Will you be the judge?

Incredible performance, his gift shines on throughout the performance as he stands confident in his craft.
But this video also points out something very interesting.
What great example of how man judges the outward appearance.

Like Bob Dylan sings,
“All he believes are his eyesAnd his eyes, they just tell him lies.”

The judges in this video had made a decision of “no”, before Paul even sang a letter.
We obviously know this because they admitted to their surprise and shock.
And they even go on to criticize the performance afterward.

I don't know about you but I've done this before.
How eager we are to ‘like' someone or on the flip side 'dislike’ someone, based on what is on the surface, because we “had a feeling”, that “she” or” he”, was a certain way...

We do this with books and movies and in real life all the time. We are drawn to the characters. We connect with them and identify with them. The characters may not be real or some may be real, like in this video with Paul.

And then we are shocked and surprised!

Again, man judges the outward appearance, God judges the inward person.

Jesus said the heart is deceitfully wicked who can know it out of it springs forth sin. Mark 7:21-23 “For from within,out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications murders, Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness,an evil eye, blasphemy, pride,foolishness: All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person."

But until you see that we are sinful,the mercy and grace that God offers seems foolish to those that are perishing. But it is God's power to those who are saved.
(see 1 Corinthians 1:18.)

Mercy is not getting what you deserve and grace is getting what you don't deserve.

God has made a way to show both perfect justice and loving patience toward us. Jesus Christ, was crucified for your sins. He died and was buried. He rose again in fullfilment of the scriptures.

In his great mercy, God has provided a way for us to escape the punishment we deserve. “Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath. But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved” (Ephesians 2:3-5).

There are those who think they are great thinkers and reasoners, and yet they deny that sin is real. They deny that it is something that God will punish wherever it is found. They suppress the truth and choose their flesh over God. They want to do things their own way.

The Bible says God gives grace to the humble but resists the proud. So we must humble ourselves place our faith and trust in Jesus Christ as the one and only payment for our sins.

I leave you with a quote from George Whitfield's sermon,
“The method of Grace” (1714-1770)
“Our hearts are so cursedly wicked, that if you take not care, if you do not keep up a constant watch, your wicked hearts will deceive you, and draw you aside.”