Good morning, CHURCH!

(Church joke of the day)

Joke 1

A mother and her son were at church and a teachable moment happened.

Her son little Timmy didn’t want to put his money in the offering plate, so his mother decided to use some creative reasoning with him.

She leaned over into his ear and said, “You don’t want that money, honey.”

“Quick! Drop it in the plate. It’s tainted!”

Horrified, the little Timmy dropped it in the plate.

After a few seconds he whispered into her ear.

“But, mommy, why was the money tainted? Was it dirty?

“Oh, no dear,” she replied.

“It’s not really dirty.

It just - ‘taint yours, and it - ‘taint mines.”

Joke 2

Mrs. Smart was fumbling in her purse for her offering when a large television remote fell out and dropped into the aisle.

The curious usher bent over to pick it up for her and whispered, “Do you always carry your TV remote to church?”

“Naw,” she replied, “but my husband refused to come with me this morning, and I figured this was the most-evil thing I could do to him legally.”

Are you ready to be equipped today?

Let me see your Bibles.

Let’s go to the book of Matthew 7:12 ESV for this week’s wisdom Vaccination.

This Week’s Wisdom Vaccination

Matthew 7:12 ESV

“So, whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.

This goes way back to early Jewish teachings.

We know this as the golden rule. (It assumes no one would desire to cause harm to themselves.)

And this doesn’t mean that you do to others, so that they will do to you or for you.

Listen, we’ve all been given this command to initiate well doing at all times.

We don’t because of the unrenewed mind.

You are only able to do this to the level that you understand God’s generosity towards you.

And for you married couples, this will fix all marriage problems.

In the Didache it says this:

(The Way of Life is this: “First, thou shalt love the God who made thee, secondly, thy neighbor as thyself; and whatsoever thou wouldst not have done to thyself, do not thou to another.”)

Ask yourself this question.

“Holy Spirit what is it that I sometimes do to others/my spouse, that I wouldn’t want done to me?”

Today’s message title is:

The man in the mirror

Let’s get right into it.

Point #1

The law of reflection

- Mirror reflection example.

(bring up an actor to teach this to.)

(make a smiling face, do the opposite, make an aggressive threatening move towards it, do the opposite, reach out your hand to give something out of your hand, reach out your hand to do the opposite.)

This is the law of reflection.

As you do, so will it be done to you. If you bless others, you will be blessed.

If you live by taking, in the end it will be taken from you.

If you live a life of giving, in the end it will be given to you.

Condemn others, and you will be condemned.

Forgive others, and you will be forgiven.

Live with a closed hand and His hand will be closed to you.

Live with an open hand and His hand will be open to you.

If you withhold blessings, your blessings will be withheld.

Therefore, live a life of love, of giving, of blessing, of compassion, of an open hand and heart.

Live your life in lieu of the reflection you want to receive.

This is the great proverb:

Proverbs 27:19 ESV

As in water, face reflects face,

so, the heart of man reflects the man.

Your actions are a reflection of the person you are.

Everyone ask yourself this question.

“What actions am I displaying that don’t represent the heart I want or that God wants for me?”

Point #2

The law of reciprocation

Luke 6:37-38 ESV

“Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven;

look back up hear at me.

In all of our relational interactions, we are either judging which leads to condemning or we are pardoning which leads to forgiveness.

And this happens within nanoseconds in your brain.

You often don’t even know that you are doing it.

38 give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure, you use it will be measured back to you.”

This measure of giving is based off of an analogy that shows grain being poured into a measuring container and after it seems full, you shake it and let it settle down and then you pour more in until it flows over and spills into your lap or pouch.

What’s the lesson to learn here?

If we want to receive an overflowing amount of love from others, we need to first be pouring an overflowing amount out towards others.

“But Pastor J, I’ve been pouring out.”

Shake yourself and make room to pour out more.

God is and was the ultimate example of an overflowing amount of love.

Point #3

The law of the Spirit

How many of you like snakes?

(A snake is a cold-blooded reptile but man is warm-blooded.)

What’s the significance of this?

The significance of this is that because they are cold-blooded they don’t have stamina.

They get tired fast and run out of energy.

Humans on the other hand can build up stamina that far outlasts a snake.

good to know in case you ever encounter a snake.

But why am I telling you this?

What else do we know about snakes?

Snakes are not evil in and of themselves.

But the serpent is the symbol of evil.

One characteristic of a snake is the way they move?

(They move by twisting.)

The serpent represents a twisting of truth.

(The nature of evil is to twist the truth.)

A lie is usually a twisting of the truth.

The impure is also a twisting.

A twisting of the pure.

And evil is the twisting of good.

Though evil may have its day, its victories, its fun, its time to move and strike, it remains cold-blooded.

Therefore, it can never endure to the end.

But on the contrary, good is not cold-blooded.

So, in the end, good will always outlast evil.

Therefore, keep pursuing good because in the end it will always win.

Galatians 6:7-10 ESV

Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap.

8 For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.

9And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.

10 So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.

(Closing illustration)

LORD, show me the times and ways that I am not pursuing good.

If you’re watching online or here in the room, I have a very important question to ask you.

What is Holy Spirit saying to you right now?