Sermon from June 6th

WORDS THAT HEAL
Luke 6:37-42
Gospel of Luke

An old saying says, “Sticks and stones can break my bones, but words can never hurt me.”  Actually that is false.  It should be said, “Sticks and stones can only break my bones, but words can pollute and defile and distort our very souls.”  If we follow Jesus and his teaching it can change all of our relationships and enable us to have words and thoughts that heal instead of hurt and destroy. 

I.    CRITICAL JUDGMENTS  (THAT DESTROY)
•    How you think about people determines your relationship with them!
•    Condemning thoughts and words are like a forest fire (see James 3:5, 6)
•    Many of you carry wounds in your heart from judgmental words that you have difficulty dislodging.
•    At the heart of destructive criticism is self-deception (“the big log or beam in the eye” that doesn’t allow for clear vision of self or others).  We maximize others sins, and minimize our own.
•    In Leadership and Self-Deception the author talks about a spiral in work and personal environments:  (1) self betrayal where people fail to serve others; (2) self-justification; (3) maximizing others’ failure; (4) treating people as objects; (5) making the job about ourselves.

II.    SELF JUDGMENT (BEFORE THE CROSS)
•    The best antidote for a critical spirit is to stand before the cross.
•    Jesus says we are “blind”, “falling”, “obsessed" with specks in other’s eyes while we don’t see the log in our own eye”, “hypocrites”.
•    He says it was the beam in our eye that caused Him (Jesus) to be nailed to a beam on a cross!
•    Jesus died so we could be healed and to see clearly.  When we see ourselves clearly we know that we are “big sinners (“evil” and yet “beloved children”, see Matthew 7:11)
•    How do you think you would view other people if you saw yourself at one the same time as “evil” and “yet loved”?

III.    MATURE JUDGMENT (SEEING SITUATIONS AS GOD SEES THEM
•    Paul in Galatians gets in Peter’s face for compromising the gospel.  He gets in the Judaizers face and tells them they should go all the way and castrate themselves!
•    John the Baptist called some people “vipers”; Jesus said Herod was a “fox”.  How are we to reconcile these strong judgments with what Jesus has just said?
•    These are mature judgments (seeing things as God sees them) which means that there will be times when we should be as courageous as a lion in confronting evil, injustice and sin.  One of the greatest needs in the world is manly men who speak God’s words with courage and authority when confronting evil.
•    Questions for application:  (1)  Do you regularly encourage other people? (2) Can you praise an equal? (3)  Do you refuse to gossip or listen to gossip? (4)  Are you a wimp or a slasher, or do you exercise humble, mature judgment?  (4) Do you have gospel confidence that causes you to be humble (because you know you are “evil”) and yet courageous (because you are loved in Christ)?

TABLE TALK:  Take someone to lunch and talk about the application for your life today.

Listen to the sermon online