Pictures That Tell a Story (Part 2 of 2)

Anytime were on an airplane flight structures that remind us in case of emergency which her own oxygen mask on first before you help others with theirs. Jesus similarly exhorted leaders to address their own issues in their lives before they tried to reform others. So what marks an effective teacher. That's what Alister Ben will be talking about today on Truth for Life weekend where Luke chapter 6 verses 39 through 45 every so often, in a humorous way with a dreadful experience of being a party or something walking around and they're all doing at small talk to you come up and talk to somebody and got some dreadful sludge or something on their face piece hanging from somewhere.

They should be hanging there there there and one of the glasses is out or whatever it is you don't really know the person you're trying to, you want to say and you know whatever it is you can bring yourself to do it again. It should because they're going and how are you doing everywhere they go. You know that everybody can see what they can see and eventually they got at a restaurant burst into tears because he realized they look like this for ages now are completely self deceit they think they look great. They look funny now.

It is this notion that Jesus then employs in his third picture, which is the picture if you like of the Twain and the plank. Now the words are pretty clear. Actually the word for that is translated here a speck of sawdust. It's used in classical Greek, usually in the plural to describe twigs or strawberry are bits and pieces, the kind of things that you finally rake up after you've been working in the in the garden is a word that is used in Genesis chapter 8 and verse 11 in the Septuagint version which of the Greek translation of the Old Testament when you go to verse 11 of chapter 8 of the description of the dog coming back to the art after no I send it out and it is carrying in its beak a piece of all of leaf branch, twig, whatever is the exact same words a car for us word that is used here and is translated plank is the word dual costs which is the load bearing beam in a house or in a structure and so it is a massive piece there probably is not a larger piece of metal it is cast metal RRR or wood in your home and in the places where you find those beams and so here's a picture is a humorous picture. He was able.

Jesus wasn't humorous or tall, we never have a record of them laughing but he uses humor here to make his point is, can you imagine walking around with a huge load bearing beam sticking out of the front of your head and your oblivious to the fact that is there and you keep going out to people this thing sticking out of your I think excuse me, I think you have a there's a little twig there in the corner of your eye.

The person says you just backed up ever so slightly. Please, I why why is this thing what will the island of a thing I want to talk to about the thing in the corner of your eye is the point that he's making. Why is it that you're going around looking at the twig in your brother's eye, and you actually have decided not to pay any attention to the plank in your own why is it he says that you think you can take to yourself the privilege of dealing with everybody else's spiritual condition while frankly, refusing to deal with your you thing that somehow or another you been given the prerogative to call people out to invite him to coffee to send them little notes to admonish them in the Lord because of their twig when in point of fact, you are a walking contradiction, partly truth and barley fiction. And if you would only take a minute. He says and look in your shaving mirror or look when you do your eyebrows a huge thing sticking in your face.

How is he says in verse 42 that you can go around and see these things to your brothers and sisters excuse me, I wonder if you would let me take the speck out of your eye when you yourself fail to see the plank in your son Jesus. As you know what this is hypocrisy.

What is it the people save our churches might only go to churches is the number one thing so many hypocrites that is I want to go there. True is when Jesus is set out in search of the characteristics of Christian discipleship and I want you to understand that if you don't fall in a pit. I was as a result of listening to and following blind guides or you yourself become a teacher that managers deliver the self-delusion you will be a walking hypocrite. What is the hypocrisy. I think the hypocrisy is enough. Think concern because of me trying think of an illustration that I don't have before me, let let's do a dumb one that no one will get offended about lead student diets okay, okay, a few people get offended, that's all right. You have just come home early.

Always around belittling to the house you grab the planters, peanuts started eating them handful at a time you open the freezer thing you find vanilla ice cream. You start on that you find a chocolate bar that somebody brought from England.

You read that this is not biographical at all.

You read that and after you are swollen like a beached whale somebody very close to you comes home and eats records of a Snickers bar and you say hey I thought we had a deal first quitting the planters the ice cream. The chocolate bars from England before you start talking about pieces of candy 1/8 of an inch deep. Why would you be so concerned about that when you're so unconcerned about this. You see, what makes it so condemning is this the hypocrisy is all the more unpleasant because it is an apparent act of kindness. See that's what gives is this little feeling of superiority because we they were being ever so kind.

The only reason I'm pointing this out to you is because you know I care for your soul. Sometimes when you hear that you want to go blow it out your hearing on you, but I do. I'm sorry I do indeed of all the things that have been pointed out to me if I if I had to take every one of them serious and be in a mental institution today. I'm not saying that they were all without justification, but I'd rather somebody as happens to me come up without any sense of disguise and nail me. Then, with apparent act of kindness that is a means of inflating our own ego and saying you know I really just want to deal with this because such and such and the spirit of censorious mess is such that I seek to exalt myself by disparaging other people.

That's the hypocrisy I feel that I can deal with sin vicariously by finding it in my brother and sister and condemning it there without dealing with it here so that I gives me the weird sensation of experiencing a sense of self-righteousness without facing the pain of penitence so that if I can find your flaw and deal with you and tell you that I only want to do so because I'm a great concern for you and I love you and I'm very Kindly disposed and thereby prevent myself from dealing with this young is a total hypocrite.

Jesus is not turning over Matthew 18 is not turning over the notion of exhorting and encouraging one another. He's not turning over the all of his instruction about go show. Show yourself to the person go deal with your brother before you come to communion and so one is not overturning that until he said let's just get this in.

Let's get this in sequence here before you go on a crusade as a reformer. Make sure your reform before you go on a crusade as a teacher. Make sure you're taught before you go on a crusade as an ophthalmologist. Make sure you take that huge big thing on the front your face because you have great difficulty actually seeing into the eyes of the people you thing a little sex in other words, do-it-yourselfers learn says Jesus to be as critical of yourself as you often resolve others and be as generous to others as you always are with yourself as a challenge Jell-O to be generous with myself and critical of you maybe feel the same way says no let's be as critical of ourselves as we always are with other people unless be as generous to other people as we want to be generous with ourselves. In other words, rigid self-examination should proceed, and will often preclude the kind of judgment that he condemned in verse 37 and you will notice that in verse 42. He uses the word then and then he says you hypocrite take the plank out of your eye, and then we might add in parenthesis and only then or not until then will you see clearly enough to remove the speck from your brother's eye.

Only when self reformation is taken place will it be possible for us to see clearly enough to help others. You will notice, incidentally, that there is a problem there that there is a spec there is not saying that it is and there is just saying don't go there and trying to get out into you for still and I think we will often find that will have so much time dealing with this. There will be a lot of time for the event and will spend so much time dealing with this, there won't be a then to go there and deal with in the garble of other ways of dealing with that. And then because for the other person sitting over there.

What they regard as a twig is really a plank and so on. You understand how works to because what what I think is a twig is really a plank. I want to treat as a twig Jesus as a plank. I want to try for years as a plank Jesus twig you want to do the plank deal here one doing the twig deal there but not until you delve the plank your picture for a tree and its fruit and with this we wrap it up thorns and briars do not produce figs and grapes. The identity of a tree is determined by its fruit will be the actions of a disciple that show what he or she is like at heart. Those who are unreformed in character, and no more reform others than thorns and briars can produce figs and grapes want to know whether this is a good tree you take time to look at its fruit.

If you want to know it was a bad tree do the same, and an MFA in passage, Jesus says, by their fruits you shall know them. Here he ends it out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks of the context again. His teachers is ignored. If we allow that there is a syntax to all of this line guides students, teachers, specs, tree fruit, what is the fruit that I would suggest you three things and I just going to give you a word or two on each. How should we think then of the fruit or think of it. First of all, in terms of the character of the teacher. What is the fruit how we go to see the fruit is going to be conveyed in his character in her character. When Jesus teaches about the vine and the branches. He says that fruitfulness equals Christ likeness.

So each tree is recognized by its own fruit. What is the fruit of the spirit, love, joy, peace, gentleness, kindness, goodness, self-control.

So he says okay here's a teacher.

Let me tell you how to assess and not by his eloquence, not by his apparent giftedness, not by her abilities, not by her rhetoric by her grades and radio program by the fact she's a great woman speaker. Whatever it is is is no use that as a test normal doing in relationship to the fruit. When will the fruit be in will be expressed in character and when instead of kindness and self-control were dealing with enmity were dealing with impunity would deal with jealousy, with dealing with self injustice indulgence then we are justified in suspecting that the teacher was an imposter and if you don't I just read in Matthew seven where Jesus is actually talking about false prophets so fruit number one. The character of the teacher number two. The content of the teaching the content of the teaching.

If a person's heart is revealed by his words as a tree is known by its fruit.

Then we have a responsibility to judge the teacher by the teaching both positivity what your life that is your character and your doctrine closely. Life character doctrine teaching Gail will the blind guides those whose character is out to lunch and those whose content is not true to the instruction of the Bible when John addresses the churches in Asia who had been invaded by falsehood. He said I'm writing these things to you about those who are trying to lead you astray.

Not everybody shows up in the Bible has the best interests of the people at heart.

Not everybody was on TV and names the name of Christ is a true prophet false prophets abound.

He says that's why it is imperative that you as a congregation that we as individuals learn the Bible and one of the main reasons that you have to learn the Bible so large is to make sure that I don't go wrong so you will become said students of the book is a when I met fruit your second pear tree. You look like an apple tree house see this. Is it any wonder the gym says I know many of you become teachers for you teachers will be judgment, greater strictness, dear friends. He says do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God. John was concerned that his readers would apply the tests not only of behavior but also of belief because sound doctrine and holy living are the marks of the true prophet, fruit the character of the teacher fruits the content of the teaching fruit. The impact on the talked the impact on the taught that I think is the significance of this interaction between the student and the teacher and becoming fully trained and becoming like his teacher. There is no question about that. You unless there is a complete disengagement between the teacher's role in a classroom or any university or from a pulpit, by and large, all things being equal, a congregation will take on the emphasis of the primary teacher of the Bible, which again makes it a sobering responsibility when people then are fed on error. The impact will be like the spread of gangrene and when truth is banished and error is embraced, you will find.

According to the pastoral epistles amongst the congregation ungodliness and bitter division. We understand that it is possible in any congregation for ungodliness to erupt and for division to exist in the best of places. However, those will be aberrations, they will not be the hallmark of that congregation. But when you go amongst the people and you find that it is not my ungodliness a lack of of application of the Bible to the existence of life and to the relationships with one another in the sense of glycation is the divisions and animosity and strife and manifold chaos. He says you want to be able to see this is the very fruit of the instruction and he says there will be a direct correlation between the character of the teacher. The content of the teaching of the impact that it makes upon the people live there. Every schoolteacher knows this is one of the reasons I think that's what this is almost a political statement, but is one of the reasons that teachers don't want the results. You know the results oriented remuneration system. Why not if you're any good.

Every salesman worth his salt wants results based remuneration, or you just want to stand up and talk and you don't care what happens you to stand up and share your wisdom, let the children run around doing like you want to actually take seriously the fact that no pupil is above their teacher. But when they are fully trained, they will become like their teacher and face up to the responsibility that it makes think is probably because you stay about making them geniuses were done about advancing the ball, your teacher, let me tell you, I will know your fruits. We need your class soon this means in relationship to these things and that in the most direct, unequivocal, unavoidable terms. Listen carefully, loved ones and with this we close if people come amongst Parkside church and in the daily interchange of conversation in the gathering to talk in meals and coffee and attending events together and so on. Pickup the flavor of Judge mentalism. They pick up a spirit of divisiveness they pick up all that is negative and untrue war than they may actually simply be picking up the emphasis of the teacher.

But if they come amongst us, and they find that there is a commitment to righteousness, and to pace and to joy in the Holy Spirit then they will know that it is the fruit of the instruction fruit takes time to grow. That's why it's useful to stay around for a while and one of the reasons I don't want to go anywhere is because because of you because of your patients because of your forbearance because of your love because of your willingness to say all don't worry about that is not really like that all the time. That was of that was a bad one. He'll come around because if you knew what I was really like you never listen to me preach and if I knew what you were really like. I wouldn't reached, but over the long haul and were able to say you know the character of the conduct.

The message the motives, the influence are not perfect in any one of us but they're trending at least in the right direction can help. There's a genuine, honest open spirit of contrition before the Bible is honesty before the Scriptures saying teacher and students alike. We are not what we are yet to be calm, but we are different from what we wear, you can never lead souls heavenward and less claiming yourself. You may not be very high up but you must be claiming and that we are all together learners from the one true teacher, the one who knows the answers Jesus, the one who says why do you actually call me Lord, Lord, and do not do the things I tell you which brings us to picture number five which allows us to anticipate next week as Alistair Begged with the conclusion of a message titled pictures that tell a story listing to Truth for Life weekend.

We hope you'll keep listening. Alister will be back in just a minute to close today's program as we just learned sound doctrine and holy living are the marks of a true prophet, but sometimes even the best of leaders can get things wrong.

It's why it's so important that all of us understand the Bible so that when God's word is taught we can discern truth from error.

Today we want to recommend to you a book to help you do just that. The book is titled know the truth, a handbook of Christian belief.

This is a book written to guide us through the key theological truths of the Bible. Each chapter explains what the Bible teaches about a particular topic that is core to our faith. For example, there's a chapter on humanity that explains the nature and extent of sin our relationship with God and there's an updated section in the book that addresses topics like postmodernism and pluralism you will be greatly helped by the book, know the truth.

It's newly updated. It's highly recommended from Alister and the entire team your Truth for Life. It will serve you well as an ongoing reference to core Christian doctrines. This is the last weekend will be featuring the book know the truth. So if you'd like to learn more, visit our website Truth for Life.org and search the title.

No, the truth now hears Alister to close with prayer Lord our God use search doesn't know our hearts.

You know when we sit down and when we stand up we thank you for the immensity of your love. Thank you that when we are ungrateful, you remain kind when we are wicked, you remain true to your word.

Thank you for giving us one another. Help us to do what the Bible says and thereby to make the gospel of Jesus attractive to those who are wondering about the grace of the Lord Jesus and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit rest upon and remain with each one of us today and forever more from Bob Lapine hope you'll join us next week. You will find out why it's dangerous to hear Jesus teaching if we don't intend to obey it. The Bible teaching of Alistair Begg is furnished by Truth for Life with the learning is overlooking