
Matthew 7:1-6 (CSB)
1“Do not judge, so that you won’t be judged.
2For you will be judged by the same standard with which you judge others, and you will be measured by the same measure you use.
3Why do you look at the splinter in your brother’s eye but don’t notice the beam of wood in your own eye?
4Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the splinter out of your eye,’ and look, there’s a beam of wood in your own eye?
5Hypocrite! First take the beam of wood out of your eye, and then you will see clearly to take the splinter out of your brother’s eye.
6Don’t give what is holy to dogs or toss your pearls before pigs, or they will trample them under their feet, turn, and tear you to pieces.
SLIDE #3
1. I. A heart for others.
Explanation
• Verse 1 is a verse most everyone can quote, even if they have never read a Bible in thief life.
• One of the traps we do not want to succumb to is the judgment trap.
• We fall into the judgment trap when we forget how much God loves others and how much God loves us.
• When we do not have a heart for others, we tend to get nasty with those we have no heart for.
• We tend to be less charitable to those we do not love, and more judgmental toward those we do not love. (YOUR CHILDREN AS AN EXAMPLE)
• Jesus spent the first part of the Sermon on the Mount teaching on the subject of kingdom attitudes, which ties into what pleases God.
• The religious leaders were a poor example to the people; they looked great on the outside, but a mess on the inside.
• These first six verses speak to the subject of judging others.
• This verse could read, DO NOT GET IN THE HABIT OF JUDGING OTHERS.
• Most people use this verse out of context, making the verse say that you dare not make a JUDGEMENT concerning another person.
• We will see this is a false premise from the context of these first six verses.
• What verse one speaks to is the subject of HYPOCRITICALLY judging other people.
• Verses 2-6 point makes this point clear.
• The word JUDGE means TO FORM A CRITICAL OPINION OF SOMETHING (EITHER POSITIVE OR NEGATIVE) BY EXAMINATION OR SCRUTINY.
• Without the context of verses 2-6, we would be left to believe that we could not make any kind of judgments.
• We know that God allows us to make judgments when it comes to the issue of church discipline. 1 Corinthians 5.
• We are not prohibited from judging one’s fruits (Matthew 7:16-20).
• The context tells us that God is prohibiting one from rash, uncharitable and hypocritical kinds of judgment.
• In an ominous warning, Jesus tells us that the standard we use to judge others will be used by God to judge us!
• So how do I keep from hypocritically or harshly judging others?
• Did you ever wonder why in probably one of the most important sermons ever preached, that Jesus starts chapter 7 with this issue?
• This issue gives one a chance to live out their faith in the real world.
• Will I allow circumstances to lead me down the path of judging others harshly, or will I let love to win out as I see others?
• I need to look at others the way Jesus looks at them; I need to love others.
• Another thing I need to do is to CHECK MYSELF before I dive into your issues!
• When you look at verses 2-5, we are told to take the log out of our own eye before we take the speck out of the eye of another person.
• This vivid picture shows the absurdity of trying to “HELP” someone else get a speck out of their eye, while we have a plank in our own eye.
• Before we can judge others, we must first judge ourselves.
• Hypocritically judging someone is when I am doing the same thing as they are doing, yet I am condemning the other person while I overlook my issue.
• Jesus was attacking the Pharisees for the way they were judging other people while not looking into their own hearts. In the previous verses, Jesus pointed out the hypocrisy of the prayer life of the religious leaders.
• Once I have checked myself, I then need to make an honest evaluation. Verse 6 says not to cast your pearls before swine and to not give what is holy to dogs.
• The swine will trample the pearls, and the dogs will turn on you and tear you up.
• Gareth Reese, in his notes from Life of Christ, offers some suggestions that can protect us from crossing the lines we should not cross.
o Judge no person unless it is our duty to do so.
o Judge the OFFENSE and not the OFFENDER when possible.
o Confine your judgment to the earthly side of faults. Leave their relation to God, to him who sees the heart.
o Never judge at all without remembering your own sinfulness.
• The bottom line is if we have a heart for the other person, we will look to help them, not condemn them.
• When you are in the midst of judging someone improperly, do you want God or OTHERS to judge you be the same standard you are using?
• Let move to verses 7-12.
SLIDE #4
Bible Verse
Matthew 7:7-12 (CSB)
7“Ask, and it will be given to you. Seek, and you will find. Knock, and the door will be opened to you.
8For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.
9Who among you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone?
10Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake?
11If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask him.
12Therefore, whatever you want others to do for you, do also the same for them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.
SLIDE #5
2. II. A heart for God.
Explanation
• When we worry about things in life, that worry can hinder our relationship with God. In Chapter 6, Jesus addresses the issue of worry.
• In verses 7-12, we are given a way to avoid worrying about everything around us!
• In the direct context, do you have problems keeping your focus on the eternal?
• Do you struggle with the temptation to judge others hypocritically?
• Then ask God, and He will help you to overcome.
• Jesus offers a three-part formula in verses 7-8, ASK, SEEK, KNOCK!
• If one is going to follow this process, they need to have faith and a relationship with God!
• The imperatives to ASK, SEEK, and KNOCK are intended to be EMPHATIC!
• Jesus tells us we can ASK or ASK FOR something.
• Then we are told to go deeper, to seek!
• To seek means to look for, to try to find a particular thing.
• It is not God we are to seek in this verse, but instead, we are to look to him for what we want.
• Thus it could be rendered “seek what you are looking for” or “seek from God what you are looking for.” (USB Handbook; Matthew)
• Then we are told to KNOCK!
• Knock refers to a way of asking that a door be opened. One cannot say “knock on God,” but it may be possible to say “knock on the door where God is” or “knock on the door that God opens.”
• The tie into the previous verses to where we are is as follows.
• The emphasis on prayer does provide a fitting conclusion to the important thrust of preceding sections by reminding the hearers of their need for divine resources and assistance in the “doing” of the Lord’s will.
• Furthermore, after being told how to treat others (7:1–6), it is most appropriate to detail how God treats those who seek him in prayer. (College Press Commentary Series)
• The passives (will be given, will be opened) anticipate God’s response to our continual “asking,” “seeking,” and “knocking.”
• Verse 8 balances the present imperatives of verse 7 with three present participles (asks, seeks, knocks), followed by three verbs (receives, finds, opened) emphasizing God’s unfailing response to those who seek his presence.
• The text is not intended as a magical formula for manipulating God through sheer tenacity in prayer (cf. 6:7–8).
• The object of our “asking” and “seeking” is best understood in light of the petitions outlined earlier in the Lord’s Prayer (6:9–13). (College Press Commentary Series)
• Verse 7-8 shows us God’s response to those who ask, seek, and knock.
• The three present imperatives (ask, seek, knock, v. 7) demand a persistency that refuses to give up. What keeps one from giving up?
• Verses 9-11 reveals WHY God responds.
• God cares for us!
• Jesus uses the example of our imperfect earthy fathers, making the argument that a NORMAL father will take care of the needs of his children.
• When Jesus calls earthy fathers evil, that is meant to be as compared to God.
• The idea is that earthly parents are imperfect and sometimes partial, not always having a perfect understanding of their children and their needs.
• Verse 12 ends this section with what is called the Golden Rule; this is another passage that people who have not even read a Bible know.
• Treat people the same way you want to be treated.
• The depiction of God as a caring Father (vv. 9–11) anticipates the general principle enunciated in verse 12: “disciples are to do unto others as they would ask, seek, and knock for God to do for them.”
• You need to have a heart for God!
• Let’s turn to verses 13-23.
SLIDE #6
Bible Verse
Matthew 7:13-23 (CSB)
13“Enter through the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the road broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who go through it.
14How narrow is the gate and difficult the road that leads to life, and few find it.
15“Be on your guard against false prophets who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravaging wolves.
16You’ll recognize them by their fruit. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes or figs from thistles?
17In the same way, every good tree produces good fruit, but a bad tree produces bad fruit.
18A good tree can’t produce bad fruit; neither can a bad tree produce good fruit.
19Every tree that doesn’t produce good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
20So you’ll recognize them by their fruit.
21“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven.
22On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, didn’t we prophesy in your name, drive out demons in your name, and do many miracles in your name?’
23Then I will announce to them, ‘I never knew you. Depart from me, you lawbreakers!’
SLIDE #7
3. III. A heart for heaven.
Explanation
• In this section of the text, we will see that we need to have a heart for Heaven!
• Verses 13-14 explains that staying on the path to Heaven is no easy task!
• Matthew 7:13–14 (CSB) — 13 “Enter through the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the road broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who go through it. 14 How narrow is the gate and difficult the road that leads to life, and few find it.
• In verse 13, we see a shift that goes from learning about Kingdom living; now, it is time to start living.
• Destruction is not ceasing to exist; it refers to the loss of all that makes our existence precious.
• Living for the world is simple; living for Jesus, walking the path to have is not easy.
• Most of the rest of this section explains why.
• In verses 15-20, we are encouraged not to allow false prophets to take us off the path.
• We have to stay focused on Heaven! It is like driving your car while only looking at the ditch or your phone when you are texting, neither will end up well!
• Verses 15-20 also tie us back to verse 1; we have to make a judgment to tell of the fruit of the tree (teacher, prophet, direction) is a good one.
• Bad trees produce bad fruit; we want to avoid being distracted by such things.
• We MUST have a heart for Heaven to keep us on the path.
• This is like when we try to eat better so we can be healthy.
• The donuts, cookies, candy, ice cream, those Starbucks drinks are all lurking in the path trying to entice you. If you are not focused on the goal, you will lose the battle.
• Following and partaking in the bad fruit will have dire consequences for us, as we see in verses 19-20.
• Verse 21-23 reminds us not to be fooled.
• These are some of the scariest verses in the Bible!
• Matthew 7:21–23 (CSB) — 21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of Heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in Heaven. 22 On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, didn’t we prophesy in your name, drive out demons in your name, and do many miracles in your name?’ 23 Then I will announce to them, ‘I never knew you. Depart from me, you lawbreakers!’
• Who is Jesus speaking of in these couple of verses?
• Those who went through the motions of faith, but had no heart for others, God, or Heaven!
CONCLUSION
• Let me ask you something, where is your heart?
• Jesus said where your investment is, there your heart will be.
• Have you let this pandemic take your heart away from loving the people, loving God, and loving and seeking Heaven?
• Jesus wants us to have a heart for Him, others, and for Heaven!
• What does that heart look like? It is a heart that is driven by our love for God!
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Application
• Following Christ’s message is essential, but we have to be cautious not to become what he was preaching against.
