Where Judgment Begins 1984

I'd like to begin today by reading from Matthew 10, 34. Do not think that I have come to bring peace on earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.

For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law, and a man's foes will be those of his own household. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. These words from a man who never touched a sword in his life, from the one who commands us to love each other.

What's he talking about? He's talking about the sword of judgment that comes down and cuts through the veneer and lays open our hearts. He's talking about the sword of judgment that comes down in and opens this thing up and divides the evil from the good, the just from the unjust, the lie from the truth. I was hungry, and you gave me food.

I was thirsty, and you gave me drink. I was a stranger, and you welcomed me. Naked, and you clothed me.

I was sick and in prison, and you came to me. Or, I was hungry, and you gave me no food. Thirsty, and you gave me no drink.

Stranger, you didn't welcome me. Naked, you didn't clothe me. Sick and in prison, you didn't come to me.

Not everyone who says, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. It's not a matter of how many wonderful insights you have, he says to us. What are you doing? Oh, wait a minute, Lord.

We're saved by grace, not by works. I got saved when I was 13. I got saved when I was 35.

Your life doesn't show up, he says to us. So when does this sword come down? At the end of the age? Well, then, not to worry. It'll be a while yet.

At our death? Not to worry. I'm not planning to die for a few years. But what if this sword of judgment is already at work? From Matthew, chapter 7, verse 1. Judge not that you be not judged.

For with the judgment you pronounce, you will be judged. And the measure you give will be the measure you get. Uh-oh.

Let me start by confessing to you about myself, because I've been doing quite a bit of judging this week. Quite a bit. So when's it going to come back and hit me in the face? At the end of the age? Well, then, I won't even worry about it.

I'll just keep getting all the gusto I can while I go around this one time. Will it come back and hit me at my death? Again, I'm not going to worry about it, because I'm not planning to die for a year or two yet. But what if this judgment is already at work? Already coming back at me? What if all the people who've been giving me a hard time this week are the outworking of an inexorable law? With the judgment you pronounce, you will be judged.

The measure you give will be the measure you get. We need to get two facts clear. Fact one.

The gospel of the kingdom is that judgment has already begun. That wherever the kingdom of God is in fact at work, there the sword is in fact cutting. Fact number two.

The place where the sword cuts, where it begins to cut, always, first and foremost, is at the household of God. That is, among the people who have some vision or think they do. The gospel of the kingdom is that judgment has already begun.

In the midst of a world of absurd evil, crazy, where lies rule, injustice absolutely dominates, in the midst of all that, holiness has broken through. And is already calling us to account, if we have the eyes to see and the ears to hear. Jesus walks into a synagogue.

A demon-possessed man begins to scream at the top of his lungs. When Jesus rebukes the demon, the man becomes peaceful and sits down. And peace just spreads over his face.

That's judgment. When the religious establishment of his day was absolutely shaken by his scathing words, so much so that they decided very quickly, this guy has to go. That's judgment.

When the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have the good news preached to them, that's judgment. But the supreme moment of judgment is when this Jesus hangs on the cross, in his own words, now is the judgment of this world, now shall the prince of this world be cast out. And in a mystery, the lightning of heaven strikes the lame of God and sucks into his dying body all the evil of all time and takes it down into that grave.

Got a call yesterday morning. Question. You know, I look and I see the face of this dying child on TV.

This starving child in Ethiopia. Where is God? When you look into the face of that dying child, my friend, you are looking into the face of God. The family that's burned up with napalm, running away on fire.

Where is God? God is there. That's where he is. And he's there because first and foremost, he's in this dying land.

So that, either we are washed in his blood, cleansed by it, and changed, or his blood, along with all the innocent blood shed from Abel down to the most recent murder in Clark Park, down to the millions dying in Africa all that blood is on our hands. And we will answer. Either we are cleansed, either the evil that is in us that we have done and are still doing is washed away and we are changed, given a new nature, or we will answer for everything, for every evil thing we have ever done.

And the time when that sword comes down to bring this judgment, to separate the evil from the good, the truth from the lie, the just from the unjust, the merciful from the merciless, the time when this sword begins to work is now. We can say that there will be a judgment at the end of the age, and there will be. We can say that there will be a judgment immediately upon death, but those statements mean absolutely nothing unless we first of all have our eyes open to see that the accounting begins now.

And the place where this accounting begins now is at the household of God. Among the people who have vision or claim to have some vision, that's where it begins. Reading from Jeremiah 26, verse 1. In the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim, the son of Josiah, the king of Judah, this word came from the Lord.

Thus says the Lord, Stand in the court of the Lord's house and speak to all the cities of Judah which come to worship in the house of the Lord all the words that I command you to speak to them. Do not hold back a word. It may be they will listen and everyone turn from his evil ways.

that I may repent of the evil which I intend to do to them because of their evil doings. You shall say to them, Thus says the Lord, If you will not listen to me to walk in my law which I have set before you to heed the words of my servants, the prophets, whom I send to you urgently though you have not need it, then I will make this house like Shiloh. In other words, I'll destroy it.

Then the priests and the prophets and all the people heard Jeremiah speaking these words in the house of the Lord. And when Jeremiah had finished speaking all that the Lord had commanded him to speak to all the people, then the priests and the prophets and all the people laid hold of him, saying, You shall die. Why have you prophesied in the name of the Lord, saying, This house shall be like Shiloh which I have set before you? The picture is clear.

Here's Jeremiah, lonely Jeremiah, without a friend in the world. He has to do it again. He has to go into the church, the temple, the house of God and wield that sword.

And he calls the people to repentance. Now, if they respond in a positive way to this call to repentance, there will be a reprieve. There will be a reprieve for Judah, a time of healing, rich blessing, spiritual awakening will spread from that temple and move out over the land of Judah.

This call to repentance was a word of judgment. But the purpose of this word of judgment was not to destroy and not to condemn, but to save. It may be that they will listen and they will turn from the evil ways, that I can repent of the evil that I was determined to do to them because of their evil ways.

The people of Judah hardened their hearts. They grabbed Jeremiah and said, you're going to die. They refused to repent at this call to repentance which was a word of judgment.

And so, within a matter of a very few years at the time he uttered those words in that temple, the temple became nothing but smoldering rubble. And the people who had refused to listen to his words were dragged away in ropes to Babylon, the city to which they had given their hearts long before. See, but the point of this is that judgment always begins at the house, the household of God.

If there is a response of repentance, then there is healing. There is healing that springs up and bubbles up and flows out over the land and blesses everybody. If there is a hardening of the heart, there is a spirit of death that wells up and bubbles out and flows out over the land and brings trouble to everybody else.

And that's still the way it is. Reading from 1 Peter, chapter 4, verse 12. Beloved, do not be surprised that the fiery ordeal rests upon you to prove you as though something strange were happening to you.

But rejoice insofar as you share in Christ's suffering that you also may rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. If you are reproached for the name of Christ, you are blessed because the spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. But let none of you suffer as a murderer or a thief or a wrongdoer or a troublemaker.

Yet if one suffers as a Christian, but under that name, let him glorify God. For the time has come for judgment to begin at the household of God. If there is to be a prophetic word, an authentic prophetic word, going out into that world, the sword and the fire first have to cleanse the prophets.

And that's what's going on among us and among believers gathered in a million places, a thousand places, whatever, all over the earth. The sword of judgment comes down, lays open our hearts, cuts open, shows what's there, and begins to divide the truth from the lie, just from unjust, even within one person, mercy from mercilessness, then the fire of the Lord comes in and burns. Then the hand of the Lord comes in and sifts and shakes.

And when it's over, we will either be a leaner, cleaner, holier, more powerful and more truly compassionate city of prophets that has never been before, or we will be an empty shell of religious hobbyists who like to play church and give away their leftover half-used lollipops to the poor. Now this is going on all over the world and it's sure going on here. And the sword of the Lord is coming down and cutting not on the basis of the correctness of our doctrines.

If you believe in eternal security, I don't. I don't care. You're still my brother if you follow Jesus.

The sword of the Lord is cutting our hearts and speaking to us on the basis of our faithfulness to the will of God. Not everyone who says Lord, Lord, shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father will be in heaven. And that sword comes down and says to us, what are you doing? And it asks this question in three areas.

What are you doing toward God? What are you doing toward each other? And what are you doing toward that world out there? What are you doing toward God? Says this sword that comes down and cuts. Is it an empty Lord, Lord, Lord? Is it worship? Do not think that I have come to bring peace on earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.

For I have come to set a man against his father and a daughter against her mother and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law and a man's foes will be those of his own household. He who loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me. He who loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.

Oh, but my son wants it this way and my daughter won't go along with that. Or my husband doesn't like it this way or my wife doesn't like it this way. What can I do? He who does not take his own cross and follow me is not worthy of me.

He who finds his life will lose it and he who loses his life for my sake will find it. Judgment has begun at the household of God including here. The sword comes down and separates that in us which wants to be religious from that in us which is willing to worship.

By worship we mean the total abandonment of our lives to the Lamb of God. The offering of our bodies as a living sacrifice. All our spiritual as Rick was saying this morning in the Sunday school class there all our spiritual insights are meaningless until they're translated into flesh and blood.

The sword is calling us to abandon ourselves to the purposes of the kingdom of God entirely. That's worship. It begins surely worship begins with our mouths singing praises uttering prayers wonderful, let's do it.

But if that doesn't result in an offered up life a spent life burned life burned out if you like poured out wine and broken bread for the world if it doesn't result in this it's not worship. Judgment has already begun at the house of God about whether or not we're serious about worship. Then the sword comes down and asks us the next question.

What are you doing toward each other? From John 13 verse 34 A new commandment I give to you that you love one another. You know it's interesting you know how we can feel moved with such love for the starving masses for which we do not think and have problems terrible problems having love for the person maybe who lives in the same house with us or at least in the same fellowship with us. A new command I give to you that you love a command that you love one another.

Even as I have loved you that you love one another by this all men will know that you are my disciples if you have love for one another. And so the sword comes down and lays open our hearts and cuts between that part of us which wants to utter the platitudes and that part of us which is willing to practice this love at whatever cost meaning that we honor each other we care about each other we wash each other's feet we go out of our way a little bit for each other we keep our commitments to each other we're faithful to each other this isn't an option this is a command this I command you he says that you love one another and all the arguments and the tension and the you know the strain that exists between us and among us in many places is the testing of this love the sword of the Lord is testing our love for each other judgment has begun at the household of God as to whether or not we're serious about this command that we in fact love each other finally the sword comes down and cuts with a question what are you doing for the world out there are you a club for nice people or are you the body of Christ reading from Matthew 25 verse 31 when the son of man comes in his glory and all the angels with him then he will sit on his glorious throne before him will be gathered all the nations and he will separate them one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats and he will place the sheep at his right hand but the goats at the left then the king will say to those at his right hand come oh blessed of my father inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world for you went to church every Sunday wait a minute no no for I was hungry and you gave me food I was thirsty and you gave me drink I was a stranger and you welcomed me I was naked and you clothed me I was sick and you visited me I was in prison and you came to me then the righteous will be very surprised and they will answer Lord when did we see thee hungry and feed thee or thirsty and give thee drink when did we see thee a stranger and welcome thee or naked and clothed thee when did we see thee sick and in prison and visit thee notice that well sure Lord I remember myself they don't they are surprised and the king will answer truly I say to you as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren you did it to me then he will say to those at his left hand depart from me you cursed people don't like to hear Jesus talk like that we prefer the Jesus with a halo shampoo depart from me you cursed into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels was never made for man for I was hungry you gave me no food I was thirsty you gave me no drink I was a stranger and you did not welcome me naked and you did not clothed me sick and in prison and you did not visit me then they will also answer Lord when did we see thee hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison and did not minister to thee then he will answer truly I say to you as you did it not to one of the least of these you did it not to me and they will go away into eternal punishment but the righteous to eternal life now this end of the age judgment has already begun at the household of God how in the world can we go out into the world with a message a prophetic message about the mercy of God if we ourselves are not the embodiment of that mercy in these specific ways that Jesus makes so clear we can't avoid it beloved do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal which has come to prove you as though something strange were happening to you but rejoice in so far as you share Christ's suffering that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed if you are reproached for the name of Christ you are blessed because the spirit of glory and of God rests upon you but let none of you suffer as a murderer or a thief or a wrongdoer or a troublemaker yet if one suffers as a Christian let him not be ashamed but under that name let him glorify God for the time has come for judgment to begin with the household of God the sort of judgment has indeed begun at the household of God including here and it's asking these three questions are we moving toward God in worship are we moving toward each other in love are we moving toward that world in mercy and on the basis of the answer that we give with our lives this sort of judgment will either quicken this congregation or destroy it let's just take some silence may the spirit help us to hear what he would say to each one of us but just listen