i
Page 12A - THE CHARLOTTE TOST - Thursday, January 14. 1988
INTRODUCTION
Isn't It true that we love one another better when we understand
each other? We realty do not know others well enough to con
demn them. That Is what Jesus teaches us In our lesson for to
day.
LESSON BACKGROUND
Jesus moved from the subject of talking about worrying about
our dalty lives to talking about condemning others. {Matt. 6:19-
34). There Is no connection. Worrying Is due to lack of under
standing. and condemning others Is also due to lack of under
standing. While worrying Indicates that we are not content to al
low God to be Lord over nature, condemning others Indicates that
we are not content to allow God to be Loixl over our feUowmen.
We want to have something to say about their punishment when
they do not live up to oui expectations. Christians should both
quit worrying about provisions and quit condemning otehrs.
THE LESSON
"Do not Judge others, so that God wUl not Judge you, for *God
will Judge you In the same way you Judge others, and He will apply
to you the same rules you appty to others. Why then, do you look
at the speck in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the log
in your own eye? How dare you say to your brother, 'Please let me
take that speck out of your eye,' when you have a log In your own
eye? You hypocrite! First take the log out of your own eye, and
then you will be able to see clearly to take the sp>eck out of your
brother's eye. Do not give what Is holy to dogs-they will only
turn and attack you. Do not throw your pearls In front of pigs—
they will only trample them under foot. Ask and you will receive:
seek and you will find; Knock and the door will be opened to you.
For everyone who asks will receive, and anyone who seeks will
find, and the door will be opened to him who knocks. Would any
of you who are fathers give your son a stone when he asks for
bread? Or would you give him a snake when he asks for a fish?
As bad as you are, you know how to give good things to your chil
dren. How much more then, will your Father in heaven give good
things to those who ask him! Do for others what you want them
to do for you: this Is the meaning of the Law of Moses and of the
teachings of the prophets." (Matt. 7:1-12)
Some people think that "Judge not. that ye be not Judged,"
means that we should make no evaluations of others and thus
not seek to con:ect others. That Is not what Jesus meant at all.
Evaluations are essential If we are going to obey some of the In
structions Jesus gave us. How are we going to know who the "false
prophets" are If we cannot make evaluations?
Jesus Is speaking against our having a spirit that finds fault
with others In a rash, censurlous, and cruel manner'. We will be
Judged by the same manner and measure that we use to Judge oth
ers. 1) If we are quick to find fault in others, they will be quick to
find fault In us. Do we want to be prejudged without the facts be
ing known? 2) God will measure Judgement to us In accordance
with how we measure Judgment to others. Jesus makes it clear
that If we do not forgive others God will not forgive us. If we
show mercy to others, God will show mercy to us.
There are many reasons why condemning others Is Inappro
priate for Christians. Here are four of them: a) We are not God. b)
We are not the masters of others, c) We do not have all the facts,
d) Any condemning we do Is done too early. Condemnation
awaits the tx>mlng of the Ix>rd. (1 Cor.4:5) We have the responsi
bility’ to admonish one another, to build up one another, to pray
for one another, but not to condemn one another.
Our condemning of others Is always done with blurred vision.
None of us Is able to condemn others with totalty clear vision.
Our prejudices get In the way. Our perspectives and our feelings
get ih the way. Many times we have bigger problems In our own
lives than what Is In the lives of others that causes us to want to
condemn those persons.
Jesus did not say we should do to others what we think they
will do to us, nor did he say we should do to others what we know
they will do or have the ability to do to us, nor what they've done
to us already. He did say that we are to do to others what we want
them to do to us. We should treat people the way we want to be
treated. This Is the summation of Christian ethics.
We must treat our fellowman not simply as the law allows, but
as Christ's love In us demands. We must treat them as If we were
treating ourselves. We must treat them as If by doing so we were
treating Jesus. And this must be done not only In the church as
sembly, but at home, at work, at school, on vacation, on the free
ways, In the check-out lines, on the telephone.at the airline or
bus terminal—wherever.
Prior to our treatment of others we need to evaluate such things
as would we want someone to say or not say the same things
about us? Would we want someone to do or not do the Scune for
us? Would we want someone to reach toward us the same as we?
Would we want someone's body language to give off the same sig
nals as our own? If not, don't do it. Anything we do with another,
we are doing with a fellow human being who has feelings the
same as we, who can be built up or tom down Just as we can.
Whatever you would like others to do for you, do It to them,
whether those other people ever think about doing It to you or
not.
Father, help us to rec»gnlze our own faults before we ever look
for faults In others. AMEN.
The Lost Church, Part I
QjrJ. 1C. Little
The state of our churches today Is one
of a great tragedy. Why? Christ Is not
known nor worshipped there. Once I was
In a church to attc^ a funeral. I eased In
the back and took a scat on the very back
pew. Just a few minutes alter I was seated
one of the ushers came over and asked;
"Aren't you a preacher?" I said yea, but I
would like to remain back here. Sic said
she wanted me up front but 1 pleaded with
her to let me remain In back, which she
did. I don't mind taking a back scat when
1 visit In a church. In fact 1 like to skp In
and out without being noticed. One day I
was a lost sinner and I had to take my
place before God as an outcast, not know
ing whether the Lord would save rpe or
not. But I pleaded with the Lord that He
died for sinners and If only one would be
saved 1 wanted to be that one. But before
the Lord saved me. He stripped J.M. Little
of ALL his hellish pride. When I was In the
religious world 1 was one of the proudest
sinners that ever lived. But when the Holy
Spirit was dealing with my heart He
showed me that my pride would send me
to Hell. Then 1 began to plead with the
Lord to strip me of everything. And before
the Lord saved me. I quit asking the Lord
to save me, that may seem strange to you.
Docs it? But I did. 1 quit asking the Lord
to save me. I know the question on your
mind Is; "What did you do then?" I began
to cry unto the Lord; "Lord, make me lost.
You said in your Word You came to seek
and to save that which was lost." (Luke
19:10). 1 knew the Word of God was true
and God cannot lie. Since the Lord came
to seek and save that which was lost, the
concept of my heart was; If 1 can just get
lost the Lord will save me because He said
so. And bless your heart, when the Lord
got me lost. He saved me. Praise the Lord]
I've been telling for 15 years now how the
Lord saved this religious sinner who was
list In religion. I've been called crazy, be
side myself, and every degrading name
you can think of. But I praise the Lord
from on High for His redeeming J.M.
Little. Arc you praising the Lord with
me? 1 don't care what you think or say
about me. Christ Is my salvation, la He
your salvation? If you arc ever to be saved
you must meet the Lord In this life.
As 1 sat tn that church I wept over their
lost condition. There was rro personal tes
timony of Christ. 1 noticed that the
speaker was a stranger to the Lordship of
Jesus Christ. Repentance was the miss
ing note also In his sermonnette. What a
tragedyl Is It possible for an entire church
to be lost? Not only Is It possible for an
entire church to be lost, that Is the sad
state of practically 100% of our churches
today. My late pastor. L.R. Shelton, used
to preach that 95% of our church mem
bers. Including preachers arc lost. I've
been saying lately that practically 100%
of our church members, including
preachers, arc lost. Call me crazy If you
wish, I know what I'm talking about and
you win too just as soon as you draw your
last beath. When a soul of the world dies,
it's just one more face In HcD. when a soul
In the religious world dies. It's just a leap
Into the dark. The spirit of the Antichrist
has taken over In the churches today, and
the present day ministry Is preparing the
way for the rise of the Antichrist. That's
true whether you believe It or not. I wish
you could just get your eyes open to see
how Satan has taken over our churches.
We are living In the darkest days ever, spi
ritually. In a lost church, the members
are talking about worldly matters when
th^ gather, not about how Christ is a liv
ing reality to their hearU. In a lost
church, there are no awakened sinners
crying out; Tm lostl What must I do to be
saved?" When was the last time In your
church a slmicr came forth crying out
over their lost condition? Your pastor will
try to quiet him down by saying; "You
made a profession of faith as a Httle child,
you are already saved." No. preachcrl
That sinner Is not saved. You are a mur
derer trying to convince him he Is already
saved. I realize preachers hate my mes
sages. It's because they expose your lost
heart which will not
acknowledge. Any preacher who docs
not understand an awakened sinner Is
lost, and you are pasturing a lost church.
A church that will not have Holy Spirit
Conviction (John 16:7-11) Is a lost
church. Do you have a lost church? How
many are urxicr Holy Spirit Conviction In
your church? Have you ever been under
Holy Spirit Conviction? If not. then you
are r»t saved and you should immediate
ly resign your office.
Ptcaae continue to listen to our late pas
tor. L.R. Shelton, with THE 'VOICE OF
TRUTH BROADCAST each Surxlay morn
ing at 7:30 over WAGI FM and at 8:00 over
WAGL AM. It will bless your heart. A
LOST CHURCH.
The Prophet's Column is a paid adver
tisement.
P
Doi
III":;:""'
iCribe ^
on’t Delay..
MONEY SAVING COUPONS the Sunflower Group
LESS SAIT
FOR LESS MONEY.
■250
MANUFACTURER COUPON I NO EXPIRATION DATE
Retailer Horme) will redeem this
coupon for amouDMhown plus 8c
I
I
I
250 OFF LESS SALT
SPAM* OR CLASSIC SPAM!
handling pcovided you and your cuaKimei have complied wnh the lenns
dL this onr Any other application constitute fraud Coupon void
where prohibited, taxed or recncted Cuaomer mua pey «ry aelea tax
Tb redeem coupoa mail to HormeL PO Box 730002. Texas 79973
Cash value 1/M
SRAM* Lunchem Meat is a regwiered trademark ior a pock product
MN»1'
I
I
tegtfi
pecked by Geo A Hormel & Co Ccep
Geo A Hormel & Co. 1967 LIMIT ONE (
i
I
OOoe. AiMin. MN ^12 •
COUPON PER PURCHASE
205084
I
250
3/6UU
I
I
I
Trichology Comer
Mr, Charles, RJB.
QUESTION? I dyed my hair
over a curl, and my stylist re
fused to do my next curl. I did
not see anything wrong with it.
ANSWER: Dye which is com
mon on the market, has the po
tential to be the most damaging
chemical on the list of products
for the stylist to watch out for.
You stood the risk of losing
your hair and at best getting a
soft, weak curl which you
probably would not have liked.
You are paying your stylist to
be a professional and to give
you proper advice.
The House of Charies
"When you care enough...
To Look Your Very Best"
^ s
V,
WF
A * * A
A A A A
A^ A ^ 4
AAAAAAAAAA
♦ *
EuiiK:
:Hie:
Granny's Attic
GIFTS - COLLECTABLES - CRAFTS
909 CENTRAL AVENUE #3
SWEATHERS (ABOVE CLASSIC TOUCH)
SKIRTS, dining TABLES
THROWS 0/0"/MV and chairs
& WRAPS MON. - FRI. 10-4 AVAILABLE
Subscribe
Today!
Call: 376-0496
The
Charlotte Post,
The One
With
The Most!
^ - -- y A
A . A->^. vz , f
Asklbur \^feriiiariaii
Q * Howcanigivetmpuppyorkitten
* abeadstarton life?
hippies anti kittens need extra protein and certain ntinerais and
f ri/aniinsfor a good bead start. /*roper nutrition is so important
Joryoungpets. .Ask your pet professional about baianced nutrition for
your new pet and u by ue recommend Science Diet' (anineOroii/b
food for puppies and Feiine Cro{^tb' foodfor kittens.
Here's win Soence Diel (!amiie uiul Kelme
(irouth ure tk* hesi pel fimils)mi ran buy.
Specific formulaiiniis in meet
puppies' and kittens' euu nuthtMKul needs.
K\tra calories to meet tk'ir bij;li eneryQi
needs and moredi};eslilile for less stuil
volume.
Optimum k'xels of calcium. plMi.spUinis and
txlHT minerals for muH'k* and hone develo])'
meni as uell as oterall appearance.
.VJso iIk' pefftt'i Tmid for your prej’iiani or
mirMiij* jH'l to promote pro|H r leul develoj)
mentand niilkpnHluctKX) IOO"..Njii%rjaMN)
y'uaraniee.
If ytiu care alMnii your puppy or kitten like
uedo. Mo|) by iinlay or call our Nuinixioal
(aiuiiM'Ioraiui asklimt Sieme Diel (iroutli
can lielp your yoim)> pel livcalM-althy and
iiHire saiislymjjlifr
H SCIENCE DIET.
Sup0ftOfnuintcnioftf>eU9Oiyoutper'*
TtiCei'MTf/i COUPON ifHiiirrw
Offer Good TTirou^h Feb. 1st
«1
OFF
Any Science Diet’ Product
iag or Case
Freedom Animal Hospital
3055 Freedom Br.7399-6534
?nf lx Tfff 1 wf K W if )4 JL rf rf
HAD AN ACCIDENT?
SEE US NOW!!
WE ACCEPT INSURANCE
CALL TODAY FOR APPOINTMENT
Dr. Dennis L. Watts
CHIROPRACTIC PHYSICIAN
2501 Beatties Ford Road • Charlotte, North Carolina
393-3333
mmfi
Chez
Marjorie Ltd. And Groome’s Corner
WILL PRESENT OUR
SPRING BRIDAL FASHION SHOW
OVENS AUDITORIUM
Wednesday, January 20,1988: 8p.m.
Showing Men's and Women’s Bridal And Formal Wear
Other Participants Include
Accent Bridal Concepts Photographers
Alice's Catering Mike's Limosines
Brumley's Catering Music by Times Two
Belk Travel Center Park Hotel
Wedding Videos
No Charge Call For Reservations
332-7589 333-7002 597-8877
Chez Marjorie Ltd, And Groome*s Corner