Shooting The Saints

"Shooting The Saints"

Matthew 7:1-6 July 27, 2003

Chester FBC, Chester, Illinois Mike Fogerson, Speaker

Introduction:

It is said that when the British and French were fighting in Canada in the 1750s, Admiral Phipps, commander of the British fleet, was told to anchor outside Quebec. He was given orders to wait for the British land forces to arrive, then support them when they attacked the city.

a Phipps’ navy arrived early. As the admiral waited, he became annoyed by the statues of the saints that adorned the towers of a nearby cathedral, so he commanded his men to shoot at them with the ships’ cannons.

b No one knows how many rounds were fired or how many statues were knocked out, but when the land forces arrived and the signal was given to attack, the admiral was of no help. He had used up all his ammunition shooting at the "saints."

B Today’s I want to share with you a message entitled "Shooting the Saint’s"

a The text were going to read (Matthew 7:1-6) is part of Jesus greatest sermon. The Sermon on the Mountain.

*This entire sermon was a full out assault on teachings and practices of the Jewish Pharisee’s and Scribes.

*These church leaders had developed their own set of standards of religion...morality...they even began to judge people by those self-made beliefs & standards.

MT 7:1 "Do not judge, or you too will be judged. [2] For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.

3 "Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? [4] How can you say to your brother, `Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? [5] You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye. 6 "Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and then turn and tear you to pieces.

b Jesus told his disciples how careful they had to be when considerng the lives of other believers. (ETS)

C The motives of our hearts must be pure when we bring others sins to light. (ETS)

a I hope you will carefully examine your motives when you consider the lives of other Christians. (Objective)

b Who is taking deadly aim on the saints? (Probing Question)

T.S.: Let’s look at the two motives that drive us when we consider the lives of others.

I The first motive that drives us when we consider the lives of others is..CONCEIT.

A Jesus was debunking the self-righteous junk that was coming from the pharisee’s.

a The pharisees had elevated their traditions to such a level that their traditions actually where more closely followed than God’s Word.

MT 12:1 At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry and began to pick some heads of grain and eat them. [2] When the Pharisees saw this, they said to him, "Look! Your disciples are doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath."

MT 12:9 Going on from that place, he went into their synagogue, [10] and a man with a shriveled hand was there. Looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, they asked him, "Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?" [11] He said to them, "If any of you has a sheep and it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will you not take hold of it and lift it out? [12] How much more valuable is a man than a sheep! Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath."

b These pharisees became self-righteous. (CONCEITED & ARROGANT)

The pharisees were doing everything they could to make themselves look better in their own eyes, including acting as the spiritual judge by condemning others who didn’t live up to their standards.

If you didn’t do all the things they did. . .they judged you.

If you didn’t believe the way they did. . .they judged you.

If you didn’t belong to their group. . .they judged you.

If you didn’t follow their rules. . .they judged you.

They were unmerciful, unforgiving, unkind, uncompassionate and ungracious.

B Okay, So what? Have you ever criticized somebody because they did not do things "your" way? Play by your "rules"? That is conceited driven judgment.

a JAS 4:11 Brothers, do not slander one another. Anyone who speaks against his brother or judges him speaks against the law and judges it. When you judge the law, you are not keeping it, but sitting in judgment on it. [12] There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the one who is able to save and destroy. But you--who are you to judge your neighbor?