Exodus 23:1–9Scripture
Exodus chapter 23 today is our assignment, and I'm actually going to preach on it, unlike last week. I just wanted us to understand that as we work our way through the law, there are a lot of expectations that God has. And honestly, he is revealing his character when he reveals the law. It is a means by which he reveals his character. Not only the fact that he reveals his character, but he reveals your character at the same time.
It is in revealing his character that we see most plainly who we are and who we are not.
Pastor Shawn Gray · 0:38
Ladies and gentlemen, we are not like him, but he is making us like him through his Spirit, and we are grateful for that. We are grateful for that. Exodus chapter 23, I just want to focus today, because you've already done your homework and your studies, and you've met with your small groups and you've had your discussion, so today I just want to focus on 1 through 9, 1–9. It says this: "You shall not spread a false report." Now, we know in Exodus 20, verse 16, the commandments are given, and it says, "You shall not bear false witness." Now, this is a little unique. It has a little unique spin on it here, because now it moves it from a place of being a witness in a courtroom to now spreading a false report in the midst of the community, and the dangers of what we would refer to today, in more simplistic terms, as gossip in the midst of community. And so I want us to understand that is the framework, because when we talk about social justice, and
Introduction
I know I'm pausing and I'm going to read the rest of it just after this, right, we talk about social justice issues today. God is laying out how social justice can take place in the midst of community. And so he's helping construct, in his sense, in a biblical sense, social justice. Okay, this is how justice takes place socially in community. And now for us today, social justice issues are based not on God's righteous standards but on man's sinfulness, and we fight for these issues, and they are against the righteous standards of God. In today's society we have a right, we want justice for our right to be sinners. Are you with me today? And even the church gets behind that, because we don't know his standard. It is his standard. Now, so when we hear then, and in particular when there's a statement in the Bible about God's social justice for community, that gets convoluted for us, because we take what we experience today in our culture, social justice, and we apply it to the text. But his social justice is based on his standards, not your sin and your desires and your wants and your proclivities. It's based on his, and so then we acquiesce to his character and his standards. Okay: "You shall not spread a false report. You shall not join hands with a wicked man to be a malicious witness. You shall not fall in with the many to do evil, nor shall you bear witness in a lawsuit, siding with the many, so as to pervert justice, nor shall you be partial to a poor man in his lawsuit." Notice that justice is the standard. How many of you, when your team's out of the running, root for the underdog? "Who am I going to root for?" You don't root for whoever has the best-colored jersey. I think our typical tendency is to root for those who probably couldn't win. He's saying, be careful about that. He knows that's the way we go; that's the way we function. He said, don't just root for the poor man; root for what's true and what's right and what's just, regardless of who's poor or rich. Justice is paramount for God, in spite of the underdog. His justice is most important. Now, that's tricky today, that's tricky today, and gossip has a way of attaching itself to the underdog. Okay: "If you meet your enemy's ox or his donkey going astray, you shall bring it back to him." You mean I couldn't kill it out in the field? It's my enemy's. "If you see the donkey of one who hates you lying down under its burden, you shall refrain from leaving him with it; you shall rescue it with him." Is that how you treat your enemies? Do you see God's standard? Isn't it good that we were enemies of the cross of Christ, yet he picked up a burden we could not carry on our own, not just our burden, but us with it? Are you with me today? Do you see Christ in this? And he's saying, the standard by which I live is the standard that I give. How do you treat your neighbor? Those who are forgiven much will be grateful much. And how is that gratefulness seen in the hearts of men? By the way we treat our enemies.
Some of you would rather be right than be righteous, and the greatest enemy of righteousness in the life of an individual is you wanting to be right.
Pastor Shawn Gray · 6:24
"You shall not pervert the justice due to your poor in his lawsuit. Keep far from a false charge, and do not kill the innocent and righteous." Notice that the charge of your mouth is murder to God. "For I will not acquit the wicked." We'll stay away from that today, because that's just too much for today. There's too much for a Sunday morning. "And you shall take no bribe, for a bribe blinds the clear-sighted and subverts the cause of those who are in the right." It's amazing today, because when we think of judges today, if we were to think of a judge today, we would not want to have a judge sitting with a gavel behind a large desk to make judgment calls on what is right and what is wrong, and to evoke and to invoke penalties in the lives of individuals who've perpetrated great, terrible things against other people, if they had a propensity to take bribes. We'd want them from behind the desk. We'd want them to come out from behind the desk, to no longer wear the robe, to no longer be able to give judgment, and to no longer hold a gavel in their hand. Because why? It perverts justice. That's 100% across the board; everyone would agree with that. You wouldn't want a judge to be a judge if they took bribes. Yet you take bribes all the time. You're like, "No, I don't." Not financially. Well, we're going to talk about that. We're going to talk about that. "You shall not oppress a sojourner. You know the heart of a sojourner, for you were sojourners in the land of egypt." Listen, I don't think I'll make it to that today. I just don't think I'll make it, but that's kind of cool too. Okay, there it is, 1 through 9. Okay.
It is the duty of every individual in this building today to be guardians of truth.
Pastor Shawn Gray · 8:58
If the internet were scrubbed, if app stores were closed and the virtual highway shut down, if at once all our online friends and followers vanished, the world's town square emptied, and none could scroll or upload or like or share or comment or post, would mankind be happier or sadder? More connected or lonelier? Would we wander into a dark age, or an age of rediscovery, rediscovering long-lost joys? Would our existence be better or worse without the internet? Interesting, right? And I would say probably our tendencies to share all kinds of falsehoods do not just find their place in the internet, but the internet exacerbates the hearts of men and is revelatory of what already happens in smaller circles. It's just the steroid to the hearts of men and the problem therein. Are you with me? It's amazing today, because we live in a generation and a time where people will share a post without reading the article. I have repeatedly seen people go on to an article that was besmirching another individual, whether in politics or out of politics, whether personal or not personal, whether they knew that person or even had an idea who that person was at all, whether they broke bread with that person at one point in their life or would never even have a chance in a million years to break bread with that person. They would share an article, and before they would share the article, they would post a comment continuing to share falsehoods about the individual without ever reading the article or knowing what happened in the situation, based on a title. That's extremely dangerous today, because half the titles you read out there aren't accurate at all, thanks to AI. It's amazing. How many of you have ever been guilty, okay, this gets personal, of sharing something before you vetted it? Just be personal. And then you're like, "Oopsy daisy, I found out that wasn't true." How many of you have ever done that? Just raise your hand proud. Yeah, probably all of us. Okay, not online; let's move it beyond online. How many of you have been guilty of sharing something that wasn't true, and then you realized it wasn't true later, with your mouth, over a table with a friend? That's almost closer to 100%. So God knows this about us. Isn't it good? Let me just pause for a second and say this: isn't it good that God knows you? He knows you, and because he knows you, he can speak to where you're at and he can give you guidance. So the point of this is not to rebuke but to guide. It's to help us in our natural proclivity to do what's wrong. And this is destructive for community and ultimately the unity that he longs for in the body of believers. Note this: this is his people who he's delivered. I understand this is Old Testament, but if we were to move it to the New Testament, to be his people you have to be a believer; to be a believer you have to be saved; to be saved, you're a Christian and you're in the community. To be a Christian, you're the body of Christ. He wants unity there, and spreading a false report destroys it.
It amputates parts of the body that he longs to be a part. It's divisive, destructive. It harms his body. It is a form of masochism against Christ and his body. It's destructive. What you do to another in the body, you do to his body. Are you with me today? And it could be as simple as an offhanded comment made in frustration about another. There doesn't have to be intent or malicious intent against another. It could be a slip of the tongue. Are you with me? Can we just take it further? It can be the way you look at someone when they walk in the room, because sometimes daggers are not just words used by your tongue.
Sometimes daggers are more piercing by the looks you give, by the people you hate.
Pastor Shawn Gray · 14:34
I'm excited for this message.
I know it seems crazy, but I think God is guiding us and helping us to love one another better. I think it's a beautiful thing. The online world and the personal world is populated with more than a few who disregard one of God's most basic and most serious commandments: you shall not bear a false report against your
Point 1Every "you shall not" rests on a "you shall"
Neighbor. I'll start with this point, for those of you who like to take notes. I'll start with this: there is a "you shall" behind every "you shall not." And I think it is important for us to identify the "you shall." So I'm going to take a moment, and this will be brief, there'll be brevity in this, but I want to take a moment and say that the "you shall" that is supreme here, that comes first, is: you shall love God more than people and yourself. "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength." All the Ten Commandments are broken into two: you shall love God, and you shall love your neighbor as yourself. Notice which comes first. Notice, before we get to "you shall not bear false witness," what comes first is "you shall love God and love your neighbor." Those are the "you shalls" behind the "you shall nots." You can't do the "you shall nots"
Until you first accomplish the "you shalls." It is not in the nature of an individual to love their neighbor and to not spread false witness. If you're a sinner not saved by grace, your natural proclivity is to just not like people, you know what I mean? And everybody has a problem. And you don't... For Pete's sake, even as a believer, that kind of rears its ugly head, especially in rush hour traffic. Are you with me today? It finds its way. We see the true nature of ourselves, and he's reminding you of who you are in Christ, that you shall love God and you shall love your neighbor. I'll say this: here's another prerequisite for us to even do anything in this. And there's a long list of "you shall nots" in here and "you shalls" in here. There's a long list of "you shall nots" and "you shalls"; you can identify them very quickly. There's probably like 10 or 11 of them, and we're not going to have time to go over all of them. But listen, to do any of them, to do any of
Point 2You shall apply discernment, not just emotion
Them, you shall love God and love your neighbor. And here's another "you shall": you shall have to apply discernment if you hope to obey any of this text. Track with me here today.
And this is a problem, because we are not a discerning generation; we are an emotional one.
Pastor Shawn Gray · 18:17
Okay? You know what's required for discernment? Critical thought.
We got problems, because we'd rather feel it than think it.
Pastor Shawn Gray · 18:32
Listen, emotions are the fuel to our life. It is important. We are fueled by emotion in our worship services. We are fueled by emotion in the way we interpret Scripture. We are fueled by emotion in the decisions we make. We are fueled by emotion in the schedule we keep. We are fueled by emotion in the food we eat. We are fueled by emotion in the people we choose to hang out with. We are fueled by emotion in what we choose to buy. We are fueled by emotion in what we decide to do with our life. We are fueled by emotion in our pastimes and our hobbies, and we are fueled by emotion in what we wear. How much critical thought makes its way into all of those things? And because we live in a generation that applies little critical thought to anything in our life, it then becomes very difficult to apply discernment, and then it becomes near impossible to obey any of these commands. Oh, this is going to be practical today. Do you know that discernment is a gift? It is a gift that is instructed and fed by the Word of God. The less time you're in this, the more difficult it is to discern.
How do we apply discernment in our lives? Well, I'm glad you asked. Let me give you a couple ways. You ground yourself in truth. You meditate on truth, because there's plenty of falsehood out there. How do we know that it's true? Well, this is inherently true. "Well, but what if God spoke to somebody else on my behalf and gave me a word? This is truth." I'm not saying God can't do that; that's not what I'm saying. I'm saying, how many people do you know that have said something and it hasn't been right? Well, all of you raised your hand. You think that's possible when you give a word? Are you with me today? Ground yourself in truth. Well, how do we go to the place where it's 100% sure? I'm glad you asked. That's true truth.
Truth is personally applied, by the way, while gossip is an external projection imposed upon others.
Pastor Shawn Gray · 21:27
That's why we don't like truth and why we prefer gossip, because truth comes at us and gossip goes to others.
We would rather make an appetite of gossip than self-reflect and have truth unpack our lives.
Pastor Shawn Gray · 21:42
Are you with me today? It's amazing. You just think about the portion of time that your mouth is rambling about others, and your mouth is rambling about what God is doing in you. Think about it. Oh, how many of you are just a smidge convicted right now? Because I am. I am. "Be careful, little mouth, what you say." Remember that song? If we were, our word quotient for the day would be one-hundredth of what it is. How much time do you spend complaining about others, and how much time do you spend glorifying the Lord with that mouth of yours? I don't know why I'm looking at Bruce, poor soul. It's just like a safe zone. I don't know, he probably thinks I'm preaching to him about everything I say. You're not. I just kind of go to that zone. It's funny. I'm not preaching at you, brother. Okay. Evaluate the source. How do we use discernment? One, we ground ourselves in truth. Number two, we evaluate the source.
Gossip often carries hidden agendas and personal biases that self-aggrandize and destroy others. Reflect on whether the information serves to build up others or tears them down. That's how you know if it's gossip or truth. Jesus came to unite. He came to divide, but you know what I mean. But you understand what I'm saying: he came to unite his body. And when you have gossip come into the body to divide, that's not what he came for. He didn't come to divide that. So if you have something that rises up in the body and says that it's true, but it's dividing, you should have some question about that. That's what the Bible says. It's not what Shawn says; it's what the Bible says. Gossip carries hidden agendas and personal biases. Reflect on whether information serves to build up others or merely tear someone down. Remember, we're called to be like Christ, not a Roman crucifier, somebody who carries out crucifixions. Okay, how do we use discernment? Number three, distinguish facts from fiction and opinions from truth. This takes work. This takes work. Number four, use critical thought. Number five, reflect on the broader impact. Discernment isn't just about identifying truth; it's also about promoting unity. The goal is to restore and build up, not merely criticize other human beings. "Well, my rights." It's amazing how somebody will say they want to be like Christ, but they're unwilling to lay their rights down. That's right. So one is a lie, because you can't say you want to be like Christ and refuse to lay your rights down for the sake of unity. You can't say that. One is a lie. And honestly, it gets old when people profess to be so godly but they live their life opposite of that.
These "you shalls" always precede the "you shall nots." And then we get to... So that's there: you shall love God, you shall love your neighbor, you shall use discernment. And then we jump right into the very first verse and the very first few words, "you shall." Notice that the "you
Point 3You shall not spread falseness about others or God
Shall" is before, and then he goes "not": you shall not spread falseness. That's the second point: you shall not spread falseness. How do we spread falseness?
Well, through conversation, attitudes and the treatment of others. We share things with a click of a button, by what we gather through headlines. It is important to vet what could potentially be gossip. But can I just stop here? Because we want to talk about two things. If we shouldn't spread falseness about others, which means we have to vet it, which means we have to use discernment, which means we have to love them, it's all of those things, we shouldn't spread falseness about others, should we be spreading falseness about God and his truth? See, don't lose that in this thing, because he's part of the others. It's amazing. Let me just say, it's not actually so amazing that people spread falseness of others, because they're comfortable sitting in churches that spread falseness about God every Sunday, whether in this church or any church. We should be very concerned when a false gospel is preached, regardless of the church. Right now, let's move it beyond the pulpit. What are we saying of God? What are we saying of his standard? Have we sacrificed his standard of justice and righteousness and goodness and holiness on the altar of our wants? Have we created provisional space for us to subvert his standard because we value those that have been perpetrated against, or those that are underdogs? I don't need to say them, right? You know what I'm talking about, right?
Because they're hot topics today. Think about it. Think about the church being split in half over God's standards and the political issues of the day.
Think about it. Think about the issues we vote on for the rights of men today. Think about it. Whose standard reigns supreme in the church, people? How does that happen? We don't know his standard well. "Well, Shawn, how is it that the church is divided on hot-topic issues that seem black and white in the Scripture? How come some people think it's okay to murder and some people don't?" How do we get there? Because we don't use discernment, and that "you shall" is required. And why do we not use discernment? We don't know his standard, and we've sacrificed his standard on the altars of our convenience. That's essentially what gossip is: sacrificing his standard on the altar of your convenience and your whims and your wants and your emotional well-being.
By the positions we hold in our society, are we spreading false witness about God and his standards? Moving on. That's a lot. That's a lot, actually. I don't care, because his standard is more important than your feelings. I don't care. I don't care anymore. I mean, evidently, look how many people are in church. I don't care. If I wanted every chair filled in here, I'd be preaching something different. Are you with me?
His standard reigns supreme, not your
Pastor Shawn Gray · 30:58
Point 4Avoid siding with the crowd or the underdog
Feelings. Okay: you shall avoid temptation. You shall avoid temptation. There are two temptations that our age is especially susceptible to. We see it in the Scripture. In both cases, Satan hands us elegant clothing to make a false report feel more like compassion than sinfulness, and it's a noble kind of falseness. All of us have been guilty of this. "You shall not spread a false report. You shall not join hands with a wicked man to be a malicious witness. You shall not fall in with the many to do evil, nor shall you bear witness in a lawsuit, siding with the many, so as to pervert justice, nor shall you be partial to a poor man in his lawsuit." Notice here that the perversion of justice is directly connected to your report. "You shall not spread a false report." Notice that the perversion of justice is directly connected to your report. That's why: be careful, little mouth, what you say. We should give more credence to it and properly vet the information we obtain from others, not letting their report corrupt our own, and we should not give a report based on our emotions that destroys others rather than brings unity. There are two temptations mentioned in Exodus 23, and I'm going to break them down for you, that we should avoid. Okay, one: siding with popular opinion. And by the way, we think this is a youth problem, peer pressure. This is a you problem and a me problem. This is an us problem. It's amazing how easy it is to get caught up in the current of popular opinion, how easy it is. It is amazing to me that someone will bring an accusation against another person, and you will immediately get irritated with them without ever having engaged in the conversation you've been told happened. You never even heard that happen. You never heard it happen firsthand, and you will begin to join the dismantlement of another person verbally without ever having been in the room. You just heard someone say it happened, and you just go after that person and you dismantle them. You ever been guilty of doing that? God help us, right? So why is God telling us that?
To make us walk out of here feeling like whipped dogs? No, he's telling us that because that's our natural proclivity, and he wants unity in the body, and he's saying, hey, stop that, man. Don't do that. That doesn't accomplish what I want to accomplish. It's not my purpose. If anybody had a right to dismantle somebody, it's God dismantling us, but he chose to dismantle his Son on your behalf.
The least you can do is extend that grace to your fellow man.
Pastor Shawn Gray · 34:23
That's the least you can do. The least you could do is give someone the benefit of the doubt and actually seek out truth, rather than just entertain gossip and then begin to attack somebody in a conversation. Matter of fact, the least you could do is to tell somebody, "You know what, you probably shouldn't be talking about another individual who's a part of our family in a derogatory fashion. You need to take that to God and to the person you have a problem with." Are you with me today? Because I've found that most people will besmirch another before they've even talked to that person. They'll besmirch. I like the word besmirch. I think that's funny. That's a funny word, besmirch. Anyway, I like it; I don't know why. Whether on the witness stand or tweeting on a branch, we are tempted to side with the many, even as they commit injustice.
Justice, God reminds us, is not the result of a vote, nor decided by a poll or a survey, or according to popular opinion.
Pastor Shawn Gray · 35:31
Most of us might not go wholesale towards the spirit of the age, but the temptation to adjust our weights and measures towards the masses is all too real, even for the best of us. We have a tendency to do this. And number two, the temptation to bend unjustly towards the vulnerable. That's the issue today in our society; we see it so rampant today. Matter of fact, it becomes the excuse to live un- righteous lives: if you have anything that's been perpetrated against you have a right to live outside of God's standard and continue on in sin. I'm not going to name them, but just think with me for a second. God's standard is God's standard in spite of you being vulnerable. "You shall not be partial to a poor man in his lawsuit." You have many today more compassionate, it seems, than God. They care more than God cares, because they will fight for justice where God has remained silent. These are people inside and outside the church. While God tells us not to be partial in court towards the poor, towards the vulnerable, uncritically siding with the ones who claim disadvantage has never been easier. Christian sympathy makes our hearts go towards the weak and broken, and we will trample over the justice and the righteousness of God to accomplish it and love them better than he ever has. God's word requires here impartiality, not tilting the field towards the advantaged or the disadvantaged. Justice does not care. We are right to picture Lady Justice with the blindfold. Whether rich or poor, whether friend or foe, one of us or one of them, justice must use a fair balance, and this is God's standard. Another point: you shall
Point 5Keep far from false charges and bribes
Stay far away from a false charge. Here's a "you shall": do not, it says, bring a false charge. Okay, let me give you a couple phrases that popped into my head. Okay, here's... You're like, what is that? "I charge so-and-so with such-and-such. I charge thee." It's weird language, right? Do not bring a false charge. So let me break this down for you. How does this roll out in private community, in church community? Well, here's a couple dangers that we see in bringing a false charge. Here's some dangers, here's some natural proclivities and some dangers for us. The danger of venting and blowing off steam. You can bring a false charge when you're venting and blowing off steam. How many of you have ever vented? Oh, man, like one of those hand dryers in the bathroom, you know, like at dinner time: "I'm just blowing off steam. I love them. You... Kill, murder, kill, murder, kill, murder, kill. I love them, I love them, and the love of Christ compels me to love them. Kill, murder, kill. I love them." Okay. The danger of gossip as a prayer request. "Oh my, will you pray for me, because I had a run-in with so-and-so." It was Brook Ashley Gray. You use their middle name, you know, because you want to make sure they know which Brook Gray you're... Oh, Brook Nicole Gray. Brook Nicole... Gray. Sorry, I know her middle name. Sorry.
Fa-la-la. I just spread a false witness right there, a false report. Brook Nicole Gray, your last name's Gray. "I just want to pray for her soul.
She perpetrated all kinds of horrible things. She did this, she did this, she did this, she did this." And then here's the prayer request, and here's the counsel, advice: "What should I do? Will you pray for me? Murder. Pray for me." The danger of saying, "Well, I'd say this to their face." So I'm going to tell you, I'm sorry, guys, listen, the reason I know this is because I've done this. You ever done this? "I'd say this to their face, so I can say this to everybody." Matter of fact, "Murder. I'd murder them to their face." The danger of improper use of accountability partners: "I need wise counsel." There's a proper use of that and an improper use of that. I'm going to let you use discernment to figure out how.
I got some ideas, but I got to move on. Disassociation from the charge is not detached from the charger. Here's the command, here's the command. Let me read it to you; I have to find it. "You shall not pervert the justice due to your poor in his lawsuit." Here it is: "Keep far from a false charge." Oh, okay, I can do that. Bruce comes to me, he brings a false charge. Now watch this: it is physically impossible for me to keep far from the charge without getting far from Bruce. "Well, that's not loving." Just track with me here today. This is the truth. "Oh, well, how are we supposed to have unity in the body?" Sometimes disassociation from the person is necessary. One time in the New Testament, Paul actually gives a charge to put people out of the fellowship so that they will repent and return, because they long for the fellowship. Disassociation is necessary in the lack of repentance. Be careful to not value the person more than God's standard of justice. That's why it's love God, love your neighbor. Let me do it this way: that's why it's love God, love your neighbor. Just in case you didn't know, on one tablet, love God; on tablet two, love your neighbor. Number one, love God; number two, love your neighbor. Don't make tablet two tablet one, because then you disobey God, because you've made that person God. Okay. I'm trying. Okay. Oh, man. Sometimes you have to separate from the person. It doesn't necessarily mean leave the church. It doesn't necessarily mean you can't come to the church if the person's there. "Well, they keep coming, and I keep trying to dissociate," and you see a person just running around the building trying to get away from Bruce. You know what I mean? That's not what it's saying. That's not what it's saying. That's not what it's saying. But there is some distance you should create. You know what, and this protects... Sorry, Bruce, I'm going to use you. This protects Bruce, because if he has the natural tendency to continue to vent about that because of your relationship, separation helps him to stop. So it's not an act against the person; it's an act for the person, because we want to help them uphold the standard. And sometimes disassociation helps them do it, because if they have no one to talk to, they will not do what God has told them not to do. It will force him to go talk to God. Okay. I love this, because this hits all of us. Yes, amen. And our goal is, we want to love God and love our neighbor, and we want unity in our fellowship, but sometimes we have to not get the order out of place. And the last thing: you shall not take a bride. A bribe. Yeah, not bride. You shall not take a bribe. I know some of you think, well, I'm off the hook here, because I can't think of any time where I've taken money to give a false report for somebody. How many of you get into a relationship with somebody, build a friendship with somebody, and realize that your friendship is built on your camaraderie and agreement about what you're against? It's a bribe. "What do you mean, Shawn, that's a bribe?" And you find yourself getting in alignment with them about everything they hate and everyone they hate, because you're a big benefactor of that relationship now, and that's what it takes to sustain it. I've seen marriages break apart when they realize they don't have anything to fight against anymore.
A bribe is not just financial; it's emotional.
Pastor Shawn Gray · 47:14
Some people feel good, and they feel better about themselves, when they dismantle others. It's easier to dismantle others than self-reflect on self.
Listen, you got plenty of problems on your own. The last thing you need to do is be someone else's critic.
Pastor Shawn Gray · 47:42
Why don't you criticize yourself for a second and actually change yourself? It's amazing. It's amazing how many pastors are guilty of criticizing people for all kinds of sexual acts, and then they get outed, like last year, like probably the 10 pastors, megapastors, that got outed last year for all kinds of sexual indiscretions, pornography, all kinds of hookers and all kinds of horrible things and adultery in their life, but their main thing was against such sexual perversions. It's easier to dismantle others for things that you currently have a problem with yourself.
Make you the problem, not someone else.
Pastor Shawn Gray · 48:30
Can I just say, you don't have time to talk about other people's problems? Oh, man, I need that hanging from my rearview mirror in my car. Not because I have a problem in my car, but just everywhere I go: Shawn, you have a you problem. Amen. But you become a benefactor, and you take the bribe of someone else having a problem, because then you don't have to see yourself as one. Some people live in gossip because they are trying to make themselves feel better about themselves, and the way they do that is by making others look terrible. Some people don't know how to walk into a room without stepping on people's heads. It's a way of life for them. The cobblestones to get across the sea of life are the heads of others. Selfish gain. I watched a TV show last night. It was not a biblical show. It wasn't like Moses in the Exodus; it wasn't any of that. But it was a detective who was undercover as the right-hand man of the person, part of this business; they're trying to figure out what's going on. For him to be able to get the information he needs to be the main, number one security guard, and he's number three in the rank. So he begins to slowly take out different-level security guards so he can become the main security guard, so he can get the information he needs. And the way he takes them out is by killing them. Sounds real spiritual, right? Sorry. And I was thinking about this text, because God says your words and spreading falseness is murder. And I think we do that because we can gain position. We do this in church because we want different positions, even in church. Young people who have siblings, we do this with our siblings because we want position with our parents. This is a common problem. What's the point of the law? Here it is: you're guilty. What's the point of the law? "I know you. I can help you. I can help you live to my standard, but the pathway to victory and alignment with my standard is acknowledgment of the you problem." You will not subvert it without looking closely at the you problem. Can I just say something?
Amazing grace means more to those who understand the you problem.
Pastor Shawn Gray · 52:01
But grace is not a means to continue to have a you problem. That's the point of the law. The law points to you, that you have a you problem, so that you'll reach out to Christ. And Christ is the access of salvation, by being covered by his blood, that his Spirit, the Spirit of Christ, the Holy Spirit, might come into us, that we can no longer be slaves to the you problem. Grace has the power to save us and the power to transform us, and his instruction is paramount.
It is paramount. Do you see the you problem?
And do you understand that you're a guardian of truth, not a guardian of gossip?
Pastor Shawn Gray · 53:00
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