Admonition Podcast

Good afternoon.

This afternoon I wanted to spend some time in the book of Matthew, so I encourage you if
you will to open your Bibles to the book of Matthew.

Sometimes when you listen to someone, they will give you insight, they will give you
wisdom, they will give you knowledge that they have gathered and that they have

understood.

And at times when you observe what they say, you will find that they they more than tell
you what to do, but they also tell you how to prioritize.

what you do.

They tell you in what order to do certain things.

Think of raising children and and at times the the occasions where Eddie would give
instruction to one of the boys to do something.

And she wouldn't just tell them what to do, she'd say, do this, then do this, then do
this.

Establishing both an order and a priority.

Now, there are also times when you would observe that they would do things, but they
wouldn't do them in the order that they were instructed.

And as a result, things didn't quite turn out the way that they would have had they
followed the instructions to the letter.

I imagine there may be one or more represented here who perhaps have tried to assemble the

Christmas gift the night before and didn't follow the instructions and found the found out
the importance of of doing things in the right order.

But Jesus, as he is teaching those who are in his presence, those who are before him, will
at times both teach them but prioritize for them.

The order in which certain things should occur.

And he does that a number of times in the book of Matthew, and we're going to notice a few
of those practical firsts from Jesus.

We begin in Matthew chapter 5.

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus, as he is speaking to his disciples and also to the
crowds, the multitudes that were gathered around.

We'll say to them beginning in verse twenty one, you have heard that it was said to those
of old, you shall not murder, and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.

But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without cause shall be in danger
of the judgment, and whoever says to his brother Reka shall be in danger of the council,

but whoever says you fool shall be in danger of hell fire.

Therefore, if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has
something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go your way, first be

reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.

Agree with your adversary quickly while you are on the way with him, lest your adversary
deliver you to the judge, the judge hand you over to the officer.

And you be thrown into prison.

Assuredly, I just say to you, you will by no means get out of there till you have paid the
last penny.

Jesus, as he is dealing with interpersonal matters, and specifically dealing with matters
pertaining to the law, will give the instruction concerning the individual who comes and

he has his offering.

And he's going to bring his offering to God.

That means he was coming to worship, or he was coming to make a sacrifice in the Old
Testament ordinances and and instructions concerning some offense that he has performed.

Specifically in this context, Jesus is saying that the person who is offering the worship,
the person who is offering the sacrifice is the one who is knowingly the person who

offended or did wrong.

It doesn't mean that they hurt somebody's feelings.

It means they did wrong to their brother.

And Jesus is here telling the Jews and those who are present when you realize that you
have done wrong to your brother, it is important for you to offer the sacrifice.

That's true.

It is important for you to offer the atonement for that uh that sin that you committed.

That's true.

But he says, before you come to the Lord to deal with it, go to your brother who you
sinned against and deal with it with him first.

Jesus teaches the importance, the significance of going first and dealing with the earthly
matters before the heavenly one.

We pause for a moment and say, well, wait a minute.

Which one is is g more important in the grand scheme of things?

I mean, isn't it more important that we're reconciled with God, that we're in a right
relationship with God, so that we can you know and go to heaven when this life is over, so

that we can be in fellowship with God?

Isn't that more important than our brother?

But that's where the order comes in.

That's where the significance of the events and the order in which they transpire comes
in.

Because what Jesus is teaching is that God is making it clear: if you don't first deal
with your brother, I'm not going to accept your sacrifice.

It is not acceptable for us to live in a position or live under a mentality that all I've
got to do is be right with God.

I don't not I do not have to be right with my fellow man.

God is making it clear you need to deal with your fellow man first before I'm going to
accept your sacrifice.

It is not sufficient for us to only correct our wrongs between us and the Lord.

When we have sinned against someone else, when we have done harm to someone else, when we
have done that which is against someone else, when we have owed someone and we have not

paid, when we have defrauded someone in some sort of way, whether knowingly or
unknowingly.

God teaches that we must resolve that first with our brother, before God will forgive us
from heaven.

But then consider another example.

In Matthew chapter six, just one chapter over, as Jesus speaks concerning earthly
possessions.

He begins in verse 19 and says, Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where
moth and rust destroy, where thieves break in and steal.

But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, where
thieves do not break in and steal.

For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

The lamp of the body is the eye, if therefore your eye is good, your whole body will be
full of light.

But if your eye is bad your whole body will be full of darkness, if therefore the light
that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness?

No one can serve two masters, for either he will hold to the one and love the other, or
else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other, you cannot serve God and mammon.

Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life what you will eat or what you will
drink, nor about your body what you will put on, is not life more than food and the body

more than clothing?

Look at the birds of the air, they neither sow nor reap, nor gather into barns, yet your
heavenly Father feeds them.

Are you not of more value than they?

Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?

So why do you worry about clothing?

Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow, they neither toil nor spin, and yet I say
to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.

Now, if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into
the uh into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?

Therefore do not worry, saying, What shall we eat, or what shall we drink, or what shall
we wear?

For after all these things the Gentiles seek, for your Heavenly Father knows that you need
all these things, but seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these

things shall be added to you.

Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things.

Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

Here in this passage, Jesus teaches a number of principles concerning our possessions.

But if you really pay attention, Jesus is teaching us more about our mindset than our
possessions.

He is teaching us more about our priorities than our possessions.

He is teaching us more about our eternal motivations.

Than our possessions.

And yet the possessions are a clear application to those things.

As Jesus here is instructing the Jews, he is setting a contrast between the Jews and their
historical relationship to God and the Gentiles.

He's making it clear that there are those who have no

Historical relationship with God.

They have no historical promise from God.

They do not have the Abrahamic promise that went down from generation to generation to
generation among the Israelite nation.

And as a result of that, they continue to worry about these things.

And yet Jesus is telling these Israelites.

He's telling his disciples, he's telling the Jews, you be far more worried about what God
is doing.

than what you're going to wear, than what you're going to eat, than what you're going to
drink, than what you're going to where you're going to stay.

You be worried about what God has in mind in regards to the kingdom.

As we consider Jesus' instruction to seek

First, the kingdom of God and his righteousness.

He is not saying labor is unnecessary and work is unimportant and being able to earn a
living is just simply something that should only be concerned of by people who are

non-spiritual in their entirety.

That's not his point.

His point is priority.

For what do we work?

Do we work to have abundance?

Do we work to have an abundant number of possessions?

Do we work for gold or silver?

Do we work for things that we can accumulate in this world?

Or do we work to accomplish the ends of God?

Jesus is focusing the attention and the mindset of those who would listen on the fact that
they are to be laboring to accomplish God's ends.

And that when they labor to accomplish the will of God, the work of God, the kingdom of
God, God has the ability to supply the things that they need.

One of the things that is true is that when you work and when you labor and when you focus
on doing the things that pertain to God and above the things that pertain to this world,

the flesh, the things that the world s finds significant, you'll often be surprised where
God provides you from.

And yet he provides.

Number three.

In chapter seven, Jesus, as he is further teaching in the Sermon on the Mount, will speak
to these Israelites, beginning in chapter seven and verse one, and say, Judge not that you

be not judged.

For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged, and with what measure you use it
will be measured back to you.

And why do you look at the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not consider the
plank in your own eye?

Or how can you say to your brother, Let me remove the speck that from your eye, and look,
a plank is in your own eye?

Hypocrite.

First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the
speck from your brother's eye.

Do not give what is holy to the dogs, nor cast your pearls before swine.

Lest they trample them under their feet and turn and tear you in pieces.

Jesus brings forward this concept of judging, this concept of measuring.

And he says, judge not that you be not judged.

Too many times, as I believe we may have even mentioned this morning, too many times
people say, well, that means you can't judge me.

No, that's not what Jesus is saying.

Jesus is rather instructing us to judge according to God's standard.

But as we judge, he says, you need to judge yourself according to God's standard.

You need to judge yourself before you judge someone else.

When we were discussing this morning from 1 Corinthians chapter 5, Paul made mention in 1
Corinthians chapter 5 that he had already judged in the matter concerning the man who had

his father's wife.

Now, how could Paul judge when Jesus said not to judge?

And the answer is because God had judged.

Paul was simply enunciating the judgment of God, he was simply drawing forward what God
had already declared.

He wasn't judging of himself.

He wasn't placing himself as the arbitrary judge and judging by his own personal standard,
this individual or the congregation at Corinth.

But rather, Jesus is pointing out that in whatever way we judge others, we will be judged
in return.

And then he establishes the importance of the order in which we judge.

He says, you judge yourself first.

When you look at your brother and your brother has a speck in his eye, well, how
comfortable, if I can get my words out, how comfortable is it for a person to go around

and have something in their eye?

It's not comfortable at all.

Quite all quite often it's it's very painful.

It's not good.

You could help your brother out if you would help him get the speck out of his eye.

But if you're walking around and the the idea here when he uses the term plank is is is a
log.

If you're walking around and you've got a log jutting out of your eye and you're worried
about the speck in your brother's eye.

He says, tend to yourself first.

Take care of your own eye first.

Now, a couple of things that I want us to understand from this.

There's first the evaluation that we should judge others.

You say, wait a minute.

It says judge not.

No, no, no.

It says judge not that you be not judged, because you're going to be judged in accordance
with your judgment, but that requires that you judge.

It requires that you judge others in accordance with God's word, but you must judge
others.

Otherwise, how would you be able to determine the difference between the speck and the
eye?

If you don't judge, you can't determine which one's which.

You have to determine that there's something that needs to be removed from your brother's
eye if you're going to help your brother.

Imagine you go into the doctor.

And the doctor says, well, it's good to see you.

Glad you came today.

You say, well, doctor, uh, I'm in a bit of a pickle.

Uh I have a log in my eye.

And the doctor says, well, I noticed that shape was a little odd, but I don't judge.

Well, doctor, I would love to get this log out of my eye.

Well, I understand that, but you see, I don't judge.

But doctor, the log is not good, the log j doesn't belong there.

I want the log out of my eye yes, but I can't judge between the eye and the log which one
should stay and which one should go.

We find that ludicrous.

For it is the role of the physician to judge.

Jesus is simply establishing that before we judge others, we are to judge ourselves.

But notice something else that he says.

As he says, first remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to
remove the speck from your brother's eye, he's pointing out that when you don't first care

for yourself.

you inhibit your ability to care for others.

In many times and circumstances, some beyond our control and some within our control.

We find individuals who love others, who give to others, who are benevolent towards
others, who are industrious in providing for and caring for others, spending so much time

caring for others that they fail to care for themselves.

And Jesus says that's not good.

It is not that we need to be selfish.

It is not that we need to be self-focused.

But if we do not first care for ourselves, we inhibit our ability to care for others.

And it's true not only in physical means and physical uh aspects, but also in spiritual
ones.

Remember, oftentimes on a plane, you get on the plane and they'll give you the instruction
if there's ever a loss of cabin pressure.

The masks are gonna fall down from up above you when the masks fall down.

If you're caring for someone or if you're traveling with a child, put your own mask on
before you put theirs on.

There's a reason they give that instruction.

It's because it's really hard for you to put the mask on somebody else if you're passed
out.

If you don't care for yourself first, you'd cause an inadequacy in your ability to care
for someone else.

But Jesus further points out, do not give what is holy to the dogs.

Now, if it is true that you cannot judge, how are you going to judge the difference
between what is holy and who is a dog?

Jesus is using a terminology here that is similar to do not cast your pearls before swine.

This is a proverbial statement, but it's one that distinguishes here is someone who will
not value your teaching, your instruction, your knowledge concerning God and what is holy.

And so do not waste your time with someone who is bound and determined to continue in
unrighteousness.

They are bound and determined to continue in that which is evil, and Jesus says, do not
take what is good.

valuable what is holy and cast it to the dogs for they will not value it.

He points out rather that they having uh taken it they will come and trample you as well.

Take care for yourself.

Judge yourself and judge others.

But judge yourself first.

But then in Matthew chapter twenty-five, sorry, chapter twenty-three, verse twenty-five.

Jesus as he speaks concerning the Pharisees.

And as he pronounces a series of woes against them, we'll call them blind guides.

Verse 24.

He calls them blind guides who strain out at anat and swallow a camel.

He says, Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for you cleanse the outside of the
cup and dish.

But inside they are full of extortion and self indulgence.

Blind Pharisee.

First cleanse the inside of the cup and dish that the outside of them may be clean also.

Jesus emphasizes the necessity to first cleanse the inside.

He uses the illustration of the one who has the articles there for the offerings.

He has the articles for the feast day.

And it was necessary to consecrate those things, to prepare those things, to wash those
things, to use them in a

holy manner and to have them ready for a feast day.

And here he describes you take the cup and you take the things and you wash the outside,
but you never bother to wash the inside.

And he says concerning the Pharisees that they are as those who have washed the outside.

They have the appearance of being clean.

They have the appearance of being holy.

They have the appearance of being righteous.

They have the appearance of being what God would have them to be.

They have the appearance of being in a right relationship with Him.

But when you look at the inside,

It's whole different matter.

For they're living lives of unrighteousness, they're living lives of sin, they're living
lives of ex of extortion and self indulgence.

And Jesus tells the Pharisees, Wash the inside first.

Don't leave the outside dirty, but wash the inside first.

We need to be mindful that how we live and how we behave and how we function in this life
has an impact on others.

It has an impact because it determines whether or not we are reconciled with God.

How can we save someone?

How can we help them be reconciled to God if we're not first reconciled?

To God.

How can we lead an example of someone who should be holy before God when we will not first
go and be reconciled with our brother when we have done wrong?

Jesus points out that if we're going to be an example to the world, if we're going to be
those who seek to reconcile people to God, but we will not first prioritize God's matters

above our own.

How are we going to be reconciled to God?

How are we going to teach others to be reconciled to God if we will not prioritize that
which belongs to God?

He also points out that if we are going to try and reconcile others to God, we have to
first be able to discern those who need reconciliation, and we have to begin with

ourselves.

We have to first judge ourselves before we can ever begin to judge someone else so that
they might be right with God.

But if we're going to help others be reconciled to God, we're going to have to first wash
the inside.

We can't just make ourselves look righteous if we are not actually righteous.

We must be those who set about to reconcile our hearts first, our lives, our actions.

And our relationships and our motives to God.

If you're here this afternoon and you have need of the invitation of our Lord to put
Christ on in baptism to be added to the body of Christ or to be reconciled to Him as a

member of the body of Christ, we encourage you to do that.

That opportunity is available now, that opportunity is available any hour of the day.

But know this, there are things that must come first.

Just the same way Jesus pointed out, if you want God to accept the sacrifice, you might
need to go deal with your brother first.

If you want God to accept your worship, you might need to fix your heart first.

If you want God to accept worship

Your motivation and your actions and your will in this life, you better set his first.

And if you want to approach him with righteousness, Jesus would make it clear there in the
book of Matthew that except your righteousness exceed the righteousness of the scribes and

Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.

First.

Order matters.

And these are some of those practical firsts from our Lord.

If you have need of the invitation, why not come now as we stand?

And as we sit.