What is the thing that you desire most. If it is the Holy Spirit the Lord says it will be given.
Matthew 7: Judging Others
1 "Judge not, that you be not judged.
2 For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you.
3 Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?
4 Or how can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when there is the log in your own eye?
5 You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye.
6 "Do not give dogs what is holy, and do not throw your pearls before pigs, lest they trample them underfoot and turn to attack you.
Ask, and It Will Be Given
7 "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.
8 For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.
9 Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone?
10 Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent?
11 If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!
The Golden Rule
12 "So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.
13 "Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many.
14 For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.
A Tree and Its Fruit
15 "Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves.
16 You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?
17 So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit.
18 A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit.
19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
20 Thus you will recognize them by their fruits.
I Never Knew You
21 "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.
22 On that day many will say to me, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?'
23 And then will I declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.'
Build Your House on the Rock
24 "Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock.
25 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock.
26 And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand.
27 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it."
The Authority of Jesus
28 And when Jesus finished these sayings, the crowds were astonished at his teaching,
29 for he was teaching them as one who had authority, and not as their scribes.
Things to think about…
1. People often quote the ‘judging’ passage from Mt 7:1-5 and misapply it to say we should not judge anyone at all. This is false. What Jesus is saying is that if your sin is blatant, your testimony is ineffective and any challenge to another person’s sin is hypocritical and therefore invalid. For the Christian there should in fact be no logs in our eyes in the first place, it doesn’t mean that we don’t challenge sin, otherwise Mt 18:15-18 becomes irrelevant and obsolete. We should always be confessing our sin one to another as a matter of practise in any event, 1John 1:9; Jam 5:16.
2. I believe Mt 7:7-11 has no bounds, and the Lord will give good gifts especially when it brings Him glory. But here the blessing specifically surrounds the asking and receiving of the Holy Spirit as described by Luke, Lk 11:13. I am believing for revival for our city. It would be great if you would join me and agree in the spirit of this prayer. The context in this of course is what a good father gives to his children. Even earthly fathers don’t give anything and everything to their children, even when they have the ability to give it simply because it is not healthy or helpful in the child’s development. The same here with our Lord’s counsel. James, our Lord’s brother qualifies this more when praying for our Lord’s provision, Jam 4:3.
3. We can be all deceived, Mt 7:15-23. False Prophets outwardly look like sheep, they also sound like sheep. They know evangelical doctrine, they have enough grace, sympathetic love and truth to deceive. Yet Jesus says they are wolves. This also affirms what the Apostle Paul says in Acts 20:29, 30 “I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them.” Let’s never think that is never a possibility at CBC. Note the words “speaking twisted things” by Paul. The wolf never desires to have the full truth come out. He prefers to make a kill before that can happen. Jesus says their fruit will be evident if we care to look, vss 17-20.
4. There are no more fearful words found in scripture than those which are written to those who are ‘religiously deceived’ in Mt 7:21-23. These are people who are religious, but who are not truly converted. While only the Lord knows those who are truly His, religious activity should always be measured by a faithful display the fruit of the Spirit.
5. After hearing this sermon is it little wonder that “the crowds were astonished at his teaching”, Mt 7:28. May we hold these same words in similar regard. We are Christ’s ambassadors, and His words should have the same effect to our hearers.
Vision statement for CBC
CBC’s Vision :- To be a growing biblical church community, significantly influencing our city and beyond, through intentional outreach, fulfilling our mission.
Life groups Wednesdays. 6:30pm every Wednesday. 5:30pm prayer. This week we consider Psalm 8 – O Lord our Lord how majestic is your name.
Prayer Points
1. A new admin and finance officer for CBC. Pray for God’s choosing in this role.
2. Prayer for Israel, Gaza and Lebanon for peace to descend over the region.
3. Pray for the work we have going on with site development and TMR and the development of a project team.
4. Keep praying for PlayPatch on Fridays, pray for more families to be reached.
5. Pray for Chaplaincy and Kids Hope at Karalee State School.
6. The ongoing conflict in Ukraine.
7. Church finances to continue to grow and expenses to be more than met.
8. Pray for Kids@Church, Life groups. Young Adults.
9. Mathys has a prayer time at church on Wednesday afternoons, 5:30pm at church. He would be happy for you to join him and to send prayer requests.
10. That we be bold in our witnessing for Christ. Pray for a heart to see those around you to be saved. Pray for the blessing over the new pastoral care and hosting program.
11. Growth, conversions, joy in the Word and Spirit to increase.
Praise Points
1. Lots of joy at our service on Sunday
2. More new visitors on Sunday. Pray they feel welcomed in the church
3. Café, music, sound and technical team every week
4. Joy, peace and grace we see at CBC. Thankyou Lord
Announcements
1. Members meeting – AGM - 24th Nov after the service
2. PlayPatch Friday mornings – 9:30am. Contact Anna for details
3. Prayer meeting 5:30pm and Life Group Wednesday 6:30pm at church.
4. Carols Sunday 22nd Dec starting from 3pm.
5. Church bank details bsb:- 704 913 and Acc number:- 4000 4388 1
6. Tune in again this week on our YouTube page. Subscribe to the CBC channel Chuwar Baptist YouTube channel.
Catechism questions for November...
Q. 26. Who tempted them to this sin? A. The devil tempted Eve, and she gave the fruit to Adam.
