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Published: Jan. 31, 2023, 8 a.m.

Welcome to Day 2111 of\xa0 Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me. This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom Sermon on the Mount 9 \u2013 A Christian\u2019s Relationships: Judging Others and Effective Prayer \u2013 Daily Wisdom Putnam Church Message \u2013 07/11/2021 Sermon on the Mount \u2013 A Christian\u2019s Relationships: Judging Others and Effective Prayer Matthew 7:1-12 Today\u2019s Scripture is found on page 1505 of the pew Bible. \u201cDo not judge, or you too will be judged.\xa0 For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. \u201cWhy do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother\u2019s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?\xa0How can you say to your brother, \u2018Let me take the speck out of your eye,\u2019 when all the time there is a plank in your own eye?\xa0You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother\u2019s eye. \xa0 \u201cDo not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces. \xa0 \xa0\u201cAsk and it will be given to you;\xa0seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.\xa0For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds;\xa0and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. \u201cWhich of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone?\xa0Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake?\xa0If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts\xa0to those who ask him!\xa0 \xa0 So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you,\xa0for this sums up the Law and the Prophets. Matthew 7 consists of several self-contained paragraphs. Their link with each other is not apparent. Nor does the chapter as a whole follow on from the previous chapter with any precise sequence of thought. However, the connecting thread which runs through chapter 7, however loosely, is that of relationships. It would seem quite logical that having described a Christian\u2019s character, influence, righteousness, holiness, and ambition, Jesus should concentrate finally on our relationships. The Christian counter-culture is not individualistic but a community event. Relations within the community between the citizens of God\u2019s kingdom and those who are not yet citizens are of overriding importance. Matthew 7 deals with the network of 7 relationships into which we are drawn as the followers of Jesus. We will focus on the first four this week, and the remainder over the next week or two. The seven relationships include:

1. To our fellow citizens of God\u2019s Kingdom (1\u20135).
2. To a group startlingly designated \u2018dogs\u2019 and \u2018pigs.\u2019 (6).
3. To our heavenly Father (7\u201311).
4. To everybody in general: the Golden Rule (12).
5. To our fellow citizens of God\u2019s kingdom (13, 14).
6. To false prophets (15\u201320).
7. To Jesus our Lord (21\u201327).

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1. Our attitude to our fellow citizens of God\u2019s kingdom (1\u20135)

Jesus does not anticipate that the Christian community will be perfect.

1. The Christian is not to be a judge (1, 2)

Jesus\u2019 words, Do not judge others, and you will not be judged,\xa0are well-known but often misunderstood....