"Speck Patrol"
Deuteronomy 4:1-49
Luke 6:39-7:10
Psalm 68:1-18
Proverbs 11:28
Have you ever noticed how easy it is to get upset with people who don't live the way "we know" that God wants them to live? Think of people who "get your goat". There's probably something about their actions that you feel is "wrong", and it is probably some element of spirituality that you believe is missing in their life.
It's so easy to sit and hear a wonderful sermon or a word of correction or exhortation and think, "Wow! this is good! There are people here who need to hear this!" There's danger in that thought process. That thinking is a way of deflecting what the Lord is trying to do in my life.
Jesus calls attention to this. "And why quibble about the speck in someone else's eye - his little fault - when a [beam] is in your own? How can you think of saying to him, 'Brother, let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye,' when you can't see past the [beam] in yours? Hypocrite! First get rid of the board, and then perhaps you can see well enough to deal with his speck!" Luke 6:41-42
I had this picture of people on "Speck Patrol" riding around in their "Beam"ers.... get it? Beamers?
When you are in the presence of the Lord, he will speak to you. It will usually be an area he would like for you to surrender to him. Lets use the example of gossip. When the Lord shines his light on your gossip, all the sudden you see all those around you who gossip. It's like you're seeing through "Gossip-Goggles".
Our human nature then kicks in, and starts to judge others for the issues they have with gossip. It does this for a number of reasons. One may be so you start thinking, "well at least I'm not as bad as them...". Another reason is to distract you and waste the energy you should be spending on repentance and refining the gossip in your own life.
So what should we do when the "speck patrol" of our flesh shows up? We need to recognize that as the Holy Spirit reminding us of OUR faults, not someone else's. This is a HUGE opportunity to thrust a dagger into the heart of our flesh and further the process of becoming the "dead man" God wants us to be.
Whether we realize it or not, we are always looking for an excuse to hang on to what God is asking us to give him. When we begin to be people of "habitual repentance" and we surrender as soon as the Lord brings our "beams" to light, we will be on a path toward maturity. We will become who God has created us to be.
Through the Power of the Spirit,
Live the DREAM!
Pastor Greg Lathe
Dynamic Lifestyle of Worship
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Empowered Through Biblical Training
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Mission to Reach our World for Christ
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