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Seeing Red aka EK
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judging sermon by EK
« Thread Started on Mar 28, 2006, 4:11pm »

judging
-what do we judge on?-
My cousin used to go to a very strict Christian school. They wouldn't let you wear jeans, you had to wear collared shirts and the girls had to wear skirts. One night they were going to have a Christmas pageant, a play about the Wise men. They advertised it as a "life changing experience". My cousin had been praying for one of his friend's father who wasn't a Christian and he was surprised and happy to see him show up. But later that night he came home crying. Do you know what his school did? When his friend's father came to the doorway they asked him to leave because he was wearing jeans.

Judging, we all do it. It may not be quite that bad but we still do it. And whether it's spoken or not, conscious or not, damage can still be done. God tells us that he is the only Judge, that it is not our place to judge! It is up to God and him alone.
In 1 Samuel 16:7 it explains this and also tells how God judges

"Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things man looks at, Man looks at the outward appearance but the Lord looks at the heart."

God knows what we look at, he knows that we look at -appearance. He knows because he made us and knows all about us, but he also tells us not to judge at all. God is the only judge and he judges by the heart.

Now when we judge by appearance, what are some of the things we look at? I think we can easily make a list of them
Hair
Clothes
Piercings
Tattoos

Basically their whole appearance...and whatever makes them different from us. And whatever makes them unique.
-What God says about judging-

Now even though God knows that we judge he also warns us what will
happen if we judge.
In Matthew 7: 1-2 it says

"Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you."

Now for a lot of us, this is a wake up call. A big wake up call, because those of us who judge harshly don't want to be judged the same way!

-the effects of judging-

Judging doesn't only lead non believers away but it can also hurt believers. I have a good friend who's a Christian Goth. A lot of people don't believe you can be Christian and Gothic, I disagree and the verse in Samuel is one defense that he uses. He is judged a lot people walk up to him when he wears Christian t-shirts and ask him that isn't that contradicting his beliefs. They ask him if he's a Satanist, they say things to him that make me mad because I know his faith and it's amazing!
But in some cases, new Christians especially, judging will turn them away from God and make them feel unwanted, it makes them feel just like the people in the Bible that were judged by the Pharisees.
In Romans 14: 2-4 it says

" One man's faith allows him to eat everything, but another man, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables."
I may have already lost some of you so this will make it easier. This verse doesn¡"t have to mean food, you can replace "food" so the verse sounds more like this

" one man's faith allows him to wear anything, but another man, whose faith is weak, wears only certain things. The man who wears anything must not look down on him who does not. And the man who wears only certain things must not condemn the man who does for God has accepted him. who are you to judge someone else's servant? to his own master he stands and falls! And he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand!"

This gives us a clear message of what God thinks when we judge our fellow Christians, those who have the SAME FAITH AS US! It lets us know that appearance has nothing to do with our salvation, our faith does. Faith is what ultimately matters because when everything else fades away when all fashion and possessions are gone, FAITH is what will remain! Later on in verse 8-13 it says

"If we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. For THIS VERY REASON, Christ died and returned to life so that he might be the Lord of both the dead and the living. You, then, why do you judge your brother?! Or why do you look down on your brother? For we will ALL stand before God¡¦s judgment seat. It is written: "as surely as I live" says the Lord "every knee will bow before me; every tongue will confess to God"So then, EACH of us will give an account of himself to God. There for let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in your brother's way."

One thing that really stands out to me is that when we judge our brother's and sisters in Christ it puts a stumbling block in their path, it makes them fall. It makes them start to doubt their faith! Why do we judge people who are different from us?! In Romans 14:11-12 it says
"do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food" again replace food for appearance. This should scare us. What if we judge someone to their face on their appearance and they're a Christian and then turn away from God. Or if they aren't and this makes them hate Christianity all together? We need to start thinking about what judging can do to people in the long run.

In James 4: 11-12 it says

"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. 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?"

When we speak judgment on our fellow Christians...we judge God's law as well.

In Matthew 7:3-6 it says

"why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your eye?"

Replace some words and you'll get the meaning of this

"why do you look at the problem in your brother and pay no attention to the bigger problem in you?! How can you say to your brother, "let me help you with this problem"when all the time there is a bigger problem in you?! YOU HYPOCRITE! First remove the problem in you and then you will see clearly to remove the problem from your brother."

A few things this verse points out is how can we judge other peoples' problems when we have ones even bigger in ourselves?

Defending yourself when you are judged

So what if you're the one being judged? Well the verses I explained to you before should help defend you but in this verse it gives a little advice.

In Romans 14: 16-18 it states

" do not allow what you consider good to be spoken as evil. For the Kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking" (appearance) "but of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit, because ANYONE who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and approved by men."

In conclusion

You can believe that there are some limits to what you should wear as a Christian. I believe that clothing should be kept modest but in Romans 14 : 22 it tells us

"so whatever you believe about these things keep between yourself and God."
In other words don¡¦t force your opinions on people to the point where you are judging them and questioning their faith.
In conclusion I would like to read to you part of a song by Disciple called "Not the Same"

"It's not the length of my hair
It's not the clothes that I wear
It's the cross that I bear
Cause you know that I am
In the world not of it
Because we gotta show the world he loves them
Even though we look the same
We're not the same
Our inside is not like them."

« Last Edit: Mar 28, 2006, 4:20pm by Seeing Red aka EK »

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Re: judging sermon by EK
« Reply #1 on Apr 15, 2006, 10:45am »

This is a very good message concerning judgment…let me share a few things with you…in Romans 14...Paul is debating over the conflict which the people were debating over the law found in Leviticus where God told the people that there were some animals which were unclean…the people also debated over whether people were to be circumcised as it was stated in the Old Testament…but God said He wants a circumcision of our hearts…

There is an important verse in Romans 14 that also needs to be stressed…verse 21 says that we ought not do things that will cause our brother to stumble…now we can look at that from two perspectives…one…as you stated judging someone can weaken their faith or believe in Christ because we, the church, are suppose to represent Christ…the other perspective is this…we can wear something that will cause someone to stumble…for example…if a pastor came to preach in a wife beater…or tank top…and there were a crowd of single women…they wouldn’t be focused on the message they would look at his biceps and all that…

…that’s a little extreme…so let me give my own testimony…one time I had to preach on Good Friday at a church in Delaware…now I am one who wears throw back jerseys…jeans…and Timberlands to church…but I prayed and asked God what I should wear…and He told me to put on dress slacks…shirt and tie…and shoes…I didn’t wanna do it…so I carried these things in a garment bag…when I got there I put them on…and as I was preaching God revealed to me that they would not have received me preaching in my normal apparel…

Man does look at the outward appearance…and we must take that also as God directing us…because only those who have the heart of God will look to the heart…until they mature in God they cannot see the things of God…Read 1 Corinthians 3:10-15...God says those who are spiritual judgeth all things…but it is His Spirit which is actually judging…however I led you to these verses to let you know that there are many within the church who are walking in the natural man…and not the spiritual man…so they cannot see in the spirit…

My biggest problem with those who judge is that they only judge on the outer appearance…in other words if you see a man who is addicted to drugs…we condemn him for it…if you see a young lady who is promiscuous….we judge her for that…but we do not look at the root or the heart of the problem…we are not aware that this young lady has been raped and has low self esteem…instead we say she is a freak and judge her for her actions…we are not aware that the man is depressed or may even be ready to give up on life…so we talk down to drug addicts and push him back into the world for him to get worse…

Now back to Romans 14:23...it says whatever is not done in faith is sin…whatever we do whether the people receive us or not…we must do it in faith…when I was young I used to dress up for church all the time…cause my parents made me do it…but when I got older I realized I was dressing up my mess…I’d hand out in the club Saturday night…get drunk and smoke weed…then be on the drums playing for the church Sunday morning…and no one would know…but I realized I couldn’t hide from God…so that when I dressed how I wanted…and there were many other young people who were there who wanted to be free enough to do the same…but were afraid…so instead of encouraging them to be free…the condemned me for the way that I dressed…say that I didn’t reflect Christ…they were right about that…but it just had nothing to do with my clothes…I was expressing how I felt on the inside….but today….when I go back to that church I see the young people in jeans and sneakers…and I praise God cause I knew that I had to suffer and take a stand in order for them to be free…

…read Romans 14 again…cause God tells us to make peace with the brethren as much as we can…however when we hear His voice we must act out in faith…He said if we operate in doubt then we will be condemned for not acting in faith to God…

…now…in your sermon you said that someone was a Christian Goth…what is that??? What actually does gothic mean??? I kinda struggle being able to understand how the two can mix together…I am not judging…I just honestly do not understand what gothic actually means…

But getting back to the heart…cause I once studied this verse…here are my notes…
1 Samuel 16:7

Heart: the will and even the intellect…the center of anything; feelings

Seeth/looketh: advise self, appear, approve, behold, consider, discern, gaze, take heed, perceive, present, regard, have respect, think, view

Outward: affliction, before

God said man only looks on the outward…all they can see is the afflictions of man…and the things before…one reason we cannot judge others is because none of us are God’s finished product…and it is like a pregnant mother…if you pull the baby out too soon…it will die…

Please do not be offended by any of my words…I was asked to read and critique this message…so I am just sharing with you what God has given me…I thank you for sharing this because it really allowed me to take a moment to study and see what judgment is really all about…those who are spiritual can judge because they judge by the Spirit of God…and they can be judged by no man…but a wise man does receive correction…and everything ought to line up with the Word of God…

So continue to speak God’s Word…however He reveals Himself to you…I pray the blessing found in Isaiah 61:1-3 upon your life and your ministry…in Jesus’ name…Amen

Also…this just came into my Spirit…look up the words judge and judgment in the dictionary…a lot of times we will know what words mean…but when we see their meanings in the dictionary…it really opens up the word to us…plus sometimes we really need to make the word plain to those who may not…or actually think they understand…

If you have any comments or questions please…do not hesitate to contact me via email: prayerreqwest@yahoo.com

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Seeing Red aka EK
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the penguins are EVIL

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Re: judging sermon by EK
« Reply #2 on Apr 21, 2006, 7:02am »

thanks for this and i wasn't offended at all. I love it when my work gets educated comments and critque.

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