(Disclaimer: This transcript is auto-generated and may contain mistakes.)

The part of the chapter that I wanted to focus on is at the beginning there where it talks about judge not, that you be not judged and it goes on to explain that and I want to talk about judging tonight and I want to talk about also just backbiting and speaking evil of other people. Now, first of all, I want to say this, it's not wrong to judge. It's not like judging is always wrong. A lot of people just shorten this, you know, group of five verses to just two words. Judge not, you know, they don't get the context, they don't get the understanding of what's being said here. They just take two words of this giant paragraph and just shorten it to just judge not. Well, the problem with that is that the Bible mentions the word judge or judging or judgment like over 750 times in the Bible and more often he's telling us to judge than when he's telling us not to judge. In fact, there's a whole book in the Bible called Judges and there are people that got ordained as judges and God commands us to judge. Let me just give you a few scriptures on that before I get into this because what I'm going to preach about tonight is the wrong kind of judging because there is a time not to judge and there are a lot of circumstances where we should not judge and that's what I want to preach against tonight but first I want to just talk about the fact that it's not like it's always wrong to judge. For example, in John 7 24, you know, it says judge not according to the appearance but judge righteous judgment. So there God's commanding us. Judge righteous judgment. The Bible says in 1 Corinthians chapter 2 verse 15, but he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged with no man. Go to 1 Corinthians 6 and here's a really clear passage on this. God told us that he that is spiritual judgeth all things, that we should judge righteous judgment. It says in 1 Corinthians 6 one, dare any of you, having a matter against another, go to law before the unjust and not before the saints. Look at 1 Corinthians 6 two, do you not know that the saints shall judge the world? And if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters? Now that's what the judge not crowd is going to tell you. You know, you're unworthy to judge the smallest matters but yet the Bible says no, we're going to judge angels. We're going to judge the world. Obviously we are worthy to judge the smallest matters. Verse 3, know ye not that we shall judge angels? How much more things that pertain to this life. So are we qualified to judge certain things in this life? Absolutely, that's what he's telling us. He says in verse 4, if then ye have judgments of things pertaining to this life, set them to judge who are least esteemed in the church. He says it'd be better to have the least esteemed person in church doing the judging than some unsaved, unrighteous, unjust person out in the world doing the judging. Compare that with verse 1. And then he says in verse 5, I speak to your shame, is it so that there's not a wise man among you, no not one, that shall be able to judge between his brethren? But brother, go unto law with brethren that before the unbelievers. So the bottom line is there's a type of judging and a time for judging that's okay and that we're supposed to do. And then there's another time and another type of judging that we should not do. So what is the difference? Well, let's go to Matthew 7 where we started and let's talk about this instance of wrong judging. This is judging that we should not be doing. It says in verse 1, judge not that ye be not judged. So it's not that he's just blanketly telling us not to judge because guess what? In just a few verses, he's going to tell us to judge. But he starts out by warning us, saying judge not that ye be not judged. Why? Or with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged. And with what measure ye meet, it shall be measured to you again. So right away he warns us about judging because he says the measuring stick that you use to judge others, that's the measuring stick that you're going to have to live up to. Have you ever heard the saying that says those who live in glass houses should not throw stones? Basically, if I'm going to judge someone else, then I've ever realized that people are going to hold me to that same standard. Not that it's wrong to ever judge others, but if I do, I better beware because I'm going to be held to that exact same standard. This is a warning to hypocrites. Those who say and do not. Those who would get up and preach and judge others or maybe not even in the pulpit but just outside of, oh I can't believe this, and they'll judge others' actions and then go out and do the same thing or the same types of things. He says in verse 3, And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Now what is a beam? A beam is a giant, you know, wood structure that would be found in a building and it's usually one of the major components that's holding the building up. So it's a very major piece of wood. It's not just a tiny little piece of wood. It's a huge piece of wood. Like a supporting beam. It says why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye? A mote is just something very tiny. Like basically it would be like having a little splinter in your eye. A little piece of wood in your eye. A tiny splinter. And he says you don't consider the beam that is in thine own eye. Obviously he's just using a real extreme analogy. It's like you have this big log coming out of your eye as opposed to somebody having a piece of wood in their eye and they're trying to fish it out. Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, let me pull out the mote out of thine eye and behold a beam is in thine own eye? So I've got this big beam in my own eye and I'm saying hey let me get that little piece of wood. What? It's ridiculous. You need more help than I do. And you're going to come correct me? Watch what he says in verse 5. Thou hypocrite first cast out the beam out of thine own eye. Then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye? So the problem here is not that he's trying to take the mote out of his brother's eye. That's not the problem. The problem is that he's got a beam in his own eye. Once he removes the beam from his own eye, he's going to see clearly to be able to take the mote out of his brother's eye. So he's not saying don't judge anybody. He's saying don't judge people in areas that you're guilty of because that makes you a hypocrite and you need to get the beam out of your own eye and then just leave the mote in your brother's eye. Let his eyes turn all red and puffy and let him suffer and let him be in pain and let him fail and let him not be able to work. And look, who's ever had a splinter in your eye before? And you couldn't get it out. Now I've had a wooden splinter in my eye. I've also had little metal shavings in my eye because I've been drilling something that was out of metal, a little piece of metal. Even if you have safety glasses, sometimes it'll still get in your eye. A little piece of wood and I've had it in my eye for hours and it's debilitating. I mean you don't just keep working. It's something where you've got to get it out of your eye right now and you can't function, you can't work until you get rid of it. And a lot of people have things like that in their life that are stopping them from doing anything for God, that are stopping them from being able to see what they need to see, that are stopping them from serving God effectively and sometimes they need someone to help them in order to remove that from their eye. But they don't need some hypocrite who's got a beam in their own eye. They need somebody who can help them because they're actually right in that area. And that's what the Bible is telling us here, to see clearly so that we can cast out the mode out of our brother's eye. Let me give you some examples of this. Here's a great example. People who don't go to church anywhere criticizing every church in their area and saying, I can't find a good church. Okay. And they don't go to church at all. But yet they're the expert on what a good church is. That is hypocrisy. You know, and people don't like to hear that, but people use this as an excuse to not go to church. They don't want to go to church. And you know how I know that it's an excuse a lot of times? Because these same people, you'll find them a good church in their area and then all of a sudden they shut their mouth and you never hear from them again and they won't go to that church. When you find them, you can find them of the perfect church. I mean, there was somebody who complained and complained and they couldn't find the right church. I found them the perfect church. I mean, no church is perfect. Okay. But it was a great church. It was perfect in the biblical sense that it had all the components. It was straight down the line. But all of a sudden, all of a sudden they're not looking for a church anymore. You see, the bottom line is people are hypocrites to say, well, this church doesn't do this right. You don't even go to church. You have this giant beam in your eye. I don't go to church. Now, doesn't the Bible command you to go to church? Does the Bible command us to go to church? Does the Bible not say that the church is the house of God? That it's the pillar and ground of the truth? Does it not say that Jesus Christ died for the church? Does it say Christ is the head of the church? Or does it say Christ is the head of your ministry? Christ is the head of a website. Christ is the head of your chat room. Christ is the head of your evangelistic enterprise. Christ is the head of your study group. No, it doesn't say any of that. It doesn't say Christ is the head of your school. It says Christ is the head of the church. And you've got this huge beam in your eye. And I'm not talking to you because you're in church. But you know what? I'm talking to people who may someday be out of church. Just because you're here tonight, guess what? People get out of church. You wouldn't be the first one and you won't be the last. And you've got this big beam in your eye. I don't go to church. Jesus Christ said, upon this rock I will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And you're not even part of that building. You should be a building block that will say, okay God, place me in the church. And the Bible says that we are members of the body of Christ. And he says that God has placed different people in the body as it had pleased him. But you're refusing to be placed in the body. You're just this amputee just floating around. This finger just floating around somewhere. You're just a hand. You're just a foot. You're just a kidney or something. And some church is waiting for a kidney transplant. They're on some waiting list. And you're just sitting there saying, well you know, I don't want my kidney to go into that body. Look, you are failing. You are failing the cause of Christ if you're not part of church. I'm sorry. It's a fact. God is not for all this faith and this faith church substitute stuff. This ministry and this radio program. You know, we've got to get in church. You know what's going to fix this nation? Churches. You know what's going to knock the doors and win souls? Churches. Show me an individual or a study group that knocked all those doors on that map out there. Or anything even closer. Just show it to me. I'll show you a local church that knocks that amount of doors. I'll show you a church that's doing something for God. I'll show you a church that Christ is the head of. I'll show you a church that Christ is building. I'll show you a church that's the pillar and ground the truth. And people will walk around with this huge beam in their eye of not going to church anywhere. You say, well I can't find a church in my area. They drive a little further. You drive to everything else you need. You know, people drive all over the place and they go places and they can get on a bus or get on a train. Hey, move mountains to go to church on Sunday and be there in God's house. Do whatever it takes. But you know what it really is though? It's not that there's not a church in their area. You know what it is? It's just that they don't want to go to church. And so it's a hypocrisy that says, oh this church is wrong on this so I just can't go there. Well you know, you got to go to a church where the people are safe. Okay, they got to preach to God. They got to be safe. And they got to preach the Bible, the King James Bible. You know what? But guess what? You're not going to probably like it. And you ought to go to the best church you can find. And I would drive a few extra miles to go to the best one in my area. But I'm not going to sit there and just say, well there's nothing in my area. Or a lot of people say, well this church doesn't agree with me politically. You know what? I'm sorry but the bottom line is, and look, I think that politics are important. I think everything's important. And you know what? I think the music's important. And you might say, well this church's music stinks. Well you know what? The bottom line is though, it stinks even more when you won't go to church. That's what really stinks more. Because I can show you a lot more scriptures that'll rip your face for not going to church, like Hebrews 10, that says that God's very angry with you for not going to church, in Hebrews 10. He said, not forsaking the assembling of yourselves together as the manner of some is, but exhorting one another. And so much the more is to see the day approaching, for if we sin willfully after that we perceive the knowledge of the truth. There remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful looking for judgment and fiery indignation which shall devour the adversaries. He that despised Moses' law died without mercy under two or three witnesses. Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden underfoot the Son of God, and hath done despite his fear and grace, count the blood of the covenant wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing. He said, look, we've heard him that has said, vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, the Lord shall judge his people. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of a living God. God says, if you're one of God's people, he's going to judge you. And he said, don't forsake the assembling of yourselves together willfully sin when you know the truth. But the music, and look, I'm sick of this contemporary music as much as you are, it makes me want to puke. But if I had a church, and they preached the King James Bible, and they believed the gospel of Jesus Christ, and preached the right gospel, and they had this contemporary garbage, I'll tell you what I'd do, I'd just show up late when the stupid music is over. Because I don't want to listen to that junk any more than you do. But the bottom line is, I'm not going to just not go to church. And I bet you you can find a church that's singing the way you're sitting in it, that sings the hymns, that has the right preaching, that has the right Bible. But you know what? If this church will not die, this church is thriving, this church is on fire, you know, I'm not going to die. But let's say I just fell over dead in this whole church. You know what? You could find another church that you could go to and survive in Phoenix, Arizona, and you're not going to die. Or you can sit around and criticize everybody when you've got this beam in your eye that says, I don't go to church, but I'm the expert on what a good church is, even though I don't even go to church. And look, I'm sick of it. It's hypocrisy. It's phony. Get in church and shut up. And you know what? The same people who don't go to church, they become very imbalanced. Because they become a know-it-all, because they don't have any leadership around them, they don't have any role models, they don't have anybody mentoring them about soul winning, and mentoring them and helping them. And they get really imbalanced. And then they get even more adverse to going to any church, because they can't fit in with anybody, because everybody's not just like them. Look, did you know that for the first 24 years of my life, I went to church, and Faithful Word Baptist Church didn't exist. And yet I went to church. And yet everywhere I lived, I found churches to go to. And I didn't move around that much. But I found places to go. And did I like everything that I heard all the time? Did I always agree with everything that was going on? No. But I went to church, and God was pleased with me. And I brought the tithe. I didn't send the tithe. I brought it. And I dropped it in the plate, like God told me to do. I brought it to the house of God. Because at first, I brought myself to the house of God. And I also brought my tithe to the house of God. But look, if you don't, you say, well, I just can't find a church. You know what? If you can't find a church, then fine, but quit criticizing every other church. Quit criticizing the church in your area. If you don't even get the beam out of your eye or shut up, that's what I say. And so the bottom line is, let me give you another example. That was a good example. Here's another one. People who don't go soul winning at all. People who don't give the gospel to anybody, but they're going to tell you how to improve your soul winning and how to do a better job of soul winning and all the things you're doing wrong. Has anybody ever heard of this one? I mean, Pete, literally. I mean, I remember when I was a teenager and I first started soul winning, I was around a lot of people who didn't go soul winning. And they all wanted to criticize everything about my methods. They wanted to tell me what to change. Don't use this verse. Don't talk about hell so much. Don't talk about this. Change this. Do this. I guess it's okay that you're doing this, but maybe you can approve this. And they're doing nothing. So they have this big beam in their eye. I don't go soul winning at all. I don't care about anybody. But then they're going to be this expert that's going to tell you, you need to do this and this will be a little better. And you know, everybody who's divorced wants to give you marriage advice. I'm not mad at you if you're divorced, obviously, forgetting those things which are maligned and reaching forth under those things except for four. But you know what? Don't go around giving people marriage advice if you're divorced. You know what I mean? And I'm not criticizing you if you're divorced, but you're not the expert on marriage. And guess what? If you don't go soul winning, you're not the expert on soul winning. And if you don't go to church, you're not the expert on church. And I'm not trying to hurt anybody's feelings. It's just true. You know, I want to get judged by somebody who has 20-20 vision or at least doesn't have a big beam in their eye. And look, I'm always looking to improve my soul weight. And that's why I like the fact that we talked about on last Sunday that we go two by two. Because I learn from everybody. It's not like I'm the pastor, I'm on a different level. You know, I can go with you guys and I'll pick up stuff, I'll hear stuff that all of you have said. And I've incorporated stuff that I've heard probably almost everybody I've been with, I've probably got a little something that I've incorporated and used. Because you can learn from other people. OK? But see, I'm learning from people who are doing the work. You know, if I'm out soul winning with you and we're trading off, I'm learning from somebody who's doing the work. I'm learning from somebody who's down there with me in the trenches doing the work. I don't want some non-soul winner coming to me and telling me. And there's nothing. People whose kids turned out bad and went to the devil gave you parenting advice. It's true. I mean, their kids went everything wrong. Oh, you don't, you know, you need to change it. Look, I want to get advice from somebody who has children who turned out right. And I would love to ask them what they do and love to get advice from them and love to get information. So, you are a judge. Every single person in here, I'm actually swearing you all in as judges tonight. Every single person here is a judge. Everyone judges. You're never going to run into a person on the planet earth who doesn't judge. Right. Judging is just a part of life. I mean, when you get in your car and you're going to pull out onto 48th street, you have to make a judgment about whether or not you can make it when you pull out. You know, you judge situations. You judge all kinds of, I mean, judging is just something but there's a time not to judge. There are areas not to judge. Here are areas that you don't judge in. Areas that you are not right in. You're not going to church. You're not going to pride in that area. Don't judge church. You're not going soul winning. Don't judge soul winning. Okay. You're failing in business. Don't tell people how to run a business. I want to give business advice when somebody's business is growing or thriving or making money. The bottom line is, don't judge areas where you have a beam in your eye. Does everybody see that clearly from Matthew 7? Do you see clearly not the beams out of your eye? The bottom line is, God's telling us don't judge in areas where you're wrong because that's hypocrisy. Get the beam out of your eye and then you'll be able to see clearly. Go to James chapter 4. James chapter 4, I'll show you a little bit more about the wrong kind of judging. Don't judge in areas where you're not the expert. And let me give you an example too because I'm not trying to pick on certain groups or certain people. Let me give you an example about myself. You know, I've done soul winning for years and years and years, right? And we made the soul winning demonstration video which is based on hundreds of real life experiences. It's extremely accurate. Not every door is like that but there have been hundreds of doors similar to that. It's life. It's realistic. But let me tell you something. We also made one that was like the Pentecostal soul winning demonstration video. We made the Jehovah's Witness soul winning demonstration video. And somebody said to me, make a Mormon soul winning demonstration video. You know what I said? I've never even won a die in the world Mormon to Christ. So I'm not going to make a video. I'm not Ray Comfort. I'm not going to make a video of habit fail at getting people to say it. You know, the way the master Ray Comfort, Kirk Hammett, where they show you all the ways where it failed. Watch this technique that Ray is going to use and the guy doesn't get saved. The guy blows him up. Watch how Kirk does this. Again, failure. You know? And I'm like, what am I going to do? Make a video of how not to give Mormons faith? I mean, there's a piece missing from my Bible tonight from where a Mormon took my Bible and threw it across the room. So guess what? I'm not the expert on winning the Mormon to Christ. Now look, I know how to win Jehovah's Witnesses to Christ. And I've had many Jehovah's Witnesses saved. And that's why I made a demonstration video to help others with some of the things that I use to preach to Jehovah's Witnesses. Same thing with Pentecostals. Same thing with Catholics. Same thing with all of it. It's just something about these Mormons. And you know what? You guys can have your Mormon Mondays on that Monday night soul winning in Mesa. Mormon Mesa Mondays. I don't do that. I'm going to go soul winning in Phoenix or Tempe. Some of them, me and Mormons just don't agree. I don't know what it is. But guess what? Since I made that statement, I've had two Mormons saved finally. And look, I've had a lot of Jack Mormons saved. I'm talking about the ones who are devout, who go every week, who are serious Mormons. Since I made that statement earlier in this year, 2011, I've had two devout Mormons saved, which was a first for me. Which was exciting for me. I still want to get a Mormon saved who was born and raised. Because these ones had been Mormons for decades, but they were not born into it. And I was able to win them to Christ and get them to see the fallacy of their false religion. But the bottom line is, I'm not going to be a judge in an area that I'm not succeeding in. Does that make sense? Now in an area that I am succeeding in, I'm going to say, okay, let me give you some tips. But when it comes to winning Mormons to Christ, I'm just going to say, go ask somebody else. And good luck finding anybody who has success with those brainwashed people. But anyway, does that make sense? I mean, we've got to judge in our own areas of expertise and not judge outside of our area of success. Go to James 4, verse 11. It says, speak not evil one of another, brethren. Edith speaketh evil of his brother and judgeth his brother. Speaketh evil of the law and judgeth the law. But if thou judgeth the law, thou art not doer of the law, but a judge. There is one lawgiver who is able to save and to destroy. Who art thou that judgeth another? Now, here's one thing we have to understand in order to understand these scriptures. First of all, if I'm simply repeating what the Bible says, am I really judging? I mean, a machine could repeat what the Bible says. Isn't that true? I mean, couldn't a machine today just read the Bible to me in electronics, our box voice or whatever? I mean, any machine could read this book. I mean, if I tell somebody, thou shalt not commit adultery, is that me judging them? I mean, if somebody is just, you know, cheating on their wife and they're just having a physical relationship with a woman that they're not married to and I say, hey, the Bible says not to commit adultery. Hey, the Bible says that's adultery. Is that me judging them? No. I mean, I'm just basically just restating what the Bible says when I'm just going by what God says. And what he's saying here is, hey, there's only one lawgiver. That's God. So when I start making my own rules and judging people based upon my own rules, that's where I'm out of bounds. When I'm not judging based on God's laws, but I'm just basically judging based on my own personal judgment. Jesus Christ even said that he wasn't judging people because he said, you know, the Word of God was there. Moses will accuse you to the Father, not me. He's just reiterating what was already in their book, in the Bible, in the Word of God. Go to Romans 14. I think Romans 14 makes it really clear. But see, the Bible says, let me read for you James 4.11 again while you're turning to Romans 14. It says, speak not evil one of another brethren. You know, what does evil mean? Evil is basically harmful. And I shouldn't be basically going around and talking bad about my brother in Christ or my sister in Christ, right? I shouldn't go around and talk bad about them and speak evil of my brother in judgment. Well, I just don't think that he should be doing, I don't think that she should do this, and I don't think that he should do that. That's what he's saying. Speak not evil one of another brethren, for he that speaketh the evil of his brother and judges his brother, speaketh the evil of the law and judges the law. Now, if thou judge the law, thou art not a doer of the law, but a judge. There is one lawgiver who is able to save and destroy, who art thou that judges another. And if someone in our church is just committing adultery and I say, they're committing adultery and they need to be thrown out of our church because that's what the Bible says in 1 Corinthians 5, that's not me speaking evil of my brother and judging my brother. But I just don't like the way that he treats his wife. I don't like the way that she treats him. And I don't think it's right that he works this many hours, you know, and he doesn't do this. Look, is that really any of your business? Is that something that's in God's law? I mean, is that something that God has ordained and laid down as law? Here's a perfect example. Romans 14. Now, let me ask you something. Is it wrong to eat meat? To eat meat, to eat flesh? No. But are there people in this world who think it's wrong to eat meat? Absolutely. They're called what? Vegetarians. Vegetarians, vegans, you know, they come in different varieties, you know. And, you know, I just believe that God gave me these teeth right here for a reason, you know, and it wasn't to eat oatmeal, you know. So I got these big canines. And so that's to eat meat with. Now look, let's face it, God has a lot of clear scriptures in the Bible, doesn't he? Doesn't he have some clear scriptures that tell us to eat meat? That tell us that meat's good for us, that tell us that we eat, and people say, oh, meat's bad for you. Well, then why was God telling the priest to eat it every day? You know, I mean, the bottom line is there's no scriptural basis to say not to eat meat. Totally contrary to scripture. That's a man-made rule somewhere, or a man-made philosophy. Not biblical at all, right? You all agree on that? Look at Romans 14, verse 1. It says, him that is weak in the faith receive ye, but not to doubtful disputations. So should we receive those that are weak in the faith, or should we say, well, at Big Four Baptist Church, we only, you gotta be at an advanced level of Christianity to come to this church. There's a beginner church down the street for you, okay? It's for the, you know, kindergarten Baptist down the street. And there are a lot of baby churches out there, by the way. But the bottom line is, we like baby Christians here too, right? We'll accept those that are weak in the faith. And, you know, we'll accept anybody who's a believer in Jesus Christ who wants to do what's right, you know, wants to come to church and be part of the group. But the bottom line is, God's telling us to receive those who are weak in the faith, right? But not to doubtful disputations. For one believeth that he may eat all things. Another who is weak eateth herbs. Now, is it good to be weak? Is being weak a good thing? So we already know who's right in this situation. The guy who believes he may eat all things is the guy who's right. Then there's this person who's weak in the faith who says, I'm just going to eat herbs. You know, I'm just going to eat plants, basically, because, you know, if you go back to Genesis 1 and see all that. I'm just going to eat plants and fruits and vegetables and grain. That's what I'm going to eat. Should we, Rich, should we say, well, you can't come to our church because no vegetarians allowed. Sorry. No, we're going to say, okay, whatever. We're going to receive him. He's weak in the faith. He doesn't understand the Bible or hasn't read the Bible or whatever. It says, let not him that eat it despise him that he did not. So we that eat me, should we despise and hate those? That's what despise means, basically, to hate or to have disgust for or to look down upon and to disdain. These are other synonyms. Should we despise those that eat not me like we eat? No. But watch this, and let not him which eateth not judge him that eateth, for God hath received him. So is it right for somebody to have some man-made rule that's nothing to do with the Bible and then judge other people because they're not following his rule of being a vegan or being vegetarian? No. And God's rebuking here the person who has a rule that's not biblical and wants to judge others for that rule, okay, and they want to enter into disputation. What is disputing? It's arguing. So basically, if the person wants to come in and argue about it and try to argue how we need to stop eating meat and meat is murder, basically, that person, we should not receive them to doubtful disputation. That's not going to work. You know, we're not going to sit there and allow somebody to come in and just basically promote their own man-made, their own superfluous rules that are not biblical and try to force everyone to conform to that. We're not going to despise you, but don't come in here and judge us and don't come in here and dispute with us about it. Is everybody understanding the passage so far? It's pretty clear we're just breaking it down slowly. Now, who is verse 4 directed to? Who art thou that judges another man's servant? Is that talking about the guy who's eating or the guy who's not eating? It's the guy who's not eating because he's told not to judge the one who's eating. Because he's doing right. God hasn't received him. God has told us that we can eat all things. Who art thou that judges another man's servant? To his own master he stands or fallen. Yea, he shall be holding up, for God is able to make him stand. One man esteemeth one day above another. Another esteemeth every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind. He that regardeth the day, regardeth it unto the Lord. And he that regardeth not the day, to the Lord he does not regard it. He that eateth, eateth to the Lord, for he giveth God thanks, and he that eateth not, to the Lord he eateth not, and giveth God thanks. Now, one esteemeth one day above another, the other esteemeth every day alike. Which one's right? Well, I'll tell you right now biblically, the one who esteemeth all days alike. Because the bottom line is that if we had to esteem one day above another, then God wouldn't say, well just let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind. Obviously we don't have to observe one day above another. Obviously we don't have to say, well Sunday is the Lord's day, so I'm not going to do any work, I'm not going to do anything in this category, I'm only going to think about God on that day. Look, but God's sake, if someone wants to do that, great. If someone wants to take Sunday and say, I'm never going to work on Sunday, and it's going to be fully dedicated to the Lord, is there anything wrong with dedicating Sunday to God, start to finish? And you know, pretty much that's what we do. I mean, that's what I do. I preach in the morning, I go out soloing in the afternoon, come to church at night. But you know what, let's say you go to church in the morning, and then you go work for a few hours at your job, because of your schedule. And then you come back to church on Sunday night, is there anything wrong with that? No, because this is the Sabbath day, and a Sabbath day is Saturday, Old Testament, totally temporary thing that was imposed on them until the time of Reformation. Let no man judge you, therefore keep your finger in Romans 14, go to Colossians 2. Go ahead and keep your finger in Romans 14, Colossians 2. And the Bible reads, let me find my place here. This wasn't in my notes, but I want to turn to it because it expresses what I'm saying. Verse 16, Colossians 2, 16. Let no man therefore judge you in meat. We already talked about that in Romans 14, didn't we? Or in drink, or in respect of the holidays, or of the new moon, or of the Sabbath days, which are a shadow of things to call, but the body is of Christ. So the Bible says right there that people should not judge someone about the Sabbath. Well, if it was a sin to not keep the Sabbath, then there would be some judgment passed upon those who break God's law. But the bottom line is that the Sabbath was represented by Jesus Christ, it was a picture of the fact that as they rested in the Old Testament one day a week, so we that believe in Christ have ceased from our own works as God did from his, it's a picture of Jesus. I'm not a regional sermon on the Sabbath, go on the website and download it, there's tons of sermons I've done on the Sabbath, read Hebrews 4, read Colossians 2, there's plenty of places to read the scriptures on that. But the bottom line is there are people who want to come in and judge you about a holiday. You know what I mean? They want to judge you about the Sabbath. They want to judge you about food and drink. And obviously we're not talking about alcoholic beverage, that's something that God did prohibit. But they want to judge you on food and drink, they want to judge you on these things. They're not right to do so, okay? Because of the fact that it is their man-made rule, and some of those things can be good things to do. Like hey, if you take all of Sunday and say, I dedicate my Sunday dawn to dusk for God only, that's a good thing to do, great. Don't try to go around telling everybody that they have to do the same thing, because you know what? There's no command in scripture that tells us that Sunday is like that, okay? It's a great thing if you want to impose some kind of a dietary restriction. Let's say you want to go on a diet because you need to lose weight or you're trying to fix whatever other problems or cholesterol. You don't have to force everybody else to go on that diet. Don't judge me if I eat a high calorie diet. Because of the fact that I can eat a high calorie diet, okay? I can get by with it. I burn those calories. So don't worry so much about what other people are doing in regard to things that are not in a biblical command. And you know, it's so amazing to me how people get, go back to Romans 14, people get so fired up about issues that aren't in the Bible or are very vague in the Bible. They'll take some vague scripture and that's just their big issue and they are just going to run with that. And then just the biggest things in the Bible they just Let me give you an example. There was a guy who came and visited our church and this guy's biggest issue, I mean this was his big issue, this is like whether or not he's going to your church, this is the first question he's going to ask. What type of communion do you do? Close or closed? And I'm thinking, well that's only one letter different, man. And I told him, I said, I don't even know what that means. And I said, you're going to have to explain to me what it means. Hey, do you know why I didn't know what it meant? Because neither of those words is in the Bible. Right? That's why I didn't know the difference between closed communion and closed communion. Because it's not in the Bible. Show me those words, it's not there. Oh, but it is an issue. And so I said, well explain to me what it is and then I'll tell you what I think about it. And he said, well, he said open communion, and I knew what open communion was. That's where you just say, everybody take communion even if you're a Buddhist or you're not even saved, let's all just eat, drink, and be married or whatever. I'm like, well that doesn't sound right. Because the Bible says that you have to be saved to partake of the Lord's Supper. That's clear. See, that's actually biblical. That's actually in the Bible, in 1 Corinthians 11, where it talks about people eating and drinking unworthily because they're not saved. And it also talks about other things, but I'm not preaching on the media tonight. But the bottom line is that he said that's open and he said closed communion, and I still can't keep them apart, so forgive me. I'll just tell you what the two things were. I don't know which one was closed or which one was Buddhist or closet communion or whatever. That's probably a different one. You do communion as a secret or something. Closet communion. I'm starting a new group. We believe in closet communion only. Just kidding. But anyway, the bottom line is one of them was like, if people are saved and baptized, they can partake of it with you. And then the other one was like, well, they have to be a member of your church, and if they're visiting from another church, they can't. But if they're saved and baptized, they can on this side. But then over here, it was like, they have to be a part of your church, and if they're visiting, nope. Can't do it. This was this guy's big issue, but you want to know what's really funny about it? I promise you that that same guy, everywhere he goes, he sits in church and eats a little square cracker. It's a square centimeter. When the Bible actually says to break bread. It clearly says, break bread. He broke it and gave up it. He said, this is my body, which is click, broken for you. So you see how they ignore the thing that the Bible even talks about. Break the bread. Because it represents the broken body of Christ. And then they're just so worried about, well, who is that guy that's visiting from Wisconsin going to eat this or not? No, that's going to determine whether I go to church here or not. See what I mean? And they get all fired up, and they have all their membership roles and lists in an office somewhere. And if you join, you've got to sign this paper to join, and you've got to promise this and promise that. And then you can partake of the square cracker that's not even broken. Then you can participate in the whatever communion. So what I'm saying is, people get fired up about non-biblical issues. Nothing that they can point to. There's no scripture where they can say, look, break it. Break that bread. Here's five verses on breaking it. But they've got all this philosophy and all these rules and all these ideas that are not biblical, and that's the important issue. And they want to come in and dispute with you about it, argue with you about it, pick a fight with you about it. But then the stuff that the Bible just spells out, they just, oh, I didn't even realize this. We were supposed to break it? I never saw that before. But they saw everything that wasn't even there. About clothes and clothes. I mean, look, you don't want to tell the truth. People get distracted from what the Bible's really about on these side issues that don't matter, that aren't even mentioned. And then they want to judge everybody and dispute with everybody. That's God's warning. So let's just do a quick review. What are we not supposed to judge? Things that were wrong. Don't go around and try to straighten me out when you're way out of bounds on that issue. And I will do the same. I'm not going to tell you how to win warmest to Christ, Brother Antonucci and everybody else over there. You figure it out on your own. Then tell me how to do it. And then secondly, we shouldn't judge people on our own little extra biblical made-up rules that we've come up with that aren't clear in the Bible. And you know what? I could go on all night. I mean, I'm giving you just a couple of examples. I could go on all night about just issues that people get all fired up about, make a big deal about, but they're never quoting verses to you. They're never showing you Bible. They're just explaining it to you. And they forget the big things. And the big things aren't what they worry about. Because usually when we're judging people, it's about dumb, petty, minor things that don't really matter that much or that are none of our business. But the third thing is don't judge outside of your scope of authority in your life. First of all, don't judge things where you're wrong. Second of all, don't judge things that aren't even in the Bible. And it's just your own personal rule. I mean, you may have a rule that you get up at a certain time every day, but that's you. And I'm going to get up when I want to get up. And you're going to get up when you want to get up. Because the Bible doesn't tell us when to get up in the morning, does it? And you might have your dieting program. I don't want to be on your diet. Don't judge me for eating pork and eating a high calorie diet, okay? But not only that, thirdly, we only want to judge within our own realm, our own jurisdiction as it were, okay? And Brother Gregory, he always likes to talk about jurisdiction. So he's probably perked up his ears. Yeah, jurisdiction, yeah. But anyway, in Romans chapter 14, look what it says in verse 4. It says, and I wanted to read the whole chapter, but I'm running out of time. It said, Who art thou that judgest another man's servant? To his own master he standeth or falleth. Yea, he shall be holden up, for God is able to make him stand. Now, according to that verse, is it right for me to judge my own servant? Of course. Because my servant is going to stand or fall before me, and I will judge my servant. But is it right for me to judge another man's servant? No, that's his job. That's what I mean by jurisdiction. Because the word jurisdiction is a fancy legal word, but it basically comes from the word meaning judge. You know, it's the same root word, okay? Jurisdiction, like a jury, like a judge, like someone who's deciding something. Now for example, I have a business and I have an employee that works for my business, for example. Let's say Ryan's got a business and he's got his employee. Is it my job to critique his employee's performance and tell his employee what to do and tell him to straighten this out and how to dress and how to act on the job and how to talk to people? Yea, that's none of my business. That's his business, right? Have you ever heard this phrase, mind your own business? And that's what we're talking about, your business. I have a servant, you have a servant. I don't think you're treating your employees right. Well guess what? It's none of your, it's my business. I'm going to treat my employees how I want to treat them. And you know, I'm not going to look at brother Dave where he works and say, well brother Dave's boss is wrong and he doesn't know how to run it. That's his business. My business is my business, your business is your business. It's not my job to judge other people's business, judge your own business. Now there are people in my life that I have judgment over in certain areas, not just an unlimited jurisdiction but there is jurisdiction over certain things. For example, in my home, I'm an absolute ruler in my home. I mean I'm the man of the house, I'm the head of the church. So is it okay for me to judge my wife? Let's say my wife, and of course this has never happened, let's say my wife, she goes out of the house in short shorts and a tank top. Well I'm not going to judge. No, I am going to judge. And let's say she goes out in an outfit that most people would consider pretty modest. And let's say all the other men in the church, let's say every man in this church and every lady in this church says to me, Pastor Anderson, that outfit that your wife is wearing is acceptable. What if I say it's not acceptable? I'm the one who's going to judge whether the clothing that my family wears is acceptable before God. Now clothing is something that requires some judgment. The Bible does give us commands and guidelines on clothing, right? But on a case by case, I have to make a judgment if I look at my son's clothing or my daughter's clothing or my wife's clothing and say to myself, is this clothing in conformity with the Bible? Because a judge's job is to interpret the law, right? So the law is there about clothing and I'm going to interpret that and apply it and say, okay, that outfit is acceptable. What if I say, I don't think it's acceptable. I think it's too flashy. I think that it's going to be immodest. I think that it's going to draw undue attention to your body. I want you to change that outfit. But what if Brother Dave says, oh, come on. Hey, you know what? It's none of your business, right? And if his wife is wearing something and I say it's fine and he says, no, it's not fine, it's none of my business to tell her what's fine. He is going to tell her what's fine because that is out of my jurisdiction. It's not my job to rule over your wife. I'm going to rule over my wife. You rule over your own wife. If you don't like that terminology, read Genesis 3.16. That's what the Bible says. Put it in your pipe and smoke it. And so the bottom line is that you run your house, I run my house because I'm not going to judge your wife and you're not going to judge my wife. It's my job to handle that. And if my children are out of line, I should be the one to correct it. Obviously, somebody can tell me, obviously, if there's a problem and I can fix it. But if I say, well, I think it's fine, you know, once I pass that judgment. And obviously, if my kid slaps your kid in the face, you know, come tell me and I'll thank him and all that. Obviously, I want to know about it. But should you go tell somebody else in the church, well, Pastor Anderson's kid, blah, blah, blah, blah. See, now you're a back fighter. Now you're speaking evil of your brother. Now you're judging your brother. You know, Pastor Anderson's son is blah, blah, blah. His daughter and his wife acts like this. And you know, stuff like that's happened before where people criticize my wife or criticize my kids or criticize other people's wives or criticize other people's kids. And you know what? It's wrong. It isn't right. You know, if you have a problem with my family, you go to the boss man right here that will correct the problem and I might not even think it's a problem. And then guess what? It's not a problem because that's my family. And it's the same thing and not just me. I'm not special. Everybody in the whole church, you know, if you have a problem with somebody's kids, you have a problem with somebody's wife, you know, you go to the boss and you say to him, this is the problem I have and he'll decide whether it's a problem or not because he is the one who's in charge. You know, and that goes for business. That goes for the family. That goes for the church, okay? I have a certain jurisdiction as the pastor. The Bible calls the pastor a ruler. Now, does that mean that I rule over your personal life? No. Does that mean I rule over your family? No. Do I come to your family and tell you how to do it? Do I come to your house and tell you how to do it? Do I run your business? Do I run that? No. I have a limited jurisdiction. My jurisdiction is the assembly, the church here. So I basically rule in the church here as far as like, okay, this is what's going to be preached. This is who's preaching, you know. This is what we're doing. This is the direction we're going I'm leading this in the church business, the church's regard. I'm making those decisions. I'm not making decisions about your family or your business or anything like that because it's outside of my scope. So you need to get out of the habit, is what God's saying here, basically to break it down to you, you need to get out of the habit of looking at everybody else's family and trying to run their family or trying to run their house or trying to correct everybody else's servant or correct everybody else's child or correct everybody else's. It's just not your area to deal with. It's someone else's area. They will stand or fall to their own authority figure. Go to Romans chapter 13. You're in chapter 14. Just go back one chapter and we'll see a similar concept reinforced here. Romans 13, the Bible says in verse 1, let every soul be subject unto the higher powers for there is no power but of God, the powers that be are ordained of God. Now, God has ordained authority. The Bible used the word power here. We would use the word probably authority today as a more modernized word, but the Bible is right to say power because that's what authority is. It's power over people or circumstances or things. So the Bible says that the powers that be are ordained of God and we should be subject unto the higher powers. Whosoever therefore resisted the power, resisted the ordinance of God. And they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation. For rulers, so what are we talking about with power here? Rulers, authority figures. Rulers are not a terror to good works but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? Do that which is good and thou shalt have praise in the same. Free is the minister of God to thee for good, but if thou do that which is evil, be afraid. For he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil. Wherefore you must needs be subject not only for wrath but also for conscience sake. For this cause pay ye tribute also, for they are God's ministers that continue continually upon this very thing. Render therefore to all their dues. Tribute to whom tribute is due, custom to whom custom, fear to whom fear, honor to whom honor. Now what is he saying here? God is the author of authority. Why do my children have to obey their parents? Because God said so. And guess what? If God had never said that, then children could just grow up and say why should I obey my parents? And if you don't believe in God, you really have no authority to tell your children to obey you. Based on what? They can just say well no, I don't want to obey you. I'm going to do what's right in my own eyes. They would have every right in the world to say that except for the fact that God said children obey your parents. See without God there can be no authority. There can be no legitimate power. Because all power, I mean look at it. It says, get this. This is a really important concept. You've got to pay attention to what I'm saying. Look at 13.1. There is no power but of God. Is there any authority or power in this world that exists that's really a legitimate authority or power that did not come from God? No. The powers that be, the authorities that exist, they're ordained by God. For example, the authority that a parent has over their child. That has been ordained by God. That's why a child can't say well why should I obey you? Because God said so. And if there's no God, then you have no power. That's the source of power. God is the source. Jesus Christ said all power is given unto me and heaven and earth. Does a boss at work or an owner of the company have power over the employee? Yes. Why? Because God said so repeatedly. Isn't that true? Does the pastor have authority in the local church? Yes. Why? Because God said so. Does a husband have authority over his wife? Yes. Because God said so. But guess what? If there's no God, then the wife can just say well no. You don't have any thought. I'm equal with you. We're going to do this 50-50. In fact, we'll do it 100% zero. I'm going to be the boss. If there's no God, who could really tell her she's wrong? On what authority could she say she's wrong? You have no authority. The Bible is the authority. The Bible has all power. God deals out power to whom he will. He gives parents authority. He gives pastors a certain authority. He gives mothers over their children authority. He gives the boss authority over his employee. He is the author of all power. Now we also have human government. God ordains human government. God ordained there to be a government and the purpose of that government, the scope of that government, the jurisdiction of that government was basically, well you see right there, look at verse 4, human government is a revenger, this is at the end of verse 4, to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil. So the government's authority is to execute wrath on him that doeth evil. Is the government's authority to tell me where I can ride my bike? No. Is the government's authority to tell me where I can eat and drink? No. The government has been given power by God because otherwise we could just say, well I'm not going to obey the government at all. I don't respect any government. I want zero government. No. There is a need for government because God said so. Just like parents have authority over their children because God said so. But guess what? God didn't give pastors just a carte blanche to just rule over the flock and just tell them everything that they're going to do in their life. No. He gave them a limited scope, a jurisdiction. The church is where that authority is. I don't have a carte blanche of authority over my employee. You know, I can't just say, well you can't marry that girl. You can't eat that for lunch. That's not, no. You're going to eat what I like. You see what I mean? There's certain jurisdictions, certain scope of authority. Okay. Okay. What about this? Parents have a limited authority too because can a parent say to their child, lie? Say you're 11 so we can get the discount. We've all been there, done that. Not with my children because I've never had an 11 year old. I haven't done that anyway. But you know what? There have been times, sorry mom. The bottom line is there are times when you're told that it wasn't mom that was telling me that. I'm just kidding. But anyway, there are times when people, you know, a parent might say, hey tell them we're not home. Tell them you're 11. You're like 16, you're 11. Hey, aren't they outside of their authority now? Because guess what? Every soul should be subject to the higher power. God's law trumps mom and dad's law. Okay. God's law trumps the boss. The boss at work says, hey, lie. You don't lie because God's law trumps this law. But God has given power to rulers. A father is a ruler. A mother is a ruler. A boss at work is a ruler. A pastor is a ruler. These are all words that God uses. God has created a human civil government as a ruler, as a revenger with a carte blanche to just make whatever rules they want about every aspect of my life or about the church or about the home. No. They have a very limited jurisdiction, a revenger to execute wrath and run in the view of evil. And that's why if you look at God's law, you know, that's what he sent up civil government to do. Not to run every aspect of your life. And look what it says in verse 6. For this cause paying you tribute also, right? He's talking about paying taxes. For they are God's ministers attending continually upon this very thing. Did you get that? Attending continually upon this very thing. What are they continuing continually on? Executing wrath upon the evil doer. Now, is our government today continually just that's all 100% of our resources are going toward punishing the evil doer? No. They are providing a safety net. They're giving these people this and helping people with this and build this and do this. So the bottom line is the government's out of bounds. They're outside of their scope. They're out of bounds. A pastor can get out of bounds. Start ruling over people's lives in the wrong way. A husband can get out of bounds if he's telling his wife to do things that are wrong and sinful and so forth. So everybody can get out of bounds. And the government's way out of bounds. They don't even know where the bounds are. They can't even see the bounds anymore. And people will try to use this scripture to say whatever the government tells you to do, just do it. Just shut up and do it. That's not what it says. Now, do you say, do you pay your taxes? I do pay taxes. And I pay all my taxes. Everything is legit. And I pay all the fees and the license fees and the permit fees and the taxes and the taxes upon taxes. Now look, why do I pay it? Because I should have to pay it? No. Because I shouldn't have to pay it. Because that's not what they're attending continually on. That's not where my money's going. My money is not going to punish the evil doer at all. But Jesus Christ said in Matthew 17, he said we shouldn't have to pay this tax when they came to collect taxes from him. He said if we're free, we shouldn't have to pay this. But he said, nevertheless, lest we offend them, he said, you know, go fishing and the first fish you find, open his mouth, there will be a gold coin in it. And he said take that and give it to them for me and for thee. Pay our taxes. So Jesus and Peter paid their taxes just to not offend them, just to not start a fight with them. Because he said, you know, as much as is possible, we should try to live peaceably with all men. Okay? But that doesn't mean that the government just has a right to our money. It doesn't mean that the government has the right to tell me how to walk down the street or how to drive my car or how to do anything. It doesn't make it right. But I'm still going to go along with things just to live peaceably with all men, just to get along, just to go with the flow, until they start taking it too far, until they start telling me that I can't go soul-wetting or telling me that I can't spank my children or something. Obviously then, but you know what? We're just supposed to try to go with the flow and focus on the kingdom of God and winning souls and priests and God. But that doesn't mean that they have the right to tell us how fast to drive or how to do this or how to do that. But if I get on the road and just say, well, I don't care what they say, just drive 120 miles an hour down the road, am I sinning against the Lord Jesus Christ by doing that? No. But all things are lawful unto me. And I tried to tell the officer, all things are lawful unto me. No, I'm just kidding. But anyway, all things are lawful unto me, but all things are not expedient. All things are lawful unto me, but all things are lawful unto me. And so if I go 120 miles down the freeway, I'm going to get pulled over, I'm probably going to be put in jail. That's not going to help the cause of Christ. That's not going to help me serve God. That's not going to help me do anything. So I'm just going to go the speed limit lest I offend them. Does everybody understand what I'm saying? So basically, the thing that I'm trying to say tonight is that we ought not judge outside of our parameters. Don't judge other people's situations. And you know, this Oprah Winfrey generation, where we sit back and watch these shows, these reality shows and these talk shows, where we judge everyone else's situation. And we go to the audience and ask the studio audience, well, I think you need to break up with him and you need to do this and you need to tell him. But really, is it any of that person's business? But millions of people are sitting at home saying, well, he needs to do this and she needs to change this. Don't you dare sit and worry about how I run my family. That's my business. It's none of your business. And I'm not going to sit there and worry. Just let people live their own life. You can't run other people's life. And when you're talking to other people about it, you're definitely backbiting when you're criticizing and saying negative things about other people. It's just something that's bad, something that's wrong. Just don't feel like you have to comment on every situation that exists. And pass your judgment. And yeah, we're not just going around saying judge. No, judge not. But there is a time not to judge, isn't there? When you're wrong in that area. When it's outside scripture. And when it's outside your parameter of judging. Same thing with being a pastor. The Bible says, if a man know not. Well, let me read the whole script here. 1 Timothy 3.4 says, one that ruleth well his own house is a qualification for a bishop or a pastor. One that ruleth well his own house, having his children in subjection with all gravity. For if a man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of God? Now, you know what that tells me? That tells me that someone who is not the husband of one wife and doesn't have his children in subjection with all gravity does not know how to rule his own house. Because it says that the guy who's not married with children that are in subjection is not qualified to pastor because he doesn't know how to rule his own house. It's not that he couldn't do it if he had the opportunity. He doesn't know how to do it because he's never done it. Right? So, if he doesn't know how to rule his own house, then is he qualified to tell me how to run my own house? Because according to the Bible, until you've done it, you don't know how to do it. Now, somebody could say to me, hey, the scripture says, you know, that you should spank your child. You know, you don't have to be married with children to know that or to say that. And that's not you judging. That's just you saying, hey, the Bible says you got to spank your children. That's just God's word. I mean, that's not judging. If somebody says, well, I never spanked my children. You say, well, no, you're supposed to spank your children. Well, who are you? You don't have kids. It doesn't matter. That's what the Bible says. But is it right for someone to come and tell me how to run my house, and I'm not talking about just a clear scripture, but just they know how to do it better. No, they don't because they've never done it. And it's amazing how people don't even have a wife and children that they're ruling over, but they know how to pastor a church. You know what I mean? But yet God says if you don't know how to run the family, you don't know how to pastor the church. So it's not really your job to decide how to pastor a church until you're qualified. You can't really judge. I mean, if somebody's going to tell me, and look, I've gotten advice from people. I've been told to critique the criticisms from people, and I will receive a critique or a criticism from someone who's qualified to judge because they know how to do it because they've done it. You know what I mean? Are you going to take business advice from somebody who's never run a business? No. So what I'm trying to say is that there are a lot of situations where we should not be judging. And we need to first and foremost worry about ourselves. Not go around worrying about everything. And you say, well, but so is this and so is that. You know what? At the end of the day, so what? You know what I mean? If everybody else screws up their life and does everything wrong, you can still do what's right. And you're only responsible for your own aspect. You're not responsible for all these other people. So don't worry about it. But if you start getting wrapped up worrying about everybody else's problems and everybody else's issues, you know what's going to happen? You're going to start failing. Because now you're doing stuff God told you not to do. And you might start backbiting and speaking evil of people and talking trash about people. And what's going to happen? But you're messing up your life now. Instead, you should just take kingdom to yourself. Make sure that you're doing right. Get every beam and every mode out of your own eye. And that should be your primary one, two, three, four, and five responsibility right there. And then if you have time and you can help somebody and it's appropriate because it's something that you do know about and it's something that you are qualified in, it's something that you're not out of place or out of bounds talking to someone about, then you can help take care of that issue. But I hope that this sermon sinks in with you because I think that this can really help a lot of people. Maybe it's not the swing from the chandelier sermon about just ripping face on worldliness. But the bottom line is this is a problem that can take place. And it's something that we all need to take heat onto and not be judgmental in the wrong way. And so learn to mind our own business and our own vineyard and to not fall into the trap of just being a busybody right? The Bible condemns it as far as that word of prayer. Father, thank you so much for our church dear God and for your word and for the clear messages that you've given us in your word about judging and we definitely need to do some judging. There are a lot of times where we need to judge and the Bible says that judgment must begin in the house of God. And so judgment needs to take place in the church most assuredly. But Father help us not to be out of bounds and to be evil one another and back fight and judge one another and worry about things that just simply don't pertain to us. Help us to stay within the bounds and God please help our government to find the bounds somehow and stop telling churches how to operate and stop telling families how to operate and to get within the bounds and help our church to be righteous and to do right. Help me as a pastor to stay within my bounds and in Jesus' name we pray, amen.