“…What measure
ye mete…”
Matthew 7:1-5 (KJV)
1 Judge not, that ye be not judged. 2 For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. 3 And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? 4 Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye? 5 Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye. [1]
1 Judge not, that ye be not judged. 2 For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. 3 And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? 4 Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye? 5 Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye. [1]
Ephesians 2:1-10
And you hath he
quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; 2 Wherein in time past ye
walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the
power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:
3 Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our
flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature
the children of wrath, even as others.
4 But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, 5 Even when
we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are
saved;) 6 And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Yeshua: 7 That in the
ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ
Yeshua. 8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9 Not of works,
lest any man should boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ
Yeshua unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in
them.[2]
“But Yahveh, who is rich in mercy…..”
Mercy. Not something that is
preached much these days. All around us
there is tragedy, sadness, fear. There is hatred between white and black, oh
the hatred doesn’t stop there, it extends to all races, all ethnicities. The
left hates the right, the right can’t stand the left and the center is just confused.
Police are attacked, police fight back – the wars continue, here and abroad.
Money is just about worthless, and there seems to be no end in sight for all
the calamities that are falling upon us. Where do we turn? Why brethren aren’t
you sitting in the hallowed halls of God’s house? Is it because there is no
longer truth there, no power?
Just today, on live camera, two lives were cut
short. Look at this tragedy that is before you, of young lives cut short… whose
fault?
- · We see young people of color whose lives cut short and some cheer;
- · We see the thin blue line around us bleed red, and there are those who celebrate.
- · Our troops go out in harm’s way, all over this world, and when they come home in a flag draped casket, who stands with the mourners? Who salutes? Yes, we have heard of those who have stood in the way of evil people who want to cast stones on the fallen warriors, yet, they seem so few.
- · We see the shame of black on black crime and none but a few weep against it. Where is the cry for the loss of these lives – why is there so much silence? For that matter, why focus on color at all - is not the shame of violence against anyone, regardless of color, gender or any other qualifier a matter that deserves our best efforts to stop?
- · We see Christians and others, Muslims included, murdered in the most horrible ways by the evil forces of the Jihadist and all we just want to look away. What are we looking for, are we looking for someone to blame?
- · We see God’s chosen people the Jews, once again being pressed on all sides, forced to flee their homes all over the world for the relative safety of Israel, yet how safe is a nation that is surrounded by governments that all seek their blood?
Again I ask, who is to blame?
I have spoken these words before... Mishpacha, family, hear me… we are to blame.
My words will not
be silent, my voice will not dim, I will point a finger, yet the Savior’s words
come back to me... “…For with what
judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall
be measured to you again…” Who am I to judge? By what standard do I think I have any right
to cast a stone at the lost or at those committing the injustices that I see? Did not my Savior also say e“He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at
her first.”[3] ? And what of the living? Is it here in their grief, maybe even the
crushing burden of guilt and shame that some deny them the solace of God’s
house, where hearts and minds can be ministered to in grace and mercy? Do not those who have lost their dear ones
deserve the comfort that only God’s house seems to bring at a time like
this? Yet so many houses of God have
become houses of reproach, “Oh they weren’t good enough, or they didn’t tithe
enough, or they didn’t serve enough…” Are we so proud and haughty, that we can look
down our noses at the pain, and cast our judgments down, as if we were God
Himself….
Men of God, listen
to me. You had better hear these words, for by what measure you mete, it will
be given unto you. Rabbi Sha’ul (Paul)
said in Ephesians that we all:
“… walked
according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of
the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: Among
whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh,
fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children
of wrath, even as others…”
What course do you walk? How in
your pride do you presume to cancel out the Hand of God as He reaches down from
Heaven in these tragedies to speak to hearts and minds? Here is the crucible of life, where fire and
judgment and mercy and grace meet to reconcile those who have strayed, those
whose hearts and lives have been shattered by injustice or by circumstance, all
this pain is used by God to bring these souls back into His strong, loving arms.
Yet, instead, there are those who judge, who cast stones, who pretend that the
lost are not worthy of the life giving words spoken to them in the house of
God. No matter the means or the method,
it was the hand of Elohim, God Almighty, that moved, and in the circumstance or
loss that that movement brought, God seeks to save others, by having His ministers
and preachers reach out in mercy, not condemnation. You cannot know the heart of God if you cannot
see beyond the natural and see what He is bringing in the spiritual. Christ Himself warns you:
Matt 23:23-28
23
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! rFor you pay tithe
of mint and anise and cummin, and shave neglected the weightier matters
of the law: justice and mercy and faith.
These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone. 24
Blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel!
25 “Woe to you, scribes and
Pharisees, hypocrites! tFor you cleanse the outside of the
cup and dish, but inside they are full of extortion and 3self-indulgence. 26
Blind Pharisee, first cleanse the inside of the cup and dish, that the outside
of them may be clean also.
27 “Woe to you, scribes and
Pharisees, hypocrites! uFor you are like whitewashed tombs
which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men’s
bones and all uncleanness. 28 Even so you also outwardly appear
righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness…[4]
Woe to you, who call yourself preacher, teacher, elder, deacon!
Where were you when the young began their
slide down into the clutches of satan?
Where were you when the grace, the mercy, the love of God should have
been poured into their lives so that they could see the Living Savior?
Were you expounding on the destructiveness of
sin and did you show those in your care the Law of God, how we all have fallen
short and that only the blood of Christ could save?
Were you on your knees daily, crying out to
God to show you how to reach them, did your tears stain the carpet as you laid
on your face before Him, weeping for the sins of your people, and humbling
yourself before Him that He might do a mighty work in all that heard?
Where were you? If you weren’t in prayer, if you were not
fasting for their salvation, how can you stand in judgment of them today?
O how guilty we all are, and I include
myself, for none of us have done enough to reach those under our care…
O Father,
forgive me first, for my shortcomings, for my failures,
for I cannot measure without, if I am not measuring within myself first….
Who do you think took the breath of those lost today or yesterday for
that matter - satan? No…I think you need to hear His words:
Deuteronomy 32:39 (KJV)
39 See now that I, even I, am he, and there is no god with me: I kill, and I make alive; I wound, and I heal: neither is there any that can deliver out of my hand. [5]
39 See now that I, even I, am he, and there is no god with me: I kill, and I make alive; I wound, and I heal: neither is there any that can deliver out of my hand. [5]
Our God is the author and the architect of our lives. Our next breath is up to Him, and Him alone.
In Isaiah 45:7 He says:
7 I form the
light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all
these things. [6]
He does not do evil, for it is not possible for Him to do so; but all
things were created by Him, all things are under His control… Joseph spoke of
this in Gen 50:17-20:
17 ‘Thus you shall say to Joseph: “I beg you, please forgive the trespass of
your brothers and their sin; mfor they did evil to you.” ’ Now, please, forgive the trespass of the
servants of nthe God of your father.”
And Joseph wept when they spoke to him.
18 Then his brothers also went and ofell down before his face, and they said, “Behold, we are your
servants.”
19 Joseph said to them, p“Do not be afraid, qfor am I in the
place of God? 20 rBut as for you, you
meant evil against me; but sGod meant it for good,
in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive.
[7]
The enemy always means for it to be evil, yet God meant it for good; thus
this is what we face here today. God
meant this sadness to be for the good, for the salvation of many, yet if we don’t
come with mercy and grace, if we aren’t looking for mercy and grace, if we
don’t show the love of Christ, if what we measure out is condemnation or
judgment, how much more comes back to us?
Yes, something went wrong, and we, Mishpacha, family, are to blame. For the Torah of God tells us:
Deuteronomy 6:4-9 (KJV)
4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: 5 And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. 6 And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: 7 And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. 8 And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. 9 And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates. [8]
4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: 5 And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. 6 And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: 7 And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. 8 And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. 9 And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates. [8]
We have failed for we don’t teach our children… and one more is lost to
us. How many more? You see, it is being mete out to us, our
youth are slipping away… They slip away into the darkness, swallowed alive by
the evil that is growing in our land. They embrace the unnatural way, they rush
headlong into sin, slaves to sex, drugs, power and money, or slaves to despair,
loneliness and anger. Yet God means for this to be a lesson, He means for us to
hear, to have compassion, and forgiveness, to weep and to learn, yet we must
still face the truth, and sometimes truth hurts. My words may seem harsh, but
they are spoken in love. For what is
truth, if not spoken? And what is love, if not given in truth? And what is the
truth? It lies before you…
O young ones, see before the consequence of
sin! It leads only to the grave!
O Elders, see the consequence of neglect! It only leads to pain!
O preachers, see the consequence of our failure to
weep, of our failure to feed His sheep, of our failure of complacency, of not
fighting for the souls of those we are given charge of….
O families, cry with me, mourn with the living, pray
for our lost… don’t presume you know the heart of God, ask and plead with Him
for His mercy…
O young people, give up your ways of rebellion
against the Most High, reach out to Yeshua the Messiah and repent and live!
Never again should any that sleep in the dust, or
those that are lost be denied the House of God,
for it is there He mourns also.
O house of God, O Church! Where are you? Where is
your power?
Stop screeching about “your best life now”, stop speaking on
prosperity and start fighting against the sin that is killing God’s people!
Ezekiel 18:20-32
20 tThe soul who sins shall die. uThe son shall
not bear the guilt of the father, nor the father bear the guilt of the son. vThe
righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, wand the
wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself.
21 “But xif a wicked man turns from all his
sins which he has committed, keeps all My statutes, and does what is lawful and
right, he shall surely live; he shall not die. 22 yNone
of the transgressions which he has committed shall be remembered against him;
because of the righteousness which he has done, he shall zlive.
23 aDo I have any
pleasure at all that the wicked should die?” says the Lord God, “and not that he should turn
from his ways and live?
24 “But bwhen a righteous man turns away from
his righteousness and commits iniquity, and does according to all the
abominations that the wicked man does, shall he live? cAll
the righteousness which he has done shall not be remembered; because of the
unfaithfulness of which he is guilty and the sin which he has committed,
because of them he shall die.
25 “Yet you say, d‘The way of the Lord is not fair.’
Hear now, O house of Israel, is it not My way which is fair, and your ways
which are not fair? 26 eWhen a righteous man
turns away from his righteousness, commits iniquity, and dies in it, it is
because of the iniquity which he has done that he dies. 27 Again,
fwhen
a wicked man turns away from the wickedness which he committed, and does
what is lawful and right, he preserves himself alive. 28 Because
he gconsiders
and turns away from all the transgressions which he committed, he shall surely
live; he shall not die. 29 hYet the house of
Israel says, ‘The way of the Lord is not fair.’ O house of Israel, is it not My
ways which are fair, and your ways which are not fair?
30 i“Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every
one according to his ways,” says the Lord God.
j“Repent,
and turn from all your transgressions, so that iniquity will not be your ruin. 31
kCast
away from you all the transgressions which you have committed, and get
yourselves a lnew heart and a new spirit. For why should you die, O
house of Israel?
32 For mI have no pleasure in
the death of one who dies,” says the Lord God.
“Therefore turn and nlive!”[9]
For why should we die when He wants us to live?
Turn all of us, O
Father, back to the simple truth of Your Word, back to the cross of the Savior…
There is nothing we’ve done that cannot be washed away by the blood and by the
mercy and grace of God.
Brethren, we honor not our Father, Yeshua our Savior or the Spirit of God when
we mete out judgment, when all that should be mete out is forgiveness and mercy. No matter the way those we love or know have
strayed, our loved ones deserve the respect due to our Father for all were
created in His image; their families need our support, and those whose hearts are
burdened with sin and guilt need our forgiveness and the washing of the blood
of Jesus. Let us be wise and not forget our place;
for salvation is of the Lord and only He knows the end result of one’s soul.
May those lost today rest in peace, might forgiveness and mercy abound, and may
the house of God once more rise up and push back against the darkness that
threatens us all.
Too many have died because too many are silent. For the Jew, for the
Christian, for the innocent Muslim, or whatever faith you hold; for the black,
the white, the red, the brown, the yellow; for the warrior, the police man, the
fire-fighter, or whatever position in life you hold; for the child, for the
senior citizen, for all who walk this earth – we will be measured by the measure we mete.
Church, you cannot be silent
anymore.
May the next thing that dies be religion, and a
true revival of the love of Yeshua Ha’Machiach, Jesus the Messiah, be shed without
borders to all, in all our hearts.
Amein and
Amein…
[1] The Holy Bible : King James Version.
1995 (electronic ed. of the 1769 edition of the 1611 Authorized Version.). Bellingham
WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.
e Deut. 17:7; [Rom. 2:1]
[3]The New
King James Version. 1982 (Jn 8:7). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.
r Matt. 23:13; Luke 11:42; 18:12
s [1 Sam. 15:22; Hos. 6:6; Mic. 6:8]; Matt. 9:13; 12:7
t Mark 7:4; Luke 11:39
3 M unrighteousness
u Luke 11:44; Acts 23:3
[4]The New
King James Version. 1982 (Mt 23:23-28). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.
[5] The
Holy Bible : King James Version. electronic ed. of the 1769 edition of the
1611 Authorized Version. Bellingham WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 1995.
[6] The Holy Bible : King James Version.
1995 (electronic ed. of the 1769 edition of the 1611 Authorized Version.).
Bellingham WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.
[7] The New King James Version. 1982.
Nashville: Thomas Nelson.
[8] The Holy Bible : King James Version.
1995 (electronic ed. of the 1769 edition of the 1611 Authorized Version.).
Bellingham WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.
t 2 Kin. 14:6; 22:18–20; Ezek. 18:4
u Deut. 24:16; 2 Kin. 14:6; 2 Chr. 25:4;
Jer. 31:29, 30
v 1 Kin. 8:32; Is. 3:10, 11; [Matt.
16:27]
w Rom. 2:6–9
x Ezek. 18:27; 33:12, 19
y Is. 43:25; Jer. 50:20; Ezek. 18:24;
33:16; Mic. 7:19
z [Ps. 18:20–24]
a Lam. 3:33; [Ezek. 18:32; 33:11; 1 Tim.
2:4; 2 Pet. 3:9]
b 1 Sam. 15:11; 2 Chr. 24:2, 17–22; Ezek.
3:20; 18:26; 33:18
c [2 Pet. 2:20]
d Ezek. 18:29; 33:17, 20; Mal. 2:17;
3:13–15
e Ezek. 18:24
f Ezek. 18:21
g Ezek. 18:14
h Ezek. 18:25
i Ezek. 7:3; 33:20
j Matt. 3:2; Rev. 2:5
k Is. 1:16; 55:7; Eph. 4:22, 23
l Ps. 51:10; Jer. 32:39; Ezek. 11:19;
36:26
m Lam. 3:33; Ezek. 33:11; [2 Pet. 3:9]
n [Prov. 4:2, 5, 6]
[9]The New
King James Version. 1982 (Eze 18:20-32). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.