1 00:00:01,029 --> 00:00:03,770 It's like I get the exalted position here. 2 00:00:04,390 --> 00:00:06,330 Can't stand down there on the floor, huh? 3 00:00:07,070 --> 00:00:08,330 Nah, this is alright. 4 00:00:13,120 --> 00:00:18,180 Well, I didn't know that you had recollections 5 00:00:18,180 --> 00:00:20,500 and roots way back to Alton, Illinois. 6 00:00:21,720 --> 00:00:24,260 I don't think I've been introduced that way 7 00:00:24,260 --> 00:00:26,600 for a long time. 8 00:00:28,260 --> 00:00:32,530 Those were, must have been a great aunt, 9 00:00:32,530 --> 00:00:34,990 and there were, how many of them in 10 00:00:34,990 --> 00:00:35,530 that family? 11 00:00:35,690 --> 00:00:36,430 Seven, I think. 12 00:00:37,390 --> 00:00:40,650 So there were quite a few Ryries and 13 00:00:40,650 --> 00:00:44,350 assorted relatives in Alton. 14 00:00:45,390 --> 00:00:49,010 Alton is distinct because at Alton, the Mississippi 15 00:00:49,010 --> 00:00:52,010 flows east. 16 00:00:54,640 --> 00:00:55,200 Got that? 17 00:00:56,180 --> 00:00:58,140 Makes a little curve there, and the sun 18 00:00:58,140 --> 00:01:00,040 sets into the river. 19 00:01:00,200 --> 00:01:02,000 It's very pretty that way. 20 00:01:03,569 --> 00:01:05,910 Well, I'm pleased to be here on this 21 00:01:05,910 --> 00:01:11,310 Labor Day weekend, and tonight and tomorrow, as 22 00:01:11,310 --> 00:01:14,470 I have thought about the messages, they will 23 00:01:14,470 --> 00:01:18,450 not especially be related, so don't panic if 24 00:01:18,450 --> 00:01:19,830 you can't determine a series. 25 00:01:21,350 --> 00:01:23,630 If I continue along the same line of 26 00:01:23,630 --> 00:01:26,850 thought, then beginning Sunday night and a few 27 00:01:26,850 --> 00:01:30,110 times Monday, I'm going to try to put 28 00:01:30,110 --> 00:01:33,290 those three messages together under the same general 29 00:01:33,290 --> 00:01:35,250 theme, and if you want to know what 30 00:01:35,250 --> 00:01:37,470 it is, you will probably have to show 31 00:01:37,470 --> 00:01:39,690 up Sunday night to find out. 32 00:01:42,000 --> 00:01:44,260 Tonight I want you to turn, please, to 33 00:01:44,260 --> 00:01:47,780 a familiar chapter in the New Testament. 34 00:01:48,920 --> 00:01:54,000 I suppose if anybody knows some verse or 35 00:01:54,000 --> 00:01:58,220 another from the Bible, they will know one 36 00:01:58,220 --> 00:02:00,320 or two from the section we're going to 37 00:02:00,320 --> 00:02:01,080 look at tonight. 38 00:02:03,120 --> 00:02:08,479 They will either know the first verse of 39 00:02:08,479 --> 00:02:10,780 the section, or they'll know the last verse 40 00:02:10,780 --> 00:02:11,400 of the section. 41 00:02:13,020 --> 00:02:16,700 Former President Truman knew the last verse of 42 00:02:16,700 --> 00:02:17,180 the section. 43 00:02:18,680 --> 00:02:22,820 He said when asked more than once what 44 00:02:22,820 --> 00:02:24,300 it takes for a man to get to 45 00:02:24,300 --> 00:02:26,860 heaven, he said he has to keep the 46 00:02:26,860 --> 00:02:29,440 Ten Commandments and the Golden Rule. 47 00:02:31,200 --> 00:02:33,480 Now whatever you think of his politics, I 48 00:02:33,480 --> 00:02:35,760 should not dare enter into that, but his 49 00:02:35,760 --> 00:02:38,540 theology was terrible, of course. 50 00:02:39,720 --> 00:02:41,680 And the Golden Rule is the last verse 51 00:02:41,680 --> 00:02:42,500 of this section. 52 00:02:42,720 --> 00:02:44,160 Do unto others as you would have them 53 00:02:44,160 --> 00:02:44,760 do to you. 54 00:02:45,960 --> 00:02:48,940 If a person knows another verse from this 55 00:02:48,940 --> 00:02:53,460 chapter, he is apt to know the first 56 00:02:53,460 --> 00:02:56,940 verse, which is, judge not that you be 57 00:02:56,940 --> 00:02:57,640 not judged. 58 00:02:58,800 --> 00:03:02,400 Of course the person doesn't usually know the 59 00:03:02,400 --> 00:03:05,220 setting of the verse, and he or she 60 00:03:05,220 --> 00:03:07,200 will use it as a kind of defense 61 00:03:07,200 --> 00:03:08,080 mechanism. 62 00:03:08,440 --> 00:03:10,640 Judge not that you be not judged. 63 00:03:10,640 --> 00:03:14,120 In other words, just shut up. 64 00:03:14,940 --> 00:03:17,920 You're meddling now, so just keep still because 65 00:03:17,920 --> 00:03:20,760 you're judging, and judge not that you be 66 00:03:20,760 --> 00:03:21,420 not judged. 67 00:03:22,580 --> 00:03:24,720 So by now I hope you've turned to 68 00:03:24,720 --> 00:03:29,500 Matthew chapter 7, which opens with judge not 69 00:03:29,500 --> 00:03:31,720 that you be not judged, and the section 70 00:03:31,720 --> 00:03:34,660 I want to look at concludes with whatever 71 00:03:34,660 --> 00:03:36,520 you would that men should do to you, 72 00:03:36,800 --> 00:03:38,920 do the same to them, for this is 73 00:03:38,920 --> 00:03:40,740 the law and the prophet, the so-called 74 00:03:40,740 --> 00:03:41,700 Golden Rule. 75 00:03:44,450 --> 00:03:46,830 In this section the Lord talks about two 76 00:03:46,830 --> 00:03:50,130 rather different subjects. 77 00:03:51,330 --> 00:03:53,090 The first one has to do with judging. 78 00:03:54,330 --> 00:03:56,990 There's no need to try to soften the 79 00:03:56,990 --> 00:03:58,730 word, it means judge. 80 00:04:00,790 --> 00:04:02,690 And he says, judge not that you be 81 00:04:02,690 --> 00:04:05,230 not judged, for with what judgment you judge 82 00:04:05,230 --> 00:04:07,330 you shall be judged, and with what measure 83 00:04:07,330 --> 00:04:09,850 you meet it shall be measured to you 84 00:04:09,850 --> 00:04:10,250 again. 85 00:04:11,270 --> 00:04:13,290 Why beholdest thou the mote that's in thy 86 00:04:13,290 --> 00:04:15,750 brother's eye, and considerest not the beam that's 87 00:04:15,750 --> 00:04:16,589 in thine own eye? 88 00:04:17,350 --> 00:04:19,209 For how wilt thou say to thy brother, 89 00:04:19,329 --> 00:04:21,010 Let me pull out the mote out of 90 00:04:21,010 --> 00:04:23,910 thine eye, and behold, the beam is in 91 00:04:23,910 --> 00:04:24,710 thine own eye. 92 00:04:25,590 --> 00:04:29,450 Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out 93 00:04:29,450 --> 00:04:31,550 of thine own eye, and then shalt thou 94 00:04:31,550 --> 00:04:34,190 see clearly to cast out the mote out 95 00:04:34,190 --> 00:04:35,070 of thy brother's eye. 96 00:04:35,070 --> 00:04:37,130 Give not that which is holy to the 97 00:04:37,130 --> 00:04:40,610 dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, 98 00:04:41,410 --> 00:04:43,490 lest they trample them under their feet, and 99 00:04:43,490 --> 00:04:44,730 turn again and rend you. 100 00:04:46,770 --> 00:04:49,150 The Lord doesn't say don't ever judge. 101 00:04:52,020 --> 00:04:53,720 He says the only kind of person who 102 00:04:53,720 --> 00:04:57,100 isn't allowed to judge, the person who comes 103 00:04:57,100 --> 00:05:00,840 under the prohibition of verse 1, is, verse 104 00:05:00,840 --> 00:05:02,060 5, the hypocrite. 105 00:05:04,320 --> 00:05:06,600 If you're a hypocrite, don't judge. 106 00:05:08,300 --> 00:05:12,060 Rather, get out of the position of being 107 00:05:12,060 --> 00:05:15,820 a hypocrite, then, verse 5, thou shalt see 108 00:05:15,820 --> 00:05:18,880 clearly to cast the mote out of thy 109 00:05:18,880 --> 00:05:19,840 brother's eye. 110 00:05:19,980 --> 00:05:20,700 That's judging. 111 00:05:22,280 --> 00:05:26,700 He's obviously not condemning judging, he's condemning hypocritical 112 00:05:26,700 --> 00:05:27,080 judging. 113 00:05:29,610 --> 00:05:32,650 And when somebody says, judge not that ye 114 00:05:32,650 --> 00:05:36,610 be not judged, he's really saying to you, 115 00:05:36,870 --> 00:05:37,830 thou hypocrite. 116 00:05:40,330 --> 00:05:43,010 Which isn't too kind a remark, actually. 117 00:05:44,350 --> 00:05:47,590 There is a proper judging, a non-hypocritical 118 00:05:47,590 --> 00:05:47,930 judging. 119 00:05:48,010 --> 00:05:49,070 How do you do that? 120 00:05:50,550 --> 00:05:53,230 Well, first of all, you need to discern 121 00:05:53,230 --> 00:05:57,910 your own spiritual condition, so that there are 122 00:05:57,910 --> 00:06:01,550 no beams or logs in your own eye. 123 00:06:02,390 --> 00:06:05,670 Then you can judge in a non-hypocritical 124 00:06:05,670 --> 00:06:06,310 fashion. 125 00:06:07,150 --> 00:06:10,590 Or, to put it positively, the first requirement 126 00:06:10,590 --> 00:06:14,750 for good, proper scriptural judging is to be 127 00:06:14,750 --> 00:06:16,170 clear-eyed. 128 00:06:16,550 --> 00:06:17,910 Clear-eyed. 129 00:06:18,350 --> 00:06:20,650 To be able to see, to judge. 130 00:06:22,470 --> 00:06:25,470 Sometime, if you want a little interesting study, 131 00:06:25,550 --> 00:06:28,590 look up the word eye in the New 132 00:06:28,590 --> 00:06:31,810 Testament, or anywhere in the Bible, and eliminate 133 00:06:31,810 --> 00:06:33,430 the references that have to do with the 134 00:06:33,430 --> 00:06:36,270 physical organ, and just see what the Bible 135 00:06:36,270 --> 00:06:38,430 says about the eye. 136 00:06:39,630 --> 00:06:42,450 You may remember a few interesting passages. 137 00:06:44,170 --> 00:06:46,610 In the preceding chapter, the Lord said, if 138 00:06:46,610 --> 00:06:50,130 your eye is evil, it's full of darkness. 139 00:06:50,330 --> 00:06:52,310 If it's covetous, it's full of darkness. 140 00:06:52,550 --> 00:06:54,370 And how great that darkness is. 141 00:06:55,670 --> 00:06:57,830 But later on in Matthew's Gospel, when he's 142 00:06:57,830 --> 00:07:00,790 talking about those workers that were sent into 143 00:07:00,790 --> 00:07:02,890 the field to work at different times of 144 00:07:02,890 --> 00:07:05,410 the day, yet they all received the same 145 00:07:05,410 --> 00:07:09,930 wage, when the ones that worked all day 146 00:07:09,930 --> 00:07:13,190 complained, thinking they should receive more, the Lord 147 00:07:13,190 --> 00:07:15,370 put his finger right on their problem and 148 00:07:15,370 --> 00:07:19,250 said, is your eye evil because I am 149 00:07:19,250 --> 00:07:19,550 good? 150 00:07:19,850 --> 00:07:20,390 Matthew 20. 151 00:07:22,840 --> 00:07:25,060 Paul prayed that the eyes of our understanding 152 00:07:25,060 --> 00:07:27,220 might be enlightened, that we might know the 153 00:07:27,220 --> 00:07:29,840 hope of our calling, and the riches of 154 00:07:29,840 --> 00:07:32,140 the glory of his inheritance in the saints, 155 00:07:32,140 --> 00:07:33,960 and the exceeding greatness of his power to 156 00:07:33,960 --> 00:07:36,200 us who believe, according to the working of 157 00:07:36,200 --> 00:07:38,720 his mighty power when he raised Christ from 158 00:07:38,720 --> 00:07:40,420 the dead and seated him on his right 159 00:07:40,420 --> 00:07:42,240 hand in heaven. 160 00:07:44,260 --> 00:07:47,080 So, the eye has a very important place. 161 00:07:48,360 --> 00:07:54,100 The Laodicea was cautioned and exhorted to apply 162 00:07:54,100 --> 00:07:58,040 eye salve to their condition, which they really 163 00:07:58,040 --> 00:07:58,900 weren't discerning. 164 00:08:00,850 --> 00:08:03,510 To judge properly, there must first of all 165 00:08:03,510 --> 00:08:08,270 be a clear-eyed person to do it. 166 00:08:09,070 --> 00:08:11,990 Pull out the beam that's in thine own 167 00:08:11,990 --> 00:08:12,450 eye. 168 00:08:13,890 --> 00:08:15,990 Now the second thing that's involved in non 169 00:08:15,990 --> 00:08:20,970 -hypocritical, proper scriptural judging is, you have to 170 00:08:20,970 --> 00:08:23,030 see other people's sins. 171 00:08:26,200 --> 00:08:29,000 There's no judging, there's no helping, there's no 172 00:08:29,000 --> 00:08:31,900 clearing out of the sins of others unless 173 00:08:31,900 --> 00:08:33,980 they're discerned as sin. 174 00:08:36,419 --> 00:08:41,039 And these are the specks that's in another 175 00:08:41,039 --> 00:08:41,960 person's eye. 176 00:08:44,050 --> 00:08:45,630 Specks, just little sins. 177 00:08:46,510 --> 00:08:49,510 We have a cliché, all sin is sin, 178 00:08:49,690 --> 00:08:50,410 that is true. 179 00:08:51,350 --> 00:08:53,410 But all sin isn't the same. 180 00:08:54,810 --> 00:08:56,930 There are big sins and there are little 181 00:08:56,930 --> 00:08:57,310 sins. 182 00:08:57,490 --> 00:08:59,650 There are public sins, there are private sins. 183 00:08:59,650 --> 00:09:02,690 There are gross sins, there are good sins. 184 00:09:03,230 --> 00:09:06,010 There are sinful sins and there aren't so 185 00:09:06,010 --> 00:09:06,770 bad sins. 186 00:09:08,730 --> 00:09:12,490 Now if that's your theology, I'll remind you 187 00:09:12,490 --> 00:09:13,830 of what the Lord said. 188 00:09:14,010 --> 00:09:17,370 He said, He that delivered me unto you 189 00:09:17,370 --> 00:09:20,670 has the greater sin. 190 00:09:21,450 --> 00:09:22,630 John 19, 11. 191 00:09:23,670 --> 00:09:26,210 And that's a pure, unadulterated comparative. 192 00:09:26,890 --> 00:09:27,350 Greater. 193 00:09:28,070 --> 00:09:30,410 So one sin was less than the other 194 00:09:30,410 --> 00:09:32,010 and the other was greater than the other. 195 00:09:33,390 --> 00:09:36,970 And of course the comparison here between the 196 00:09:36,970 --> 00:09:39,770 speck and the beam shows that there are 197 00:09:39,770 --> 00:09:42,750 some sins that are less than other sins. 198 00:09:43,150 --> 00:09:45,910 They're all sinful, but they're not all the 199 00:09:45,910 --> 00:09:46,290 same. 200 00:09:47,290 --> 00:09:50,330 John wrote about a sin unto death and 201 00:09:50,330 --> 00:09:51,770 a sin that's not unto death. 202 00:09:52,510 --> 00:09:55,550 Obviously, different gradations of sin. 203 00:09:56,550 --> 00:09:58,710 Now the Lord says we should be interested 204 00:09:58,710 --> 00:10:02,370 in our brothers being clear-eyed. 205 00:10:02,370 --> 00:10:08,170 Also, right down to the specks that get 206 00:10:08,170 --> 00:10:09,130 into our lives. 207 00:10:11,120 --> 00:10:14,560 As I was meditating on this, it occurred 208 00:10:14,560 --> 00:10:16,720 to me, something pretty obvious, but it occurred 209 00:10:16,720 --> 00:10:21,440 to me that it's probably easier to see 210 00:10:21,440 --> 00:10:24,880 and to be concerned about big sins. 211 00:10:24,880 --> 00:10:30,660 And probably harder to be concerned about little 212 00:10:30,660 --> 00:10:31,080 sins. 213 00:10:32,600 --> 00:10:35,800 It also seemed to me that the older 214 00:10:35,800 --> 00:10:39,160 we get, the more comfortable we try to 215 00:10:39,160 --> 00:10:40,620 be with little sins. 216 00:10:42,140 --> 00:10:48,160 And less concerned with getting the specks out 217 00:10:48,160 --> 00:10:50,920 of our eyes or helping others to do 218 00:10:50,920 --> 00:10:51,440 the same. 219 00:10:52,260 --> 00:10:53,700 Oh well, that's the way I am. 220 00:10:53,700 --> 00:10:55,940 Oh well, that's the way I've been all 221 00:10:55,940 --> 00:10:56,460 my life. 222 00:10:56,580 --> 00:10:58,380 Oh, you can't expect me to change now. 223 00:10:58,720 --> 00:11:01,400 Oh, and on and on the reasons go. 224 00:11:03,180 --> 00:11:06,340 Our Lord was concerned that we help each 225 00:11:06,340 --> 00:11:10,520 other get the specks out of our eyes. 226 00:11:12,460 --> 00:11:14,000 So there has to be a discerning of 227 00:11:14,000 --> 00:11:15,920 other people's sins as well. 228 00:11:16,760 --> 00:11:19,160 And then I should think, not only must 229 00:11:19,160 --> 00:11:21,320 I be clear-eyed and must I see 230 00:11:21,320 --> 00:11:23,280 other people's sins and try to do something 231 00:11:23,280 --> 00:11:25,360 about it, but I have to determine what 232 00:11:25,360 --> 00:11:26,800 to do, the correct procedure. 233 00:11:28,080 --> 00:11:29,600 And that's not always easy. 234 00:11:31,380 --> 00:11:35,220 Hatred stirs up strife, the proverb says, but 235 00:11:35,220 --> 00:11:38,300 love covers all sins. 236 00:11:39,300 --> 00:11:40,740 And sometimes it should. 237 00:11:42,120 --> 00:11:45,120 And yet the Apostle Paul said, reprove the 238 00:11:45,120 --> 00:11:47,440 works of unrighteousness. 239 00:11:47,640 --> 00:11:49,380 Sometimes they need to be exposed. 240 00:11:49,380 --> 00:11:53,520 When to cover and when to expose, the 241 00:11:53,520 --> 00:11:54,300 right timing. 242 00:11:54,480 --> 00:11:58,260 Those are all difficult questions to answer and 243 00:11:58,260 --> 00:12:00,820 have to do with the discerning of procedures. 244 00:12:01,820 --> 00:12:05,300 Perhaps that's what verse 6 is talking about 245 00:12:05,300 --> 00:12:08,140 because it seems to be referring to the 246 00:12:08,140 --> 00:12:10,920 holy meat that was given to the priests, 247 00:12:11,440 --> 00:12:13,740 which was not even allowed to be eaten 248 00:12:13,740 --> 00:12:17,240 by the layman and certainly not by dogs 249 00:12:17,240 --> 00:12:18,640 or by swine. 250 00:12:19,640 --> 00:12:23,660 The correct procedure in accomplishing God's will in 251 00:12:23,660 --> 00:12:24,180 this matter. 252 00:12:26,340 --> 00:12:29,440 So there is a proper non-hypocritical judging. 253 00:12:31,590 --> 00:12:35,270 I have, of course, some remembrances of my 254 00:12:35,270 --> 00:12:35,850 own father. 255 00:12:37,110 --> 00:12:40,950 One of them has to do with how 256 00:12:40,950 --> 00:12:45,330 he would take things out of my brother 257 00:12:45,330 --> 00:12:48,110 and my eyes when we get something in 258 00:12:48,110 --> 00:12:48,590 our eyes. 259 00:12:50,550 --> 00:12:53,030 I don't know that I've ever had to 260 00:12:53,030 --> 00:12:53,990 do that with my kids. 261 00:12:54,110 --> 00:12:56,090 Maybe I have, but I don't remember it 262 00:12:56,090 --> 00:12:56,950 happening very often. 263 00:12:57,250 --> 00:12:59,470 But it seemed to me it happened to 264 00:12:59,470 --> 00:13:00,210 us frequently. 265 00:13:00,470 --> 00:13:02,270 He would always be taking something out of 266 00:13:02,270 --> 00:13:03,750 our eye that we were complaining about. 267 00:13:04,550 --> 00:13:07,450 I think it's probably because I grew up 268 00:13:07,450 --> 00:13:10,050 B.C. before contacts. 269 00:13:11,170 --> 00:13:13,090 And contacts seem to protect the eye a 270 00:13:13,090 --> 00:13:13,810 little more today. 271 00:13:14,670 --> 00:13:16,910 But I can remember how he did that. 272 00:13:16,910 --> 00:13:20,190 And, of course, it often always was at 273 00:13:20,190 --> 00:13:21,750 the end of the day. 274 00:13:23,170 --> 00:13:26,530 And he would take a handkerchief out of 275 00:13:26,530 --> 00:13:31,210 his pocket and twist the corner of it 276 00:13:31,210 --> 00:13:32,790 and make a little point. 277 00:13:33,750 --> 00:13:38,030 And then pull down the lid or turn 278 00:13:38,030 --> 00:13:40,430 under the upper lid and just touch the 279 00:13:40,430 --> 00:13:42,970 point of the handkerchief to the stick and 280 00:13:42,970 --> 00:13:43,650 lift it off. 281 00:13:44,430 --> 00:13:47,710 Much like you would lift off a little 282 00:13:47,710 --> 00:13:51,530 speck of dust or dirt from the top 283 00:13:51,530 --> 00:13:53,350 of a glass of water that's floating on 284 00:13:53,350 --> 00:13:53,690 the water. 285 00:13:53,790 --> 00:13:55,590 You don't dunk your finger in. 286 00:13:56,010 --> 00:13:56,830 That would sink it. 287 00:13:56,890 --> 00:13:58,750 You just barely touch it and that lifts 288 00:13:58,750 --> 00:13:59,190 it off. 289 00:14:00,050 --> 00:14:02,350 And likewise, he would just roll up that 290 00:14:02,350 --> 00:14:05,490 piece of handkerchief and just touch it and 291 00:14:05,490 --> 00:14:06,190 lift it off. 292 00:14:08,120 --> 00:14:09,320 Now that worked. 293 00:14:10,520 --> 00:14:14,300 But my father did not have great eyesight. 294 00:14:15,860 --> 00:14:17,400 This happened in the evening when we were 295 00:14:17,400 --> 00:14:18,180 ready to go to bed. 296 00:14:18,300 --> 00:14:21,040 He would maybe already have taken his glasses 297 00:14:21,040 --> 00:14:23,280 off and laid them on his dresser. 298 00:14:24,080 --> 00:14:25,720 And he was ready to take the speck 299 00:14:25,720 --> 00:14:27,080 out of our eyes. 300 00:14:28,720 --> 00:14:30,500 And I always said, Hold on. 301 00:14:31,040 --> 00:14:33,040 Please go get your glasses. 302 00:14:34,320 --> 00:14:39,400 I want you to see clearly before you 303 00:14:39,400 --> 00:14:41,000 mess around with my eye. 304 00:14:43,700 --> 00:14:46,120 Now there's a second subject, apparently unrelated. 305 00:14:46,860 --> 00:14:47,920 It has to do with prayer. 306 00:14:48,160 --> 00:14:51,400 This is one of the favorite passages on 307 00:14:51,400 --> 00:14:53,200 prayer in the New Testament. 308 00:14:54,360 --> 00:14:55,840 Ask and it shall be given you. 309 00:14:56,020 --> 00:14:57,200 Seek and you shall find. 310 00:14:57,360 --> 00:14:59,040 Knock and it shall be opened unto you. 311 00:14:59,920 --> 00:15:02,600 For everyone that asketh, asketh receiveth. 312 00:15:02,600 --> 00:15:04,680 And he that seeketh, findeth. 313 00:15:04,760 --> 00:15:06,160 And to him that knocketh, it shall be 314 00:15:06,160 --> 00:15:06,520 opened. 315 00:15:08,520 --> 00:15:10,300 Or what man is there of you whom, 316 00:15:10,500 --> 00:15:12,260 if his son ask bread, will he give 317 00:15:12,260 --> 00:15:12,900 him a stone? 318 00:15:14,700 --> 00:15:18,460 And the implied answer is, of course not. 319 00:15:18,640 --> 00:15:20,620 That's the way the original is constructed. 320 00:15:22,100 --> 00:15:24,200 Or if he ask a fish, he will 321 00:15:24,200 --> 00:15:26,120 not give him a serpent, will he? 322 00:15:28,220 --> 00:15:31,100 We can bring that expected answer into the 323 00:15:31,100 --> 00:15:32,240 question in English even. 324 00:15:32,980 --> 00:15:34,920 If he ask a fish, he will not 325 00:15:34,920 --> 00:15:36,180 give him a serpent, will he? 326 00:15:36,540 --> 00:15:38,240 You're supposed to answer, no. 327 00:15:39,300 --> 00:15:39,940 Of course not. 328 00:15:41,660 --> 00:15:43,540 If he then being evil, know how to 329 00:15:43,540 --> 00:15:44,860 give good gifts unto your children. 330 00:15:45,000 --> 00:15:46,620 How much more shall your Father which is 331 00:15:46,620 --> 00:15:48,900 in heaven give good gifts to them who 332 00:15:48,900 --> 00:15:49,540 ask him? 333 00:15:51,680 --> 00:15:52,880 Now it seems to me the Lord is 334 00:15:52,880 --> 00:15:55,900 saying two things about prayer, proper praying here. 335 00:15:56,980 --> 00:15:59,340 The first one is most obvious, verses 7 336 00:15:59,340 --> 00:15:59,780 and 8. 337 00:16:00,560 --> 00:16:01,940 Pray with persistence. 338 00:16:04,020 --> 00:16:07,600 Some commentators try to make distinctions between asking 339 00:16:07,600 --> 00:16:10,600 and seeking and knocking and maybe there are. 340 00:16:11,440 --> 00:16:13,640 I don't think the point is distinctions. 341 00:16:13,900 --> 00:16:16,060 I think the point is the repetition. 342 00:16:17,900 --> 00:16:19,420 That is, persist. 343 00:16:19,660 --> 00:16:21,720 Keep on asking and seeking and knocking. 344 00:16:23,280 --> 00:16:25,720 And the promise of verse 8 is that 345 00:16:25,720 --> 00:16:27,380 God will hear. 346 00:16:28,240 --> 00:16:29,440 Pray with persistence. 347 00:16:31,710 --> 00:16:36,310 Then he says pray, in ease to illustration, 348 00:16:36,850 --> 00:16:39,010 pray with trust. 349 00:16:41,820 --> 00:16:45,600 I deliberately am using the word trust rather 350 00:16:45,600 --> 00:16:46,340 than faith. 351 00:16:47,320 --> 00:16:49,280 There are synonyms, I know that. 352 00:16:50,560 --> 00:16:53,400 But I want to use the word trust. 353 00:16:53,620 --> 00:16:54,540 Pray with trust. 354 00:16:55,760 --> 00:16:58,060 For the simple reason that I think today 355 00:16:59,360 --> 00:17:03,020 pray with faith has become kind of a 356 00:17:03,020 --> 00:17:05,720 mechanical thing almost. 357 00:17:06,859 --> 00:17:08,640 You've got to have more faith. 358 00:17:10,910 --> 00:17:14,290 If you will have more faith, or a 359 00:17:14,290 --> 00:17:16,470 variation of it is, if enough of us 360 00:17:16,470 --> 00:17:20,250 will have more faith, then God is obliged 361 00:17:20,250 --> 00:17:20,849 to answer. 362 00:17:22,390 --> 00:17:26,410 Please don't misunderstand, I believe that corporate prayer 363 00:17:26,410 --> 00:17:27,390 is very biblical. 364 00:17:27,390 --> 00:17:29,790 Sharing requests is very biblical. 365 00:17:31,590 --> 00:17:37,290 But I'm not sure that God is obliged 366 00:17:37,290 --> 00:17:39,390 to anything. 367 00:17:42,550 --> 00:17:44,870 He promised certain things and of course he 368 00:17:44,870 --> 00:17:45,550 keeps his promises. 369 00:17:45,790 --> 00:17:48,790 But when I see on television or hear 370 00:17:48,790 --> 00:17:55,670 on some program this pray with faith, I 371 00:17:55,670 --> 00:17:58,310 get the impression that the only thing that's 372 00:17:58,310 --> 00:18:02,030 hindering God is something in me or in 373 00:18:02,030 --> 00:18:04,710 us or in the constituency of that program. 374 00:18:05,910 --> 00:18:08,730 If that were present then, whatever it is, 375 00:18:08,790 --> 00:18:11,770 if that were present then God is obliged 376 00:18:11,770 --> 00:18:12,810 to answer. 377 00:18:13,110 --> 00:18:14,870 The only reason he hasn't is that we 378 00:18:14,870 --> 00:18:17,150 haven't got enough people or enough people with 379 00:18:17,150 --> 00:18:18,870 enough faith or the right kind of faith 380 00:18:18,870 --> 00:18:20,910 or something involved. 381 00:18:23,020 --> 00:18:26,280 So I don't want to create that image. 382 00:18:26,400 --> 00:18:28,020 I want to discard that image. 383 00:18:28,160 --> 00:18:29,860 I want to nullify that image. 384 00:18:30,280 --> 00:18:32,760 So I don't want to say pray with 385 00:18:32,760 --> 00:18:33,340 faith. 386 00:18:36,090 --> 00:18:37,970 I want to say that the Lord is 387 00:18:37,970 --> 00:18:39,830 teaching in these two illustrations we're to pray 388 00:18:39,830 --> 00:18:41,010 with trust. 389 00:18:47,120 --> 00:18:48,240 Now look at the illustration. 390 00:18:51,140 --> 00:18:53,720 What man is there of you whom is 391 00:18:53,720 --> 00:18:55,240 his son asked bread? 392 00:18:56,180 --> 00:18:58,300 He won't give him a stone, will he? 393 00:19:01,770 --> 00:19:04,090 Bread, stone. 394 00:19:05,050 --> 00:19:13,380 Similar in shape, in look, color, but not 395 00:19:13,380 --> 00:19:17,820 texture or usefulness. 396 00:19:20,560 --> 00:19:21,880 And if we go to our Heavenly Father 397 00:19:21,880 --> 00:19:24,960 in prayer with trust, we may, the first 398 00:19:24,960 --> 00:19:29,840 illustration says, we may trust him not to 399 00:19:29,840 --> 00:19:35,810 give us something that will deceive us or 400 00:19:35,810 --> 00:19:39,030 to substitute a stone when you've asked for 401 00:19:39,030 --> 00:19:41,750 a loaf is a deception. 402 00:19:44,370 --> 00:19:45,550 Looks the same. 403 00:19:47,890 --> 00:19:49,850 Deceives you into thinking that it might be 404 00:19:49,850 --> 00:19:52,950 the same, but of course it's not the 405 00:19:52,950 --> 00:19:53,750 thing you asked for. 406 00:19:53,830 --> 00:19:54,430 It's not useful. 407 00:19:54,930 --> 00:19:56,790 So we can trust God never to deceive 408 00:19:56,790 --> 00:19:57,050 us. 409 00:20:00,090 --> 00:20:01,690 And again I got to thinking about this. 410 00:20:01,810 --> 00:20:07,090 How could an answer to prayer ever be 411 00:20:07,090 --> 00:20:08,570 a deception? 412 00:20:13,520 --> 00:20:18,100 Well, I'll use a student illustration if you 413 00:20:18,100 --> 00:20:18,600 don't mind. 414 00:20:20,320 --> 00:20:21,940 Students when they come up to the point 415 00:20:21,940 --> 00:20:25,220 of graduation or a point of decision will 416 00:20:25,220 --> 00:20:26,760 often pray to God for leading. 417 00:20:29,630 --> 00:20:33,030 Now suppose that the student or his wife 418 00:20:33,030 --> 00:20:38,850 really has an area of unwillingness in their 419 00:20:38,850 --> 00:20:44,090 desires or ambitions and they want leading except 420 00:20:44,090 --> 00:20:52,520 they want to be led either to Florida 421 00:20:52,520 --> 00:20:54,320 or Texas or California. 422 00:20:55,700 --> 00:20:58,360 I'll go anywhere in the Sun Belt, Lord. 423 00:20:59,920 --> 00:21:00,980 But New England? 424 00:21:03,460 --> 00:21:05,020 Oh, give us leading. 425 00:21:05,140 --> 00:21:08,640 Now if God should answer that, you see 426 00:21:08,640 --> 00:21:12,160 they might be deceived into thinking they were 427 00:21:12,160 --> 00:21:16,060 in fellowship when they really aren't. 428 00:21:19,040 --> 00:21:22,580 So I think it is possible to ask 429 00:21:22,580 --> 00:21:25,520 for something and if we got the answer 430 00:21:25,520 --> 00:21:29,400 it would just reinforce our thinking that everything's 431 00:21:29,400 --> 00:21:29,860 fine. 432 00:21:33,400 --> 00:21:36,460 We go on in our area of unwillingness 433 00:21:36,460 --> 00:21:39,400 and never deal with that before the Lord. 434 00:21:42,150 --> 00:21:45,930 Once I was speaking on the temptation of 435 00:21:45,930 --> 00:21:49,770 Christ in a church Sunday morning and I 436 00:21:49,770 --> 00:21:52,710 said something about stone turned to bread, of 437 00:21:52,710 --> 00:21:52,950 course. 438 00:21:54,230 --> 00:21:55,870 And I said, I don't know who's taking 439 00:21:55,870 --> 00:21:58,850 me to dinner today but I certainly hope 440 00:21:58,850 --> 00:22:01,750 that you're not tempted to do this. 441 00:22:02,870 --> 00:22:07,490 Trying to illustrate that Christ's temptation was peculiar 442 00:22:07,490 --> 00:22:08,050 to him. 443 00:22:08,210 --> 00:22:09,810 It's not one that we could even be 444 00:22:09,810 --> 00:22:10,450 tempted with. 445 00:22:10,870 --> 00:22:12,650 You can't be tempted to turn stone to 446 00:22:12,650 --> 00:22:12,910 bread. 447 00:22:13,210 --> 00:22:14,770 So I said, I hope whoever's taking me 448 00:22:14,770 --> 00:22:17,490 to dinner isn't tempted or doesn't think he 449 00:22:17,490 --> 00:22:18,770 could be tempted to do this. 450 00:22:19,270 --> 00:22:21,690 Well it so happened that the previous arrangements 451 00:22:21,690 --> 00:22:25,150 were for a couple's class in that church 452 00:22:25,150 --> 00:22:27,290 to have a potluck dinner. 453 00:22:28,530 --> 00:22:30,210 And so we went to a home and 454 00:22:30,210 --> 00:22:33,730 it was a spread like you've never seen 455 00:22:33,730 --> 00:22:34,770 unless you see it Monday. 456 00:22:34,950 --> 00:22:35,790 I don't know what it's going to be 457 00:22:35,790 --> 00:22:38,350 like Monday but it was a spread, I'll 458 00:22:38,350 --> 00:22:38,730 tell you. 459 00:22:39,530 --> 00:22:41,850 And they had a table twice as long 460 00:22:41,850 --> 00:22:43,810 as a communion table and twice as wide 461 00:22:44,430 --> 00:22:47,310 and like four of those tables set up 462 00:22:47,310 --> 00:22:50,030 and these couples had all brought their fanciest 463 00:22:50,030 --> 00:22:52,070 food and they laid it out there and 464 00:22:52,070 --> 00:22:53,990 when it came time to eat the hostess 465 00:22:53,990 --> 00:22:54,870 said, you go first. 466 00:22:55,010 --> 00:22:56,690 And so I went first and about the 467 00:22:56,690 --> 00:23:00,550 fourth item down the table was a loaf 468 00:23:00,550 --> 00:23:01,430 of homemade bread. 469 00:23:02,830 --> 00:23:04,230 I thought, that's great. 470 00:23:04,330 --> 00:23:06,410 So I picked up the knife to cut 471 00:23:06,410 --> 00:23:08,070 the first piece and I put the knife 472 00:23:08,070 --> 00:23:09,690 on the bread and it was a stone. 473 00:23:12,020 --> 00:23:15,760 And somehow between church and dinner they had 474 00:23:15,760 --> 00:23:18,140 found the stone and it looked just like 475 00:23:18,140 --> 00:23:18,740 a loaf of bread. 476 00:23:18,840 --> 00:23:19,700 I was deceived. 477 00:23:23,290 --> 00:23:24,490 I was deceived. 478 00:23:28,590 --> 00:23:37,220 Trust God never to deceive you even in 479 00:23:37,220 --> 00:23:38,120 an answer to prayer. 480 00:23:42,730 --> 00:23:43,830 The second illustration is different. 481 00:23:45,110 --> 00:23:48,070 Or if you ask a fish, he won't 482 00:23:48,070 --> 00:23:49,330 give him a serpent, will he? 483 00:23:50,310 --> 00:23:55,690 And again the similarities, the resemblances are close. 484 00:23:56,910 --> 00:23:59,250 But there's an added matter here. 485 00:23:59,470 --> 00:24:01,750 It's not something that's merely deceiving. 486 00:24:02,630 --> 00:24:06,250 If a serpent were substituted for a fish 487 00:24:07,090 --> 00:24:09,430 and it was the right kind of poisonous 488 00:24:09,430 --> 00:24:12,970 serpent then this would be something that would 489 00:24:12,970 --> 00:24:14,030 be damaging. 490 00:24:16,320 --> 00:24:19,460 When you pray, you can trust God never 491 00:24:19,460 --> 00:24:22,880 to give you anything that would damage you. 492 00:24:26,300 --> 00:24:28,460 And you know if God were to answer 493 00:24:28,460 --> 00:24:32,620 some of our prayers it would be very 494 00:24:32,620 --> 00:24:33,080 damaging. 495 00:24:35,180 --> 00:24:38,820 We think it would be very good but 496 00:24:38,820 --> 00:24:46,710 in reality it would be very damaging because 497 00:24:46,710 --> 00:24:48,230 we don't always know what we should pray 498 00:24:48,230 --> 00:24:50,130 for or what's the best thing to have. 499 00:24:51,470 --> 00:24:53,350 And while I think we should tell our 500 00:24:53,350 --> 00:24:57,930 Heavenly Father exactly what we feel the bottom 501 00:24:57,930 --> 00:25:01,590 line always has to be Lord, I want 502 00:25:01,590 --> 00:25:04,010 what you want me to have. 503 00:25:07,660 --> 00:25:09,860 And if what I'm asking for would be 504 00:25:09,860 --> 00:25:12,780 deceiving or damaging then don't give it to 505 00:25:12,780 --> 00:25:12,980 me. 506 00:25:15,430 --> 00:25:16,550 I'd rather not have it. 507 00:25:19,360 --> 00:25:23,320 Years ago when our children were little I 508 00:25:23,320 --> 00:25:27,580 was traveling to Southern California in the spring 509 00:25:27,580 --> 00:25:32,460 of the year and I said to them 510 00:25:32,460 --> 00:25:35,360 you know I'll probably go over to Mexico 511 00:25:36,720 --> 00:25:38,820 and is there anything you'd like me to 512 00:25:38,820 --> 00:25:39,520 bring to you? 513 00:25:41,120 --> 00:25:46,120 And this one chorus they said firecrackers. 514 00:25:49,690 --> 00:25:52,450 It was in June and the 4th of 515 00:25:52,450 --> 00:25:55,950 July was approaching and firecrackers are illegal in 516 00:25:55,950 --> 00:25:59,470 Dallas so they said bring us some firecrackers. 517 00:26:00,670 --> 00:26:02,730 Well I said that isn't legal, how can 518 00:26:02,730 --> 00:26:03,290 I do that? 519 00:26:03,610 --> 00:26:05,790 Well just bring us some sparklers. 520 00:26:08,580 --> 00:26:10,840 That won't, well they won't hurt anything. 521 00:26:12,240 --> 00:26:14,200 I thought of this and tonight we had 522 00:26:14,200 --> 00:26:15,880 a birthday and somebody had a sparkler in 523 00:26:15,880 --> 00:26:16,520 the dining room. 524 00:26:17,640 --> 00:26:20,640 I thought of that incident long ago. 525 00:26:21,860 --> 00:26:23,220 Just bring us sparklers. 526 00:26:24,560 --> 00:26:25,960 That's not dangerous. 527 00:26:26,180 --> 00:26:28,260 We'll light them on the back porch, it's 528 00:26:28,260 --> 00:26:32,440 concrete and we'll be careful of the hot 529 00:26:32,440 --> 00:26:33,580 wires and all of that. 530 00:26:33,660 --> 00:26:35,800 What could be dangerous about sparklers? 531 00:26:37,300 --> 00:26:39,480 So I went to San Diego and I 532 00:26:39,480 --> 00:26:41,820 went across the border to Tijuana and I 533 00:26:41,820 --> 00:26:44,800 thought to myself you know I love my 534 00:26:44,800 --> 00:26:46,560 kids, why shouldn't I bring them sparklers? 535 00:26:46,720 --> 00:26:48,560 They probably won't hurt themselves with it and 536 00:26:48,560 --> 00:26:52,900 I'll be there and we'll watch everything and 537 00:26:52,900 --> 00:26:53,680 that'll please them. 538 00:26:57,840 --> 00:27:00,780 And every time I thought of buying sparklers 539 00:27:00,780 --> 00:27:04,660 or other firecrackers I also thought of a 540 00:27:04,660 --> 00:27:09,200 three inch scar I have on my legs 541 00:27:09,200 --> 00:27:12,080 from a firecracker accident. 542 00:27:14,920 --> 00:27:16,020 So I went home. 543 00:27:18,460 --> 00:27:19,520 Daddy, what'd you bring us? 544 00:27:20,220 --> 00:27:20,620 Nothing. 545 00:27:23,020 --> 00:27:24,060 No firecrackers? 546 00:27:24,280 --> 00:27:24,460 No. 547 00:27:24,600 --> 00:27:25,360 No sparklers? 548 00:27:25,540 --> 00:27:25,860 No. 549 00:27:26,500 --> 00:27:30,380 And there was great weeping and wailing and 550 00:27:30,380 --> 00:27:31,340 gnashing of teeth. 551 00:27:32,420 --> 00:27:34,680 You don't love us! 552 00:27:38,330 --> 00:27:41,830 But of course it was precisely because I 553 00:27:41,830 --> 00:27:46,090 did love them that I did not grant 554 00:27:46,090 --> 00:27:47,930 their request. 555 00:27:54,180 --> 00:27:56,380 You notice both bread and fish. 556 00:27:57,200 --> 00:27:58,260 These are basics. 557 00:28:00,360 --> 00:28:01,360 These aren't luxuries. 558 00:28:02,380 --> 00:28:04,320 These aren't peripheral things. 559 00:28:05,080 --> 00:28:06,400 These are basic things. 560 00:28:08,720 --> 00:28:12,100 God will not do anything, even the basics 561 00:28:12,100 --> 00:28:17,320 of life to deceive us or to damage 562 00:28:17,320 --> 00:28:17,620 us. 563 00:28:17,800 --> 00:28:21,960 But the positive promise of verse 11 is 564 00:28:21,960 --> 00:28:26,260 if ye then being evil and that's all 565 00:28:26,260 --> 00:28:29,900 of us spoken to the disciples and all 566 00:28:29,900 --> 00:28:33,040 of us if ye then being evil know 567 00:28:33,040 --> 00:28:35,120 how to give good gifts to your children 568 00:28:36,240 --> 00:28:40,020 this is a wonderful verse to keep theologians 569 00:28:40,020 --> 00:28:42,900 honest when they define total depravity. 570 00:28:44,840 --> 00:28:46,520 Now if you could watch that film and 571 00:28:46,520 --> 00:28:48,160 listen to all those technical terms you can 572 00:28:48,160 --> 00:28:48,800 listen to this. 573 00:28:50,760 --> 00:28:53,640 Total depravity some people say means nobody can 574 00:28:53,640 --> 00:28:54,360 do anything good. 575 00:28:54,580 --> 00:28:58,640 This verse doesn't agree with that definition. 576 00:28:59,680 --> 00:29:02,460 If ye then being evil know how to 577 00:29:02,460 --> 00:29:06,380 give good gifts evil people can do good 578 00:29:06,380 --> 00:29:06,920 things. 579 00:29:08,500 --> 00:29:10,620 Depravity is not a question of whether a 580 00:29:10,620 --> 00:29:13,020 person can do good or not it's a 581 00:29:13,020 --> 00:29:15,660 question of whatever he does is that acceptable 582 00:29:15,660 --> 00:29:16,360 with God? 583 00:29:16,940 --> 00:29:18,000 And the answer is no. 584 00:29:18,760 --> 00:29:20,760 It's the good things or the wicked things. 585 00:29:22,060 --> 00:29:24,160 Evil people know how to give good gifts 586 00:29:24,160 --> 00:29:26,980 to your children then here's the positive promise 587 00:29:26,980 --> 00:29:29,080 how much more shall your Father in Heaven 588 00:29:29,080 --> 00:29:33,480 give good things to those that ask Him? 589 00:29:34,980 --> 00:29:36,500 Good from whose viewpoint? 590 00:29:37,600 --> 00:29:38,560 From His.