• Application: This week, when you feel the urge to criticize a family member or a co-worker, perform a "Plank Check." Ask: "What am I ignoring in my own character that makes their flaw so annoying to me?" * Thematic Commentary: To encapsulate Matthew 7:1-5: The life of a disciple is a move from Condemnation to Contribution. You cannot contribute to someone’s healing until you have submitted to your own.

Imagine a master watchmaker who has spent forty years hunched over a workbench, repairing the most delicate movements in the world. To do his work, he uses two distinct tools.

The first is a High-Powered Magnifying Loupe. He uses this to find the smallest grains of sand, the tiniest flecks of rust, and the microscopic burrs on a gear that cause the watch to lose time. Without this lens, he cannot see the "specks" that ruin the mechanism.

The second tool is a Mirror on the wall behind him. At the end of every hour, the watchmaker must look into the mirror to check his own eyes. Why? Because if his own eyes are strained, or if a piece of debris from the workbench has fallen into his own eye, his vision becomes distorted. If he tries to perform surgery on a watch while his own vision is blurred, he won't fix the gear—he will crush it.

The Spiritual Reality: Most of us walk through life like a watchmaker who has lost his mirror. We walk around with our magnifying loupes permanently fixed to our eyes. We see every grain of sand in our spouse's temper; we see every fleck of rust in our coworker’s work ethic; we see every microscopic flaw in the "specks" of everyone around us.

But because we never look in the mirror, we don't realize that the reason the "watch" looks so broken is that we are peering through a lens smeared with our own pride, our own unresolved trauma, and our own "plank" of hypocrisy.

The Insight for the Restless Soul: Jesus isn't telling us to throw away the magnifying loupe. He wants us to help our brother with his speck! But He is insisting that we go to the Mirror first. As a Counselor, I see it every day: You cannot heal what you are busy condemning. When you deal with the plank in your own eye first, your magnifying loupe stops being a tool of judgment and starts being a tool of restoration.

Love is the watchmaker who cleans his own glasses before he dares to touch the heart of another.

• The Bridge: Use this illustration right after the Historical Perspective to help the audience visualize the absurdity of the "plank."

• The Counselor’s Application: "Men, some of you have been trying to fix your families with a magnifying loupe for years, and all you’ve done is scratch the surface. It’s time to put the loupe down and look in the Mirror of the Word."

Benediction: "May the God of all Grace give you eyes to see yourself as He sees you—fully known and deeply loved. And may that love overflow so that you see others not through the lens of judgment, but through the lens of Christ. Amen."

Call to Action: "If you’ve been living under the weight of someone else’s judgment, or your own, come find rest in the Grace of the Kingdom. Reach out to us."

Facebook Interaction: "Visit our Facebook page and share: What is one 'Lens' you are asking God to change this week? Are you moving from Judgment to Love? Let’s support one another in the comments."https://www.facebook.com/InsightpodcastRectitudes

2. Point 2: The Danger of "Sin-Hunting"3. The Two Points SummaryPoint 1: The Standard of Reciprocity (v. 1-2)Point 2: The Priority of the Plank (v. 3-5)

•• Post-Sermon Reflection: "Friends, if a man as burdened as Lincoln could find a way to lean on Providence, so can you. What is your 'House Divided' today? Give it to the Father."

I added the denominational spiritual expression, and the tradition is a Christian seeking God. We have lost the way to express our spiritual selves by going to a Christian mainline church. In some cases, I think we stop going to church because it sometimes emulates the world that we live in. Not Jesus Christ and the Kingdom of Righteousness. We need a good, Bible-believing church to guide our growth in sanctification.

Denominational Spiritual Expression (Liturgical/Mainline)

• The Collect: "O God, who cares for the lilies of the field and the birds of the air: Cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of Thy Holy Spirit, that we may perfectly love Thee, and worthily magnify Thy holy Name; through Christ our Lord. Amen."

• The Assurance: "Hear the good news: The Father knows your needs before you ask. In Christ, the debt of our worry is paid, and the wealth of His grace is ours."

1. The Denominational Spiritual Tradition

• The Reformed Stream (The Sovereignty of God): This tradition emphasizes that God is the primary Actor. In your sermon, this is expressed through the idea of "Providence." The spiritual expression here is one of rest. You aren't just "trying harder" not to worry; you are yielding to a Sovereign King.

• The Holiness Stream (The Virtuous Life): This emphasizes the "internal" change Jesus mentions in Matthew 6. The spiritual expression is transformation. It moves the man from external legalism (being seen by others) to internal peace (trusting the Father in secret).

8. Application & Thematic Commentary

• Application: Conduct a "Worry Audit" this week. When you feel that tightness in your chest, stop and say aloud: "My Heavenly Father knows I need this, and He is already there."

• Thematic Commentary: The life of a disciple is a move from the External (doing things to be seen) to the Internal (trusting the Father in secret). When your secret life is anchored in God, your public life becomes unshakable.

7. Evangelistic Section: The Invitation

"Perhaps you realize your life has been built on the foundation of 'What’s next?' and 'How will I survive?' You’ve spent decades carrying the weight of the world, and you’re exhausted.

Jesus invites you to stop being the 'Lord' of your own life—a job you were never meant to have—and submit to the King who feeds the birds. Salvation is a transfer of ownership. If you surrender to Christ today, you aren't just getting a Savior; you’re getting a Father who promises to carry the burdens you’ve been struggling to hold. Will you let Him take the lead?"

Closing & Interaction

Benediction: "May the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Go in the confidence that you are known, you are loved, and you are provided for. Amen."

Call to Action: "If you decided to follow Christ today, or if this message helped you lay down a heavy burden, please reach out. We want to walk with you."

Facebook Interaction: "Visit our Facebook page and share: What is one 'stone' of worry you are laying at the feet of Jesus this week? Let’s pray for one another in the comments."https://www.facebook.com/InsightpodcastRectitudes

Sermon: The Science of the Spirit

Text: Matthew 6:16–24; Romans 8:11; 1 Corinthians 3:16–17

“No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.

In ancient Israel, the Temple was not just a building; it was a "thin place" where the physical and spiritual dimensions collided. The priests had to follow strict protocols of cleansing and "calibration" because they were dealing with the raw power of the Creator. To the ancients, holiness was a matter of spiritual physics. If the environment wasn't tuned to the right frequency, the Presence could not dwell there. Today, under the New Covenant, that laboratory has moved from a stone building into your very cells.

To grow in the Spirit, we must understand the "Science of the Strings"—how the frequency of God vibrates through our physical frame.

• Nesteia (Fasting - v. 16-18): In Greek, this refers to the voluntary abstinence from the "Master of Convenience." Historically, it is the process of creating "tension" in the strings to bring the dross of the ego to the surface so it can be skimmed off.

• Thesauros (Treasure - v. 19-20): This is the "Conductivity" of your life. Just as gold conducts electricity, your "Kryptos" capital (your secret heart) conducts peace. Where you store your treasure determines your spiritual voltage.

• Haplous (The Single Eye - v. 22): This translates to "single, simple, or healthy."1 It is the Master Reference Point. If the lens of the eye is clear, the whole body—the whole temple—is flooded with light.

• Romans 8:11: "And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you..."2

• • Insight: This is the Power Grid. The same energy that reorganized the atoms in the tomb is the energy currently sustaining your heartbeat. Spiritual growth is simply the process of removing the "insulation" of sin so that power can flow freely.

• 1 Corinthians 3:16–17: "Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple..."3

• • Insight: If the body is the Cathedral, then your lifestyle is the "maintenance crew." You cannot have a high-frequency spirit in a low-maintenance temple.

Imagine a massive theater spotlight. The bulb (the Spirit) is at full power, but the lens (your "Eye" or Focus) is covered in the soot of the world—processed shortcuts, ego, and constant digital noise.

The Point: The light doesn't change, but the output does. If your "eye" is clouded, the Temple stays in the dark. Calibration is the act of cleaning the lens so the "Kryptos" light can become "Phaneros" (visible) to the world.

We calculate your Spirit-Standing using the 7-day week as our scoring period:

$$S_{truth} = (S_{visible} - E) \times K$$

• The 7-Day Markers: You score yourself daily on Mindfulness, Bible Illumination, Prayer, and Witnessing.

• The Multipliers: Add Discipleship and Church Attendance to your weekly $K$ (Kryptos Constant).

• Application: Every morning, "Zero the Scale." Subtract the Ego ($E$) by doing one act of temple-care or service that no one sees.