The Trellis and the Vine Week 3: Examination
Read
Matthew 7:1-6
7 “Do not judge, so that you won’t be judged. 2 For you will be judged by the same standard with which you judge others, and you will be measured by the same measure you use. 3 Why do you look at the splinter in your brother’s eye but don’t notice the beam of wood in your own eye? 4 Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the splinter out of your eye,’ and look, there’s a beam of wood in your own eye? 5 Hypocrite! First take the beam of wood out of your eye, and then you will see clearly to take the splinter out of your brother’s eye. 6 Don’t give what is holy to dogs or toss your pearls before pigs, or they will trample them under their feet, turn, and tear you to pieces.
2 Timothy 3:16
16 All Scripture is inspired by God[a] and is profitable for teaching, for rebuking, for correcting, for training in righteousness,
Isaiah 55:6-7
6 Seek the Lord while he may be found; call to him while he is near. 7 Let the wicked one abandon his way and the sinful one his thoughts; let him return to the Lord, so he may have compassion on him, and to our God, for he will freely forgive.
Hebrews 12:1-4
12 Therefore, since we also have such a large cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us lay aside every hindrance and the sin that so easily ensnares us. Let us run with endurance the race that lies before us, 2 keeping our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith. For the joy that lay before him, he endured the cross, despising the shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 For consider him who endured such hostility from sinners against himself, so that you won’t grow weary and give up. 4 In struggling against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.
Summary
Welcome back to Community Group, we are in week 3 of our series The Trellis And The Vine. This week we find our key scripture in Matthew 7:1-5. Jesus is speaking to a crowd on a mount near the Sea of Galilee. This is early in Jesus’ ministry and He is addressing the hypocrisy among the people. He was teaching the standard that they should live by, that would bring about restoration.
As we read, we see that this particular scripture is leading us to slow down and examine our lives. Are we living such a fast-paced life that we don’t see things in our lives that require repentance. Judgement is not always wrong. If we judge someone using the standards of this world, then yes, it is wrong. But there is a place for Christian judgement. However, Christian judgement does not involve condemnation, it involves self-examination. The type of examination that allows Christ to point out the things we can’t or don’t want to see. You see, before we can point out a fault in our brother, we need to be sure that we are not failing in the same manner. The purpose of judgement is to bring about repentance that draws us closer to Christ.
Our first point this week was that Jesus CALLED OUT v.1-4. Here Jesus is giving us a clear statement of how one should judge another. He is saying that we need to evaluate ourselves before we think of evaluating someone else. When we rush to judge, we can easily fall into hypocrisy. We need to be mindful of what we are doing and saying. If we are going to judge, we need to make sure we are using God’s standards and not our own.
The second point was that Jesus CALLED CLOSE v.5. In these verses we see that correction and restoration is the goal, not condemnation. This comes through sanctification and discipline. We see that our walk matters just as much as our talk. How we react, also shows how we represent Jesus. We cannot react until we have asked Christ to examine us. He will provide clarity, if we choose to listen. He sees our unadorned self and calls us close to work in our lives.
Our final point was that Jesus CALLED UP v.6. We are called up to confession and repentance. We are called to Holiness. We don’t have the ability to do what Jesus did. He is the only one that can save and restore. We should leave the evaluating to the one that can see the heart.
Hebrews 12 tells us that Jesus was trampled, He was turned and He was torn, so he could be the perfector of our faith. Let’s keep our eyes on Him
Questions
Have you ever judged someone harshly for doing the same thing you did? Share
Have you ever found yourself judging someone before speaking to them? Share
Have you ever walked with someone through difficult stuff? Share
Have you noticed that when you are close to Jesus you pray for people rather than judge them?
What do you need to do to see people through the eyes of Jesus? Share
Announcements
If you are a CG leader, please make sure you are a part of the WhatsApp group! Also, if you don’t hear from your assigned shepherd in the next few weeks, please let us know.
Shepherd Couples:
Herb and Maggie Cuellar
Ismael & Ashley Ledezma
Ozie and Maritza Hernandez
Randy & Yvette Pena
Will and Elizabeth Stewart
Jon and Libby White
You will be hearing from them in the near future!
Pastor Isauro Medina
Cell: (956) 984-9380
Meichelle Vasques
Cell: (956) 566-4762
