Now, let’s continue on brethren. Let’s come to, the section we are doing here, number 2, Knowing Yourself and Get Sin Out of Your Life. And this comes right back to where we started in the beginning in Matthew the 7^th chapter. Let’s turn there. This is important, this is a fundamental thing. In order to make judgments, in order to make decisions especially involving others. Now, when you are going to do something for another person, or you are going to counsel them, or you are going to give them instructions, or whatever it may be, then you also need to follow exactly what Jesus said here. And it is the whole thing of the attitude. Just realize this, many people have many different problems and if they come for counseling, if they come for help or if they ask you your opinion, many cases they are trying to overcome it, so you don’t want to condemn them. But remember this verse 1, Matthew 7, ‘Do not condemn others, so that you yourself will not be condemned, for with what judgment you judge, you shall be judged. And with what measure you meet out, it shall be measured to you again.’ That’s why we always need to remember if you want mercy, be merciful. Now verse 3, ‘Now why do you look at the sliver that is in your brother’s eye but you do not perceive the beam in your own eye? Or how will you say to your brother, ‘Allow me to remove the sliver from your eye and behold the beam that is in your own eye? You hypocrite,’ Jesus says, ‘First cast out the beam from your own eye, then you shall see clearly to remove the sliver from your brother’s eye.’ So that’s getting to know yourself and getting the sin out of your life. Very important. So, in that, know your strengths, know your weaknesses, get sin out of your life and then you will grow in the ability to make righteous judgment.

Number 3: In Every Case, Hear ALL the Facts or get all the facts. This is one of the most vital requirements in coming to a decision or judgment. Without all the facts, it is impossible to make a righteous judgment or decision. In some cases, it takes a lot of hard work to get all the facts and be thorough and complete. I’ll tell you this, in everything that we try to do, the literature, the books and things that we make, we try to get all the facts. We try to cover all the bases, so that what we put out will be thorough and complete, just like any decision you have to make, you see. Sometimes, if you are talking to people, it is going to take some deep and serious questioning on your part or on the part of the one making the decision, to get all the facts and then to check them out to make sure they are all true. See, because every person is right in his own eyes and he or she is going to come bringing their own opinion with them, you see. You have to get through all that and come to the things that you need to come to. So what you have to do in getting all the facts, question, think about it, ask about it, pierce through to the heart of the matter and find out what the difficulty really is. Now, in getting all the facts, understand this, never consider any question too embarrassing or too personal. Because if you avoid asking the hard questions, you might never get the information to make a proper judgment or decision. Now, you can do that in almost anything that you do, any decision that you make. So, keep that in mind.

Number 4: Always be Open Minded and Hear All Aspects of the Situation

Now, open minded does not mean that you abandon the truth of God. That does not mean you set aside the truth of God. You are going to reserve that later to make a decision based upon the word of God. But you have to be open minded. This is tied closely into getting all the facts. It is just as essential, you must always listen to all aspects of the situation with an open mind. Save any judging for the time when you need to make a judgment on it. Don’t make a judgment as you are going along, just be open minded, file it in the back of your mind and write it down so you can come back to it later. That is the only way you are going to make a fair and just decision or judgment. See, and the key that is always important to remember people always put themselves in the best light possible. And so you have to understand that. You have to go through that. You have to not let that be a factor. Sometimes you are dealing with someone who has a very difficult time in explaining it. Well, encourage them. Ask questions. Listen. And when there is more than one party involved then you have to listen to both sides. Because, remember this, no one is 100% absolutely right and no one is 100% absolutely wrong, when you are just dealing with circumstances and situations involving people. Now, there may be times when that could be so but you don’t make any decision, you don’t judge anything until you hear all aspects of the situation with an open mind. Now, you see, I have here in bold print, never make a one sided decision and do not assume that the one who comes first is necessarily right in the matter. Maybe, they are wrong in the matter and they got there first, just so they could make the impression and try and have the judgment work their way. So that is why you need to also be careful with it. We need to keep all of these factors in mind and again I quote there some of the Proverbs.

Number 5: Never Render a Judgment Without Hearing the Entire Matter

What you see is number 3, number 4 and number 5, all fit together. So this means, don’t jump the gun but take time to hear the whole story, because Proverbs 18 verse 13 says, ‘He that answers a matter before he hears it, it is folly and shame unto him.’ And Proverbs 14 verse 29 says, ‘He that is hasty of spirit exalts folly.’ So, answer a matter before you have fully heard it is the impulse that wells up inside your mind urging you to make a decision right now. And then what happens? Not only do you do that, then you rush to judgment, you are closed minded. All of these other factors come into play with it. What you have to do is wait and hear every matter in its entirety. Now another way of doing it is this, have the person write it down. If there is a conflict between many different individuals is to have them all write it down and give it to you. You go through and weigh all the information that is given there. Now, in some cases, they may not have all the information there, so you may need to come back and ask some more questions. See. Never render a judgment without hearing the entire matter.

Now, again, we have covered this but number 6, and this is always important. Never Look Only on Circumstances and Outward Appearance. You have to question the circumstances or the outward circumstances. Now you have seen this, in some of the mystery shows, someone plants a gun, in a person’s house, or apartment or car, whatever, with fingerprints on it, so he is guilty. See. Or, in the case of a detective story, someone comes in and there was just a shooting, he inadvertently reaches down and picks up the weapon, whether it be a dagger or a knife or a gun and leaves his fingerprints on it and the detectives come along and they say well this person did it because his fingerprints are there. It may or may not be true. And, you know, because of these false judgments that people make and not doing the things that are here. There are an awful lot of people right now in prison who should not be in prison. So that means the prosecutor lied, the witnesses lied, didn’t get all the facts and in some cases they found that the prosecutors even held back facts which would show the innocence of the person involved. Now, a lot of rape cases, they are going back and they are doing DNA sampling again and about eighteen percent of those who have been convicted of rape or child molestation or things like that, about eighteen percent have been proved to be innocent, it was someone else. And so, I heard of a case just recently a man who spent eighteen years in prison, because of that. So he lost, if he is going to live to be seventy years old, eighteen years in prison, so that is roughly twenty eight or twenty nine percent of his entire life. So think of that. Alright, never look just to the outside appearances. Paul also wrote in 1 Corinthians 10 verse 7, ‘Do you look on things after the outward appearance?’ Now, the outward appearances and circumstances are important in coming to a decision. But, we always need to look beyond, deeper, behind, you see. And I use the example, if someone loses his temper. Now it could be a long standing frustration. To counsel a person in how to overcome a bad temper could not be entirely adequate since the problem is a deep seated frustration that needs to be addressed. So find out what the problem is. Maybe the way they are being treated makes them angry because they know it is wrong. Ha-ha-ha. See. So you have to go beyond the circumstances and outward appearance and you can not only avoid giving superficial advice, you will be able to get to the heart of the problem and judge a righteous judgment. That is what we need to do. Now this is very important in dealing with your children. See. Now, when you watch some of these things on television. Now, there may be some judges who, I don’t watch these judge shows, so I can’t render a judgment on the judge shows, but when the news is presented about a crime and the way that the reporters present it and the way that they give the facts and so forth that they see you’ve got all of these things intermixed in with it and guess what happens? Bad judgment. Alright.

Number 7: Discern the Attitudes and Motives of Those Involved

That is if this is possible. This is important to understand, because it is true, the heart is deceitful above all things. So when people come for advice, it may well be possible that some don’t even understand their own attitudes. So you have to check that out. So, this quality of discernment can come from the Holy Spirit. You have got to know. It is especially critical to sense and understand the real attitude about those that come with sins and faults of others in the congregation. You see. First question needs to be, if that happens, did you go to that person yourself? Now, if he didn’t then you better go back and follow Matthew 18. Then it gets into a matter of when and when not to make judgments. Okay? So in many instances such a person could be a self-righteous, tale-bearer trying to stir up trouble. This is why Matthew 18 is there. So that it doesn’t happen. And this is why I don’t hear things that people tell me concerning other people. I ask them, ‘Well, have you talked to the individual about it? Well, no. Well, why don’t you do that.’ And then you know what happens? They may decide well it’s really not their business in the first place. See. So that’s important. Motive and attitude are important.

Number 8: Never Be a “Respecter of Persons”

Can not be. It doesn’t matter who the person is. It doesn’t matter if they are well known or unknown. It doesn’t matter if they are liked or unliked. It doesn’t matter if they are loved or unloved. It doesn’t matter if it is a friend or an enemy. Never be a respecter of persons. So, whether you like or dislike a person, that should have absolutely no bearing in the judgment. Because, as we have covered, if you show favoritism to the minority, and improper judgment, what is going to happen, you are going to create another long term problem. Or if you follow the majority to do evil, then you are going to get yourself in trouble. Now, we have some scriptures on that, Exodus 23 verses 2 and 3, ‘You shall not follow a multitude to do evil. Neither shall you countenance a poor man in his cause.’ That is just because he is poor and down trodden. And then God also gives these two things here, that we have, Leviticus 19 verse 15 and Romans 2 verse 11. ‘You shall not respect the person of the poor, nor honor the person of the mighty.’ And the reason is because, ‘God is no respecter of persons.’ Now, that is very important. Now, when we come to the situation concerning the church and the church of God. Remember the church is not the church of any man but the church of God. So, we can not, especially any elders or ministers or those in authority can not show any partiality at all especially when considering those for ordination and those for elders, and deacons and so forth. You have to go by what the fruits show. Not by partiality. And it makes you wonder, how many men were ordained because they were sons of so and so. Or they knew so and so for a long time. Or they were their drinking buddy. Or card playing buddy, etc. Or build a house for the minister and he is rewarded with an eldership. See. That’s being a respecter of persons. You need to realize this, ultimately, if we reject God by showing partiality and playing politics, then we will be rejected by God. True principle, that happens. Close to this.

Number 9: Never Accept a Gift

So never allow yourself to get into a position to where a gift is going to come and blind the eyes. Or it is going to be so good that when trouble comes, you don’t handle it in the way that you ought to. This becomes a very vital and important thing because you see God says here in Exodus 23 verse 8, ‘And you shall take no gifts, for gifts blind the wise and perverts the words of the righteous.’ Now, this can come in forms in many different ways, loans, gifts, food, clothing, meals, work or services. And many times you see, I have heard of ministers who have had the brethren wait on them in their own households hand and foot. They have to come over to the minister’s house to do his lawn, to do his laundry, to clean it up and all of those things. And I have seen circumstances like that and that just should not be. Ever. Under any circumstances. Let him take care of his own house. Let him take care of his own business. If he needs help in the house, then hire someone. But don’t have brethren come in and do it for nothing. And then problems and difficulties come along as a result of that, both for the minister and both for the one who is doing it, you see. All those things lead to problems and difficulties. Just like it says, ‘It blinds the wise and perverts the words of the righteous.’ So we need to keep away from that.

Number 10: In making any judgment Always Be Totally Fair and Impartial

So in other words. Whatever judgment needs to be made it needs to be fair and impartial. Now that doesn’t mean that it might not be harsh. If it is fair and the situation is a very dire situation, you see. So, you have to always be fair and impartial in it. Many of the things that we have already covered and this shows also getting all the facts, this shows not letting yourself get involved, this shows also nothing the attitude and intention of those involved, not taking any gifts or bribes or anything like that.

Number 11: Educate Yourself in God’s Laws, Statutes and Judgments

Let’s come to Deuteronomy 10. Now since we are going to be kings and priests. Let’s come back here to Deuteronomy 10 and let’s see what the instruction was given to the king. No Deuteronomy 17 not 10, beg your pardon. Deuteronomy 17, yes, here is instruction for the king. Now, when they were to choose a king, God told them specifically. Deuteronomy 17, let’s pick it up here in verse 14, ‘When you have come unto the land and which the Lord your God gives you, and you shall possess it and dwell therein and you shall say, I will set a king over me like as the nations that are about me. You shall set only the king which the Lord your God shall choose from among your brethren shall you set a king over you. And you may not set a stranger over you, which is not your brother.’ Now here are the things he told the king not to do. But he shall not multiply horses to himself, nor cause the people to return to Egypt, to the end that he shall multiply horses for as much as the Lord has said unto you, you shall henceforth return no more that way. Neither shall he multiply wives to himself that his heart turn not away. Neither shall he greatly multiply to himself silver and gold. Now all of these things are very important not only for the king but also for any minister. Because what happens? When that happens you get high and mighty, you get up over people and you think that you are royalty, and you think you deserve this. Look, royalty does not happen until the resurrection. So, save that until then. Let God give it. Now verse 18 is a very key and important thing which should be for all of us in learning righteous judgment. ‘And it shall be when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, he shall write him a copy of this law in a book out of that which is before the priests, the Levites.’ So he was to go in to wherever the priest, the Levite had it and he was to make a copy of that so he would know it. Now notice this command. ‘And it shall be with him and he shall read therein all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the Lord, his God, to keep all the words of this law and these statutes to do them that his heart be not lifted up above his brethren and that he turn not aside from the commandment to the right hand or to the left, to the end that he may prosper his days in his kingdom, he and his children in the midst of Israel.’ So educate yourself with the word of God. Now the apostle Paul told Timothy that he was to be a workman, rightly dividing the word of truth. Now, that takes time. That takes effort. And you have to be yielded to God. See. Now, let’s look at another admonishment given to Joshua, when he led the children of Israel into the Promised Land. Joshua 1 and this is the attitude that we need to take in learning and growing and overcoming, learning God’s way. Now, let’s come down here to verse 5 of Joshua 1. ‘There shall not any man be able to stand before you all the days of your life as I was with Moses so I also will be with you. I will not fail you, nor forsake you.’ Always remember that, that if you do what is right and you love God with all your heart, mind and soul and being and do what is right, God will never fail you. God will never leave you, as we find in Hebrews 13, God will not forsake us, He will never leave us, He will no never, never leave us. And that is if we do what we need to do. Joshua 1 verse 6, ‘Be strong, and be of a good courage for unto this people shall you divide an inheritance the land which I swore unto their fathers to give them. Only be strong and very courageous, that you may observe to do according to all the law that Moses My servant commanded you; turn not from it to the right hand or to the left hand that you may prosper wherever you go and this Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, you shall meditate therein day and night that you may observe to do according to all that is written therein that you may make your way prosperous. Then shall you have good success.’ Very important words for us to understand. Only now we don’t have just the Law of Moses, we have the entire Bible. So this gives us a whole lot more understanding and education and examples and things from the word of God that we can use. Now we close this section by saying, ‘Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, neither be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.’ So remember that. It is really important, educate yourself. Develop, learn, grow, understand and then when you have to make a judgment or a decision that involves God’s laws then you can do so. If you just have to make a decision that doesn’t pertain to the word of God then you will have the basis of sound judgment to make that decision.

Now Number 12: In Difficult Cases, Seek Counsel

Now, that is a two-edged sword. Sometimes you get some of these committees and they think because they have a committee, everything will be alright, because the committee decides it and votes for it. That is not what it is talking about here. That is the opposite of wise counsel you see. Now, Proverbs 11 verse 14 says, ‘In a multitude of counselors, there is safety.’ And without counsel purposes are disappointed but in a multitude of counselors they are established, Proverbs 15 verse 22. So with the proper counsel, now when you counsel with someone, it needs to be confidential. It is not one of those things where then you can just blither off something to someone and just lay everything bare. No, get someone you know, as we saw in the beginning. Paul condemned the church at Corinth because they put people who were least esteemed in church to make the decision, so we don’t need to do that. No, don’t do that.

Now let’s come to number 13: Think of the Long Term Effects

Consider the end, before you make a decision. What will it be in the long run? And that goes right along with the opposite never do what is expedient. A wise man once said, ‘On important matters, sleep on it.’ That is good advice. Especially when you have a decision to make that involves something that is really difficult. Take your time. Take your time. Think of the long term effects. And the Proverbs that covers that ‘Where no vision is, the people perish.’ Because if you don’t look at the long term effects, and think what is going to happen. They didn’t even think of this concerning abortion when they brought in Roe vs. Wade, did they? No, they never thought they would be murderers of forty-four million, just here in America and nearly one billion worldwide. It is an insane practice.

Now, number 14: Always Make Your Decisions and Judgments Specific and Clear

Because ambiguity and uncertainty causes confusion. So whenever a judgment is made, make sure it is specific and clear so that everything is completely understood. Now, for example, God has given us the Ten Commandments, they are not the ten suggestions. See. So he wants us to clearly know and understand his will. Now, that is self evident, we don’t have to elaborate on that.

Alright, number 15: The Element of Timing in a Judgment

Now, this is important. The timing for implementing a judgment is very important and can impact its overall effect. Waiting too long in making a judgment, for example, can be very hard on the individuals involved. This is especially true when dealing with difficult problems. People have been known to suffer from various health problems, emotional break downs or attitudes of total discouragement because it took so long to render a judgment. So make sure that it is timely. The Proverbs 13 verses 12 and 23 say, ‘Hope deferred makes the heart sick and there is that which is destroyed for lack of judgment or that is slowness in coming to judgment.’ Now, you think about that in so many things concerning the government, they are a day late and a dollar short. It is more like years late and billions short. ‘So a wise man discerns both time and judgment. And for every purpose there is time and judgment.’ Ecclesiastes 8 verses 5 and 6. So remember that. Make it timely. Carry it out in a proper way. And consider all of the factors we have gone through here.

Now, number 16 is important.

Number 16: The All-Important Element of Mercy in Judgment

Now, too many times, people get unmerited mercy. Sometimes, they get mercy because of who they are rather than rendering a proper judgment first. Remember this, judgment comes before mercy. Mercy is not a replacement for judgment. Always keep that in mind, judgment comes first, then mercy. So we find that example when Jesus was talking to Peter about, you know, how often should I forgive a brother, when he repents or you forgive him when he repents. That is the judgment of that. But if they have done something wrong, then judgment must come first. For example, a person can be convicted of doing something and be guilty but because of repentance, because of a contrite heart, because of other circumstances, the judgment may be, a judge, in cases like this, may say, ‘Alright, then I will give you probation for one year, instead of sentencing you to thirty days in jail.’ But the judgment was given, he was declared guilty first. Then look at the attitude, then look at the other things. And then administer the mercy. You never come along and because someone is who you know, or someone claims victimization and so forth that you just mercifully let them off the hook entirely. So never, never, never substitute mercy for judgment. Take the case of David. We have it her in the booklet. Remember what happened. God gave his judgment even though he repented. And He said, ‘Because you did this thing, My judgment is I forgive your sin, the child is going to die, but the sword will never depart from your house, because you have despised Me, says the Lord.’ So that is God’s judgment. Evil would rise up against him even in his own house. And God said, ‘I will do this thing before all Israel and before the son because you did this thing secretly.’ So that is God’s judgment. So you can read the account there in the booklet. Alright.

Number 17: You Must be Filled With God’s Spirit and Have the Mind of Christ

In order to make righteous judgments, we sort of go back to the beginning with number 17. Then you see, you need to realize, being filled with the Holy Spirit of God is the most important ingredient and factor in having the spirit of righteous judgment. So the real ability to judge comes from God and through His Spirit, we receive the love and the grace of God and the wisdom of God. We also have here, let’s read the paragraph about wisdom in Proverbs 8. God’s Spirit is personified as wisdom in Proverbs 8. Which clearly shows how God’s Spirit leads to judgment. “Counsel is mine and sound wisdom, I am understanding, I have strength, by Me, kings reign, princes decree justice, by Me, princes rule and nobles even all the judges of the earth. I lead in the way of righteousness and in the midst of the paths of judgment.” And so even when the seventy elders of Israel were chosen to serve with Moses. God told Moses, ‘I am going to take some of your spirit and put it on them.’ So that they would be able to make the righteous judgments. Now, we were also told in the New Testament, in 2 Timothy 1, it says, ‘Wherefore I put you in remembrance that you stir up the gift of God, which is in you by the laying on of my hands.’ Where God has not given us the spirit of fear but of love and of a sound mind, so we can make righteous judgment, make decisions in our lives. See. And then all of the other ones here that I have, ‘Be filled with the spirit.’ The apostles were filled with the spirit. And let’s end by coming here to the last paragraph. God wants us today to be able to say like Micah, ‘But truly I am full of the power by the spirit of the Lord and of judgment and of might.’ So when we have God’s Holy Spirit and use it as God directs us, He will give us the quality of righteous judgment. So this is why Paul wrote that those who are spiritual, judge all things and having the mind of Christ. Now, we have covered a lot of that. So if you are letting the mind of Christ be in you, the love of God be in you, then you’ll be able to judge righteous judgment. So in these three sermons, during a very vital and important Feast of Tabernacles, where we learn the meaning of the Feast of Tabernacles, of being kings and priests and judges in the Kingdom of God. This helps us to understand what we need to do and to prepare us and have these things written in our hearts and minds so we can make righteous judgments. Now we need to understand that the spirit of righteous judgment is a quality, a character quality of God and Jesus Christ. So today, living in a world where everything is gray and blurred and so many things are in confusion, we need to have the mind of God and be filled with the Spirit of God. Have the truth of righteousness of God, so we can make decisions and judgments in our life. And then we can see things even in the world, and see how a righteous judgment needs to be made. So we will finish with these three verses. The king by judgment establishes the land and that is how we are going to establish the Kingdom of God. It is joy to the just to do judgment. Remember Jesus said, ‘Judge righteous judgment.’ So there are the things that are necessary to judge righteous judgment.

Feast of Tabernacles 2006 – Day Six