185-Avoid Judgment, Hold on to Rest#
185-Avoid Judgment, Hold on to Rest
(JP Text Group - Organized by the Little Prince of Heaven)
The Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 7, Verses 1-6
The topic we are sharing today is: Avoid Judgment, Hold on to Rest.
1 “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. 2 For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. 3 Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? 4 How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite! First take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye. 6 Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and then turn and tear you to pieces.”
Let us first pray together:
Heavenly Father, we especially thank and praise You. You have prepared this time for us to worship and praise You together here, because today is a day that You have set apart as holy. May You supply everything Your children need today. You know what each of us lacks in our hearts, Holy Spirit, please supply us and help us during this time. In the name of Lord Jesus, we pray. Amen!
When Jesus was teaching people, He mentioned something: Do not judge others, or you will be judged.
Here, does you refer to God or to people? That's right, God does not judge us. Because if God judged us, we would not be able to live. When we judge others, what do others give us? The same judgment, right? If you can point out their faults today, can’t they point out your faults? In fact, they know everything. Do not do such things, because doing so will lead to what kind of result? That is, we will be outside of rest.
Some people often live outside of God’s rest. What are the characteristics they display? They are restless and anxious, unable to see God’s blessings, so they can only see the bad. These are people who have lost rest; they are used to only seeing the negative side of things. For example, if someone is preparing to start a business, in their mind they might think: What if this business goes wrong? If I lose money, how much can I lose? They always think about these negative things before they even start, repeatedly worrying about what to do if they incur losses.
For instance, a newly renovated house may actually look very beautiful, right? But they can point out this and that place that isn’t quite right. We call such people perfectionists, but they actually have issues in their hearts. There are many perfect things they fail to see, and when dealing with others, they can always see others' shortcomings and deficiencies.
But we should not be such people; we need to look at the world and people through Christ’s eyes. First, we must cultivate the habit of seeing the strengths of others, just like our God does. Do you think God does not know our shortcomings? He knew our shortcomings when He saved us, and even after He died for us, we still did not understand what He had done for us. Everything was completed, yet when people enjoy all that Jesus has done, they still do not want it!
So for us, Jesus Christ knows all our problems, all our shortcomings, and all our faults. Yet He still accepts us. Therefore, you will see that Jesus is often in rest, isn’t He? We always say: Rest is not about doing nothing, it is not about sleeping; it is a victorious mindset in His heart, unaffected by circumstances and situations.
So brothers and sisters, what we need to see is the strengths of others. This requires training, which can also be called discipline. You need to be trained to see the strengths of others, to see their advantages; in this way, your interpersonal relationships will change. You see, many couples or parent-child relationships are not harmonious today. Why is that? Because they cannot see each other’s strengths; their eyes are filled with the shortcomings of the other. At such times, what good words can come out of your mouth?
So it is the same; when we train ourselves to see the strengths and advantages of others, your interpersonal relationships will change, and your words will also change, right? If we always look at others and pick on their faults, think about it, can others see anything good in us? If we always see others' shortcomings, we will magnify their weaknesses, which will also magnify our worries, causing us to lose rest.
Think about it, if you do not trust anyone, what will you think in your heart? You will live in great pain because you do not trust anyone. Then you will do everything yourself, whether you are the boss in a company or anyone else. If you tell your employees: Today you do this for me, but you do not trust them, will you not have to redo it after they finish? Isn’t that exhausting? If you do not trust your child and say: Today you help me with this, but you are watching them and start to criticize them, then you will be even more tired, and the child will feel tired too.
This is interpersonal relationships. When we do not see others' strengths, we will lose that rest, and in the end, we will not trust anyone. So this problem will keep arising. Some people always complain about their partners, saying they are not good at this or that, forgetting why they got married in the first place. You see, when they got married, it was a solemn promise, but after marriage, it seems they can no longer see their strengths, only a pile of faults, and thus we lose rest.
So I encourage you to discover the strengths of others and write them down. Do not say you cannot find them; you definitely can. So you need to train yourself to write these things down. Do not say: Oh, I can just say it! I know it in my heart. This is the implicitness of Chinese people! In fact, some things do not need to be implicit; they should be said. Or if you really do not know, you should write it down. If you sincerely look for it, you will always find it, right?
Everyone has strengths. Think about it, you can marry them; can you not find their strengths? There must be some. It’s just that we may not have found them. Perhaps this person is not good at expressing themselves, but they are very serious in their work, very focused. Maybe they have some bad habits, but they are very honest.
Write these things down, and then read them every day, and you will find that they are very perfect people. You will easily walk out of the trap of judgment. So the key is where you focus your attention. If you focus on negative things, you will magnify negative things.
Verse 3 says: Why do you see the speck in your brother’s eye?
Why can we see the speck in others' eyes? Is that speck easy to see? Let me give you an example: If you have a splinter in your hand, can you see the splinter in your hand? You cannot see it. Let alone the speck in someone’s eye?
These are very small things, but if you magnify them, you will see the speck in their eye, yet not think about the plank in your own eye. Which is bigger, the plank or the speck? Are their natures not the same? Do not forget that the plank is also wood, and the splinter is also wood. We see a little problem in others but do not realize that perhaps our own problem is much bigger.
What Jesus means is: Do not focus on others' weaknesses and faults; focus on their strengths and positive things, and you will see God’s grace, which will bring you joy and peace. Remember, brothers and sisters, praise always influences people more than judgment.
If today a husband says: Oh, your cooking is terrible, and look at your bowl, it’s not clean... what will you do? Will you complain? In this situation, the wife might say: If you don’t like it, don’t eat it, whatever, I’ll just do it this way. Do you see the conclusion is like this? But if this person is very smart, he might say: Oh, dear, actually, if you improve the cooking a little, it will be better. By praising her, doesn’t she then have the motivation to do it? It is much more effective than judging her.
Similarly, in interpersonal relationships, praise always influences people more than judgment. If we keep criticizing and judging others, perhaps the problem is not with others but with ourselves. I have heard a pastor tell a story: A couple moved into a new neighborhood, and one day while having breakfast, the wife happened to see clothes hanging on the balcony across from them. She noticed that the clothes seemed a bit dirty, so she told her husband: Look at that woman next door; she doesn’t even know how to wash her clothes. I can imagine the laundry detergent she bought might be problematic, or something like that. She criticized every day, unable to believe how a wife could wash clothes like that.
A few weeks later, she looked out the window again and saw that the neighbor’s clothes were very white and clean. At that moment, she said to her husband: Oh, dear, our neighbor finally knows how to wash clothes! We do not know what happened in her home. Do you know what her husband smiled and said to her? I woke up particularly early today, and I cleaned the window.
Brothers and sisters? If we look at others through a dirty window, we will see that person as dirty.
Brothers and sisters, the key is our inner heart. If the heart is clean, you will see joy in everyone. If the heart is filled with goodness, you will see goodness in everyone. But if a person’s heart is filled with dirty things, they will not trust anyone. The reason for the doubting person is that they doubt themselves, let alone trust others. This is the problem. In fact, it lies in our hearts. If the window in our hearts is not clean, we will see everyone as dirty.
Let’s look at a verse, Titus 1:15: To the pure, all things are pure, but to those who are corrupted and do not believe, nothing is pure. Even their minds and consciences are corrupted.
Wow! Doesn’t this verse say it very clearly? If a person’s heart is clean, to them all things are clean. To the corrupted and unbelieving, nothing is clean; even heaven and earth in their hearts are corrupted, and their consciences are corrupted. So if we keep focusing on others’ problems, we gradually develop a habit of looking at others’ shortcomings, resulting in us becoming cynical, sarcastic, and not easily trusting others. In fact, such people are often outside of rest, you know? They are particularly prone to anger, seeing everything as unsatisfactory, and nothing pleasing to their eyes. In fact, such people have trained themselves to be this way.
So today, should we Christians also accept God’s training? It is to let you live a life that is completely different from the world, not to be a group of people who nitpick. When problems arise, we should first think: Is there a problem with the window in our hearts? Cleaning it might solve the problem.
Perhaps we have become judgmental, quick to condemn, and unwilling to tolerate others, and we have fallen into condemnation. So every day, many people will find themselves filled with anger, frustration, and painful emotions at work. They eventually find that their colleagues treat them poorly, their bosses treat them poorly, and their family members treat them poorly. When this problem keeps recurring, perhaps it is because the window of our hearts is problematic. At this time, let God’s words come in and clean it. Amen!
Thank the Lord, many times we find that identifying problems does not solve problems. We feel that everyone is against us, which may indicate that we have a problem. There was a young lady whose parents were like this; they particularly liked to criticize, criticizing neighbors, complaining about the city they lived in, and lamenting how terrible their boss was.
Brothers and sisters, when we see this person who complains and criticizes everything, we know that perhaps this person’s heart window is dirty, so they have developed a habit of picking faults. So what should we do now? Start training ourselves to see the strengths of others, to see the good in the world. Amen!
For example, when you go to work, do not spend all day thinking about the things you dislike about your boss; focus on their positive aspects. Think about it: If it weren’t for your boss, where would you complain? Where would they go to pay your salary? For us, this is indeed a channel through which God blesses you, right? This is something we need to understand.
For instance, for those of us who drive, what frustrates us the most? Traffic jams. Sitting in traffic for half an hour or an hour can make a person extremely angry. At this time, you can’t do anything, and it is easy to lose rest. If you are really stuck in traffic, you might as well pay attention to your surroundings and see the beautiful world that God has created.
Sometimes we are too anxious, rushing every day and forgetting how beautiful the world God created is. Or if you see nothing on the roadside, you might as well open our network and listen to our sermon recordings; that is also a form of enjoyment. Perhaps we do not have that much time usually, but during traffic jams, listening to them is also a good thing. If during the traffic jam you keep complaining and whining, does it have any effect? No effect at all. It is better to change your perspective and look at the world differently; perhaps it will be different.
So when the spirit of judgment arises, you should deal with it repeatedly. Do not rush to argue with others; do not let the spirit of criticism always pop up. Perhaps we have different opinions, but we should not nitpick. If we want to criticize or judge others, do not forget that the devil is the real accuser. Amen!
He is the one who truly accuses the brethren. You should know where this spirit of judgment comes from; it is definitely not from God but from the evil one. Amen!
We should not stand with the evil one; we should stand with God. We should believe in the best side, that this person may have a thousand shortcomings, but if you can find one strength, it may completely change your mood. You need to know: Why does God love me today? Do we have more shortcomings than strengths? Do we have more problems than benefits? Then why does Jesus love us? The reason is simple: because He is filled with love! Do you understand?
So what He gives can only be love. Even if you are not good at anything, if you believe in Him, He can change you. Because His love can change you. This is what our Lord Jesus Christ does in our lives, while judgment is different; judgment feels that this person is beyond saving, that this person is completely hopeless, so it only sees their faults.
God forgives us. When we want to judge others, we should think about one question: In front of God, we have more problems, but Jesus never said: Your problems are too terrible; you are too awful, so you do not deserve my blessing. Did Jesus ever say such words? No. Jesus always says: You are forgiven. As long as you are willing to believe in Him, Jesus says: Your faith has saved you. This is Jesus’ view of us.
If we understand how much Jesus loves us and how many sins He has forgiven us, we should not casually condemn others or easily point out their problems.
Because the scripture says: Do not judge others, or you will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.
My eldest daughter is now five years old, and the younger one is just over one year old. Sometimes the older one scares the younger one with a loud voice. At first, the younger one might be afraid, but after a time or two, do you know what happens? The younger one gets used to it. When you scare him, do you know what the younger one does? He says “ah,” and guess what the younger one does? He also says “ah” back to you. In the end, the older one sees that this trick does not work anymore, so she hits him. Do you know how the younger one reacts? The younger one also starts hitting her, regardless of whether he can win or not; he has already started hitting her.
After I saw this situation, I knew that the words in the Bible are clearly reflected in each of us: How you judge others, you will also be judged; with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. Isn’t this our way of dealing with the world?
So later I told my daughter: You know, it would be better if you changed your approach to your brother. Instead of scaring him, always comfort him, praise him, or kiss him, and see how he responds to you. During breakfast, when they were together, the sister made a gesture, and the brother had to squeeze in. This time she deliberately made space, and her brother sat behind and squeezed in, then hugged his sister. As a result, when she turned around, she kissed her brother again, and their relationship became very harmonious.
At the dining table, I told my daughter: Did you see that? If you always treat your brother this way, you see, he doesn’t hit you anymore, right? He doesn’t scare you anymore, right? The problem is solved. So isn’t it the same among adults? Sometimes, by paying attention to the behavior of children, you will realize that adults have the same problems.
So brothers and sisters, the key is still where we focus our attention. Be cautious of those who judge others in front of you. Brothers and sisters, remember: If someone speaks ill of another person in front of you, be cautious of such a judgmental person; do not let them influence you. Why?
Your ears are not a trash can. Remember one thing: If this person can speak ill of another person in front of you, then one day, they can also speak ill of you in front of others. Because their eyes always see others’ problems, this person is outside of rest. What we need to do is to avoid judgment and hold on to rest! Amen!
Do not let yourself fall into the category of judgment; this will cause us to lose rest. If your friend always likes to criticize, nitpick, gossip, and slander others, then you should make other friends. Because if you are with judgmental people, one day you will also become like them.
Conversely, if you often associate with those who discuss Jesus, just like we have a saying in the Lord today, “those with higher spiritual lives,” being with such people will surely uplift your faith. The reason is simple: You will be influenced by the kind of people you associate with. If you have misunderstandings or conflicts with others, remember to clarify face-to-face, but do not criticize or judge that person behind their back. Some things we may have only heard from others, and those things may not be accurate. Perhaps there are many ways of doing things that you do not agree with, but because you are not them, there are many things you do not understand. Do not fall into judgment.
Once, the disciples saw a man who was blind from birth, and they fell into judgment, asking: Who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?
Jesus did not join them in judging this matter, saying: Neither this man nor his parents sinned. Here, it does not mean he did not sin, but rather that this matter today has nothing to do with sin. Amen! So we should not do such judgmental things; do not fall into judgment.
Today, many people often ask me: Oh, our pastor is not a good person; what should we do? How do you generally respond to such people? I say: If you are willing to stay in this church, I do not hope you will speak ill of your pastor in front of me anymore. Because you are still in this church, you should uphold your church and your pastor. Even if he has a thousand faults, if there is one thing in his preaching that benefits you, it is worth remembering that strength in your heart.
If you really think your pastor is not a good person, then it is fine to change to another church, but do not speak ill of him in front of others. This is my advice to others. The same goes in the workplace; some people say: Oh, my boss is not a good person; he is like this and that... I say: If you still want to work in this company, do not speak ill of your boss. If you do not want to stay in this company, then fine, change to another company, but do not speak ill of him. Because no matter what, do not let us lose this rest. Amen!
Brothers and sisters, think about this question: When we speak ill of another person in front of someone, what fills our hearts? Anger, judgment, and condemnation. There is no benefit to us at all, is there, brothers and sisters? If we continue to live in judgment, we will not be able to live in God’s blessings. Think about it: If a person lives in anger every day, how can they have joy? But God hopes that we avoid judgment and hold on to rest! Amen! God does not want your heart to be filled with bitterness; He wants your heart to be filled with His peace. Hallelujah!
Let me tell you a story:
In Numbers Chapter 12, there was a story where Moses might have lost his original wife and married a Cushite woman. Miriam and Aaron began to slander him because he married a Cushite woman. It was very simple; the words were very unpleasant, right? So what did they say: “Has the Lord spoken only through Moses? Hasn’t He also spoken through us?” The Lord heard this. Do you know what this means in a church? It means: Alright, come down; don’t think you are the only one who can preach; I can preach too. Can you understand this meaning? They were challenging Moses’ authority. They were saying: Don’t believe Moses; God does not only speak to him; He speaks to us too.
Let’s look at verse 3: Now Moses was a very humble man, more humble than anyone else on the face of the earth.
What was Moses’ strength? Perhaps he had been trained for a long time. The people had become accustomed to complaining, so Moses never argued with the people because there was no way to argue; if he did, he would be finished. So he could only turn to God and pray about everything. Therefore, the Bible says Moses was very humble, more than anyone else on the earth. Moses did not debate or judge them, did he?
Numbers 12:6-9
6 The Lord said, “Listen to my words: When there is a prophet among you, I, the Lord, reveal myself to them in visions, I speak to them in dreams. 7 But this is not true of my servant Moses; he is faithful in all my house. 8 With him I speak face to face, clearly and not in riddles; he sees the form of the Lord. Why then were you not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?” 9 The anger of the Lord burned against them, and He left them.
We see this fact: Moses did not judge his brother and sister from beginning to end; he did not condemn them, did he? At this time, God personally came to defend Moses.
Verse 10: When the cloud lifted from above the tent, Miriam’s skin was leprous—it became as white as snow. Aaron turned toward her and saw that she had leprosy.
Immediately, she did not judge anymore. So these are some things in the Old Testament that show us that in the Old Testament, if you judge God’s servant, isn’t it the same as judging God? What about in the New Testament?
The book of James tells us: When you judge your brother, you judge the law; you put yourself under the law. You think you are doing well, so you judge your brother. In this situation, it is a lose-lose outcome. So under the New Testament, God will not naturally bring sickness upon you, but when you judge others, your heart is filled with bitterness, and you have fallen from grace. In fact, God wishes for His children to live in joy every day, to live in peace every day. But if your heart is willing to find others’ shortcomings and your mouth is always speaking, your heart will be filled with bitterness.
Hebrews 12:15 says: See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many.
When a person loses grace, what will happen? A bitter root. This bitter root does not only poison one person; remember that this bitter root has a characteristic: once it grows, it troubles others, causing many to be defiled. For example, if one person is angry at home, do you think they will keep their anger to themselves? If you dare to poke them a little, they will immediately bite back, right? If you tease them a little, they will get angry, and the atmosphere in the whole room will become tense.
So this means that this person has lost grace from God and is filled with a bitter root in their heart, which will cause everyone to be defiled. They not only defile themselves but also defile others. So we just read in verse 2: For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. This is equivalent to sowing seeds; if we always sow seeds of lust, we will surely reap corruption.
Luke 6:37: Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.
In the original text, it actually says: You must forgive others, and you will be released. It is very interesting; Jesus here does not let us judge or slander others, nor condemn others, but rather lets us forgive and tolerate one another. In this way, we will all be released. Isn’t it interesting? Do not judge others, and you will not be judged.
Think about it: If you can always find others’ strengths and say good things to praise them, do you think this person will have nothing to do? Every time you praise them, will they come over and scold you? It must be sincere. We must not let others hear our praise as sarcasm; that won’t work! For example, if this person clearly weighs over 200 pounds, you say: Wow! You are so slim! Do you think they will be angry? So to praise appropriately means to sincerely praise others from the heart; I believe no one will scold you when you genuinely praise them.
That is to say, only when you judge others, because judgment contains not good words, it has the meaning of slander.
It is not that we should not point out others’ mistakes today; this is a completely different concept. Today, in Christ, when we see brothers or sisters with problems, should we point them out? Pointing out others’ mistakes is out of love and is absolutely different from judgment.
Judgment means looking down on you, slandering you; this is one meaning of judgment. So when we do not use evil words to slander others, others will not slander you, right?
Then it says: Do not condemn others, because today God does not condemn you either. Why do you want to condemn others? Because the result of condemnation is: you think you are righteous, so you condemn others. In fact, at that time, the person is already in pride.
You must forgive others, and you will be forgiven. The original meaning is: When you forgive others, you will be released.
You see, when a person’s heart is filled with anger, they are angry every day, waking up angry in the morning and being angry until night, saying that person is really unfair to me, so angry that they cannot eat at night. But that person does not know at all. Who suffers? The angry person suffers, that’s right.
What is anger? In fact, when this person does not know, you are at home getting angry, being angry... you are already a bound person. But the Bible says you must forgive others, regardless of right or wrong; when you forgive that person, you will be released. It seems like a loss: Lord, he is wrong; why should I forgive him? Do not forget, even if he is wrong, he does not know you are angry; he is not angry at all, right, brothers and sisters?
So what do we know about rest in this world? Rest is when bad circumstances come upon oneself, and they can still hold on to their peace. For example, today some people, as soon as they meet, start cursing you. You say: Are you done? Do you know how broken this person is? Do you understand what I mean? After they finish cursing, you say: Are you done? I am not angry at all; in fact, they will become even angrier. If you jump higher than anyone else, they will say: I will say another sentence; if you can jump for half an hour, they will be happy, right?
So what is true rest? No matter how others treat you, your heart is not affected by them; this is called rest! In such a situation, it is extremely powerful. So for us, if Christians can have such rest, others will not easily provoke you. Why? Because it is useless, isn’t it, brothers and sisters? For us, it is indeed like this. If we often condemn and judge others, it is equivalent to saying that we have established a ministry of condemnation and judgment, which is not called the gospel. The gospel is good news, right? Good news is that you can always bring comfort to others, always bring good news to others.
There is no one in the world who is perfect. So we cannot be perfect in everything today; this is something we cannot achieve. Including today, when I preach, I cannot say that every sermon has no problems, but you see, overall, where does my sermon lead others? That is enough.
If it brings you to Jesus, allowing you to hold on to Jesus’ peace and joy, that is a good way. But if there are one or two mistakes, everyone can forgive it because who does not make mistakes? So we know that our hearts are honest and upright. We know that today we are willing to exalt Jesus Christ and what He accomplished for us on the cross; we bring people to Christ and fulfill God’s calling for us, and that is enough. Amen!
As for whether others can understand, that is their business. Jesus’ response to judgmental words is: First take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye. In fact, this plank can also be understood as: Today, our human nature, the nature of wood, right? Because when God speaks of divinity, He uses gold or precious metal, right?
Wood, by nature, is like this; human nature is like wood, which rots over time. For us, when you first remove that self-centeredness from within, you will be able to see others clearly and remove the speck from your brother’s eye. In other words, using the window example we just used, if you clean your own window, you will be able to see others more clearly. Amen! In this way, we will not easily fall into the ministry of condemnation and judgment because those who judge do not know God’s grace; they do not realize that it is God’s grace that leads people to repentance.
We need to read a passage from the Bible, Romans 2:1-4,
1 You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge another, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things. 2 Now we know that God’s judgment against those who do such things is based on truth. 3 So when you, a mere human being, pass judgment on them and yet do the same things, do you think you will escape God’s judgment? 4 Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, forbearance and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness is intended to lead you to repentance?
This passage is very interesting; it tells us that when a person’s heart is filled with the law, the law has a characteristic of condemnation and judgment. You see, the Pharisees under the law, what does their prayer look like? Lord, I fast twice a week; I pray three times a day; I give a tenth of everything I get to You; I am not like that person. You see, their prayers are all about judging others; I am not like him; he is the tax collector; I am not like him, corrupt and greedy. So many people’s prayers are about showing off, which is actually a form of judgment.
It says: You, who judge others, have no excuse, no matter who you are; you are without excuse. In whatever you judge others, you condemn yourself. What does this mean?
So today, under grace, will this still happen? Yes, you see: When you judge others, from what perspective are you looking? Is it from your own perspective or God’s perspective? Your own perspective, that’s right; it is just like that.
If we look at this person’s right or wrong from our own perspective, we have returned to the law because when people do not know God, they use their own standards to judge others’ rights and wrongs: Oh, I think you are not a good person because I do not agree with your actions; you are not good...
Aren’t these all results of condemnation and judgment? But if we have believed in Jesus today, we should look at the world through Jesus’ perspective and eyes, right? In God’s eyes, what is the identity of those who believe in Jesus? Children of God.
In God’s eyes, what are they like? Righteous, holy, without blemish, right? But if we do not see this point and only see their physical shortcomings, we are actually pulling ourselves back under the law. It says: In whatever you judge others, you condemn yourself.
For example, some people say: How many hours do you pray a day? Hmm, did you pray for four hours? In this case, if this person says: I really did not pray for four hours, then if you are a person who judges others like this, for example, later you say: Be careful; if you do not love to pray, God will deal with you. Then, when he does not pray for four hours every day, what will happen to him? The thing he is worried about will happen to him, do you understand? This is judgment.
So for us today, under grace, we can also inadvertently fall into condemnation. When you condemn others, you are also condemning yourself because you put yourself under the law. What is the characteristic of the law? You must do well first before you can teach others. So many people focus on that person and say: Ah, you said this; why don’t you do it? In fact, it is the same; when you judge others, you should first see if you have done it.
In this world, there is only one person qualified to condemn, and that is Jesus! Because He has truly fulfilled everything required by the law, so when He speaks to anyone, no one can refute Him because He has done it. But we are different; we cannot casually condemn others or casually judge others. Because it says: Because you, who judge others, do the same things. We know that those who do such things will be judged by God according to truth.
Well, if today under the law, you tell others that they cannot do this, that doing so will lead to judgment and God’s punishment. For example, today we often say: Oh, this disease is a great blessing from God to others. If you judge others like this, do you know what will happen to them?
But what should we do? Avoid these judgmental people. We do not accept these things; we first do not condemn ourselves, and we do not condemn others. We do not judge ourselves or others. Because we know that today everything we have is given to us by Jesus. Our lives, our blessings, our peace, our joy are all given to us by Jesus. We are originally not good at anything, but because Jesus loves us, we have such blessings, right? If it relies on us, what can we boast about? We have nothing to boast about. But because Jesus loves us, that is enough. Hallelujah!
Then verse 4 says: Or do you show contempt for the riches of His kindness?
Is there abundant grace with God? When a person judges and slanders another person, they are showing contempt for God’s grace because they do not know that God is like this: I do not look at your faults and am willing to bless you; this is called grace, right? Then it says showing contempt for God’s abundant forbearance. Do you think God does not know our shortcomings? He knows, and perhaps He understands us better than our parents, right?
He clearly knows every one of our shortcomings and every problem, yet God still tolerates us. But if today we judge others, we are actually more terrifying than God; we do not even have a heart of tolerance, which is showing contempt for God’s forbearance.
It goes on to say: You show contempt for His abundant patience. You see, when many people today are unwilling to accept Jesus, when we preach the gospel to them, they slander us and even insult us. Does God still endure them? If you think about it today: Others treat us like this; why should we still preach the gospel to them? Just slap them and be done with it.
In the past, when I was chatting with a sister, she said: Look, these twelve disciples are not good people; Jesus worked hard to train them for three and a half years, performing miracles, providing them with food and clothing, and in the end, they all ran away. If I were Jesus, I would slap them all to death. But today, God has abundant patience. What does that mean?
God knows our problems too well; He knows our shortcomings and weaknesses too well, so He keeps enduring and waiting for us to believe in His grace, waiting for us to repent! So it goes on to say: Not realizing that His kindness is intended to lead you to repentance. When a person today always emphasizes: You must repent! You must repent! They do not realize that today, it is not by shouting that people can repent; it is when they do not fall into judgment and condemnation that they see God’s grace. Amen!
If they do not recognize God’s grace, how can they repent? Today, brothers and sisters, think about how many people believe in Jesus out of fear? Or if you really try to persuade someone who has not accepted Jesus, saying: Believe in Jesus; if you do not believe, you will go to hell. How many people would be willing to believe using this method?
You say: Repent; if you do not repent, hell is where you should go. They say: Whatever. If you say too much, they might even hit you. Isn’t that right, brothers and sisters? This is not called the gospel. We have been changed; we are willing to believe in Jesus because we see what? We see His love, we see His forgiveness, we see His grace, we see His abundant forbearance and patience. Amen!
So it is the grace of Jesus Christ that makes us willing to turn our steps back. Why do we need to rely on the law in our lives? It is not by relying on Jewish law or the Ten Commandments that you can turn back; today, it still relies on God’s abundant grace. That is to say: It is God’s abundant grace that leads us to repentance, so you can do not to judge others or condemn others.
Let’s reiterate: When a person always condemns others, judges others, and slanders others, they actually do not recognize God’s grace. So do not lower your level; you are children of grace, and do not let others’ poison hurt you.
The Bible says in Mark 16: I will give you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions. What are the characteristics of snakes and scorpions? Their venom can cause you immense pain, right? You see, when a snake bites you, is it just that one spot? What happens? It spreads rapidly; this is poison. Isn’t it the same with scorpions? That’s right.
So this poison has a spreading nature. Therefore, today, a person who is judgmental is actually poison, you know? This poison keeps spreading. Today, when they say something unpleasant to you, do you forget it when you go home? No, you won’t forget. This is called poison. Think about it: every time you think about it, you get angry once; every time you think about it, you get angry once... this is poison.
So God said: I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions. The meaning is: Do not be affected by it. But how can you not be affected? It is to let you see God’s grace and avoid judging him, right? When others judge you, saying you did this wrong or that wrong, you tell yourself: Yes, I am indeed not good at this, but God is willing to love me. God is willing to be gracious to me, not because I am good, but because God is good. Hallelujah!
Romans 12:14: Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse.
This is the original word in the Bible. Those who persecute you are definitely not good people, right? What should you do? Bless them. You must bless them; just bless them and do not curse. You need to know: The higher your position, the more people will hate you. This is indeed the case in life.
When you are on the same level as your colleagues, you get along well, but one day you get promoted, and they see you blessed, for example, getting married, moving to a new home, and having a happy family. They start to judge you, spread rumors, and damage your reputation. Because you must remember that not every friend will celebrate your victory with you like a Christian. Some people will indeed be jealous of you, so some people will worry that you will be a threat to them, fearing that you are too blessed and will surpass them, so they will attempt to slander you.
But brothers and sisters, when we encounter such people today, you should think: Yes, their judgment of me, I do not accept it, because God’s definition of me is correct. Amen! We need to entrust our matters to God and not strive to prove ourselves right in front of people; this is really meaningless. If you indeed have some faults in life or speech, you can say to that person: Okay, I understand. Just accept their advice, but do not judge them, and do not condemn them like they do.
In the Bible, there is a person named Daniel. Do you all know? In the book of Daniel, Chapter 6, it records that Daniel had a beautiful spirit, and he was obviously superior to the satraps and governors, and his position was very high. The people below were not because Daniel had problems, right? No.
They were just deliberately looking for problems to slander him, to defame him, because the Bible says: The king planned to set him over the entire kingdom. Can you understand? Was jealousy generated? So at that time, the satraps and governors sought to find grounds for accusing Daniel, but they could not find any error or fault in him because he was trustworthy and did not corrupt.
You see, isn’t Daniel an example for us Christians today? That is to say: Today we are indeed under grace, but that does not mean our behavior can be careless; rather, you should indeed be like Daniel, trustworthy and without fault. When working in a company, you should sincerely do your job without any faults. You should not have problems with all ten tasks your boss gives you.
We should do our work faithfully and without fault; isn’t that a good thing, a beautiful testimony? But if, in such a situation, others still slander you, do not worry, because God will personally support you.
Verse 5 says: Finally, these men said: “We will never find any basis for charges against this man Daniel unless it has something to do with the law of his God.” What does this indicate? As Christians, we should live such a life: not leaving others with grounds to slander us, amen!
At this time, they could only judge you in other ways. So it goes on to say: If you hold on to the God you believe in, you will remain in rest, and you will not be affected by these matters, right? Do not participate in judgment; God will personally fight for you. Always remember: God will turn your disadvantages around and ultimately give you greater benefits. Originally, these people seem to be your stumbling blocks, but in the end, God will turn those stumbling blocks into stepping stones, allowing you to rise higher and higher. Amen!
So when you are willing to encounter these unfair situations, you should pray like this: Lord, bless my enemy. Do not say he cursed you, and you say: Oh, you are not a good person. You see, you will immediately get angry. At this time, what should you do? You should sincerely say: Lord, bless my enemy. He really is your enemy, so bless him, right?
If today you see the forces of the devil behind, you say, in the name of Jesus Christ, bind the evil forces behind him, and that’s it, right? But do not fall into judgment; do not think more and more angrily about such matters. Do not let such things enter your heart; bless others. Amen! The more they criticize you, the more you should know that God actually hopes for you to rise higher, just like Daniel. We know what Daniel’s final outcome was, right?
In the book of Daniel, verses 26-28 say,
26 I issue a decree that in every part of my kingdom people must fear and reverence the God of Daniel. For he is the living God and he endures forever; his kingdom will not be destroyed, his dominion will never end. 27 He rescues and he saves; he performs signs and wonders in the heavens and on the earth. He has rescued Daniel from the power of the lions.” 28 So Daniel prospered during the reign of Darius and the reign of Cyrus the Persian.
Did those people want to destroy Daniel? God personally intervened and supported him, resulting in Daniel being promoted to the highest position. During the reigns of both King Darius and King Cyrus, he prospered greatly.
So today, brothers and sisters, when you feel wronged, do not try to defend yourself; you just need to pray to God and then bless your enemy, bless the one who persecutes you. God will turn the stumbling blocks in your way into stepping stones, allowing you to rise higher and higher... Amen! So this is our method of victory in life today: Avoid judgment and hold on to your rest. Amen!
Let’s read the last passage from John 21:20-22.
20 Peter turned and saw that the disciple whom Jesus loved was following them. This was the one who had leaned back against Jesus at the supper and had said, “Lord, who is going to betray you?” 21 When Peter saw him, he asked, “Lord, what about him?” 22 Jesus answered, “If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? You must follow me!”
Many people may read this passage and not understand what Jesus means. I completely do not understand it. Today I will explain this passage to you. In fact, when Peter saw the resurrected Jesus, he saw another thing. In the past, John was leaning on Jesus’ chest, and now this disciple is following Jesus forward. He did not ask about other things; Peter’s heart was always trying to figure out one thing: What will happen to John in the end?
Today, I do not know how many people care about this question. Some people ask: What will happen to those Israelites in the wilderness? Is so-and-so saved? Or what about those who have not believed in Jesus in the past? Are they saved? Many people are entangled with these questions. Today, in fact, Jesus has already given us the answer.
Jesus said: If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you?
Do you all know what this means? Today, do not worry about others’ matters; you follow me! Amen! Why are you always concerned about whether others are saved? What you should focus on is whether you are saved, right? Do not worry about whether others can be saved. If you truly believe that our God is a righteous God and a fair God, then God will certainly not treat those people unfairly. You just do not understand; then do not think about it. What you need to understand now is: Follow Jesus! Amen!
You only need to follow Jesus; leave the rest to God. You only need to follow God today; let God handle the judgment and condemnation of others; you do not need to do God’s work; you just need to follow Jesus. Hallelujah! When you follow Jesus, you are in rest. When you follow Jesus, you are in His light. Thank and praise the Lord! At this time, you can hold on to the rest that Jesus gives you in Christ.
Let us pray together:
Heavenly Father, we especially thank and praise You! Yes, today You want us to stay in Your rest for a long time, because we can easily step out of rest and become restless. Because we often inadvertently get disturbed by our environment, today, Lord, give me strength! Let us see the strengths of others; let us look at the world and our loved ones and brothers and sisters through Your eyes, allowing me to sincerely discover the strengths in each of them and then speak those strengths out.
I believe my interpersonal relationships will change because of this, and my heart will not be troubled by various matters because I am in Your rest. You see us this way; in Your eyes, we are without blemish and perfect. Because the blood of Jesus has cleansed us.
Lord, today give me such a heart, and let me see those around me with such eyes, so that I can hold on to Your rest, avoiding all judgment and condemnation, and let us stay in Your rest. Thank and praise You!
Lord, thank You for loving me this way. In this new week, give me such strength to manifest Your glory in my life, in my family, and in my company, to stay away from those contentious matters, to stay away from those judgmental matters, and to bring the gospel of Christ to more people. Hallelujah! May all glory be to You. In the name of Lord Jesus, we pray! Amen!