Church Discipline

1st Corinthians chapter 5

we just love this chapter so much you wanted to spend two weeks in it. Fantastic here. We got me to read it to you I'm going to dig in is the actual reported that there is sexual immorality among you and of a kind that is not tolerated going to move away from that over there. You got that ride that might need to come down smich. All right for a man has his father's wife. And you are arrogant. You not rather the morn let him who has done this be removed from among you for the absent in body and present in spirit. And as if present I have already pronounce judgment on the one who did such a thing when you are assembled in the name of the Lord Jesus in my spirit is present with the power of our Lord Jesus you are to deliver this man to Satan for the destruction of the flesh. So that his Spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord. Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that A little leaven leavens the whole lump cleanse out the old leaven that you may be a new lump as you are really unleavened for Christ Our Passover Lamb has been sacrificed. Let us therefore celebrate the festival with not with the old leaven but the leaven of malice and evil both the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people not at all meaning sexually immoral. This world are the greedy and swindlers our daughters since then you would need to go out of the world. But now I'm writing to you not to associate with anyone who Bears the name of brother is guilty of sexual immorality or greed is my daughter a regular a drunkard or swindler not even to eat with such a one for what am I to do with judging Outsiders? It is not those inside the church from here to judge. God judges us outside Purge the evil from among you a couple of things. I want to talk about here this morning and through the recap and build on the foundation. That we sent last week as we noted last week. There's really two ways in which we deal with a cortical discipline or correction in the church. There is corrective discipline, which is we're going to focus a lot of our attention on today. There's also formative discipline form of discipline is that idea of teaching and training and discipling formative discipline is what takes place here often on Sunday mornings. I know when We Gather on Sunday mornings are tends to be this debate. If you get into those nerdy types of theological discussions with people it might just be me. I'm not sure but should Sunday morning before evangelism or should Sunday morning before the growth and the discipleship of the Saints and in my best estimation. It's an infusion of the two because it's truly the gospel that fuels our growth. It's the gospel that moves in our hearts. It's the gospel that we have to constantly preached to ourselves over and over again not in efforts or an order. 2B save remain saved or gets saved again, but it continues to be a hoe in our life when we are discouraged only feel those feelings of inadequacy and that were not enough for why would God died for me and if we preach the gospel to ourselves, there's this hope that has been fueled inside of our lives and so each week at redeemers. I try to find 52 unique ways 52 weeks out of the year or whoever else is up here preaching and getting at the heart of the Gospel, but you see the New Testaments the scriptures altogether or also for our instruction. How do we live Godly lives? How do we operate as a body? How are we to function? How are we to care for one another? What does it look like to be a Community of Faith? Not just a part of the big sea church, but even in the local church, what does this mean? And what does this look like for each and every one of us because we talked about this last week a lot of people highly value the Sunday Gathering a lot of people highly value this idea of belonging to a church and they show that by showing up by corporately worshipping together by maybe being generous with their time or their talent are the treasure that's been given to them. They give that back and efforts to serve the kingdom of the Lord and fellowshipping a carry and encouraging one another What we see is one of the Hallmarks of what it means to walk in Christ is to belong to one another you can go home and do a quick Google search on. the New Testament and the word one another and you'll get all sorts of instances in which this term one another belonging to each other that the salvation Belongs to the Lord salvation know I was lost and now found is an individual moment of transformation where you are Sanctified and made righteous because of the blood of Jesus Christ have been placed in the family of God and there's just one another nests that comes out in that and in the New Testament primarily beside you have one another covers three major areas of their Unity with one another Are there deep love for one another and that there'd be humility with one another then there's all kinds of one-offs that Paul throws out and sometimes Peter does like bear one another's burdens encourage one another you get some of those that are sharing early love one another forgive one another and The Importance of Being portrayed for us. Is that church as much as our Western mind would want to make it a few talented gifted people doing something upfront then we all go away and hopefully have a good lunch. If you have a few laughs and enjoy a few events together is far deeper and us as a body. We need to be far more connected and understanding what it means to be a community called to one another to engage one another and what Paul is going to discuss in 1st Corinthians 5 is only applicable his own. Possible if we actually engaged participate in this idea of what it means to be the church not to do church or go to church watch the church, but you participate not even in just ask the corporate worship. Then what is actually body life with one another one of my deepest convictions coming out of 1st Corinthians as we started studying as it's a conviction that I understood and known but Paul is bringing too deep understanding of my own heart is the necessity of the body operating together with one another it is the church in this instance that has a responsibility to this believer in their group this man who is saved and it says actually reported among you that there's sexual immorality and Find pagans, you know the perverts they don't even do that. That's not going down in Las Vegas. But in your little home church, it's a happening and you better watch out because this man bringing corruption in his own heart and has the potential for it to cause Devastation and ripple effect throughout the entire body and he doesn't say alright gather your strongest fiercest ravus leaders. Get on that guy's doorstep. Beat him down into submission. He says it is the church's job to buy into the responsibility of help restoring this man into right Fellowship. There's a way in which going to talk about today a discipline Works in a church, as a lot of ways. It doesn't work and doesn't go. Well, I sure the story probably five times in the course of six years, but I think it's incredibly pertinent and important to what not to do as a sixteen-year-old. I was a very zealous follower of Jesus. I was that vellus self-righteous you got in my car and we did not just say bad words or Salad. We didn't even listen to the music that said bad words. We had all the brands, you know, like if you like Blink-182, then you can listen to mxpx if you kind of like that Rafi world and you can go ahead and listen to DC Talk and that's kind of the genre in the world that I was raised and grew up in and I was a very fervent zealous follower of Jesus. No doubt love God deeply sincerely and I have this friendship with his gal that I think I was hoping for it to be more than a friendship. I don't know what she tells me for. I didn't always go well for me. And there was this moment she was coming to church and hang it out and it was progressing and a great fashion. At least I thought and I find out two nights before that. Well, she went to a party without me and let's just say it wasn't Godly and so I was angry there's a gal.

And in my zealousness I wrote her a letter.

I broke all the rules of scripture was going to say go to them talk with him and it was probably the harshest when I look back on it. Let her that maybe I've ever written in my life and every time I tell the story I brought back to that moment and that person and I think of them and I continue to pray for them cuz I felt like it is my responsibility to restore this person. But we see here in the scriptures is the somebody someone is going to have to initiate some sort of a process that happens. It's a church that comes together in efforts to gently restore a person in order for them to see their Folly to see their depravity to see their sin and be back in fellowship with one another and this is something redeemers that we need you as a church as a whole learn to walk in and do well to Jake is a formative discipline kind of morning. We're going to discuss what we're going to talk. We're going to outline some ideas of how this is to play out in our lives and what Paul says here to the church. He uses the metaphor of leavened and unleavened leavened bread would have been bred that was corrupted. Right? If you know that metaphor unleavened bread had no leaven in it and it wouldn't rise and that was the Pure Clean bread cheese using this analogy. Nice as a little leaven is going to 11 the whole lump and he says you need to be who God has already made you to be God's already done this you need to become what you already are. first of all Church You Know Who You Are Do you know that you are a follower of Jesus? Do you know that you are an honored failure? Do you know that you are a righteous sinner? Do you know that you are saved by God's grace. Do you know who your identity is actually in and what Paul is declaring to this churches. You need to become what you already are because you guys are missing. I know who you are. I know what God has done in yooka to learn to walk in this. This is just powerful incentive for living the corporate life with one. Another you saying you are all unleavened. That is actually you are and so he can get into the move into the Feast of they talk about now in the early church. They was celebrating agape. Love Feast I said, they would come together like a fifth Sunday breakfast, but even with a little bit more intentionality and they would break bread have this intimate fellowship and then they celebrate the Eucharist the Lord's Supper communion as we commonly call it here today and it would go together for this music instrument time is intimate Fellowship anything you need to purge yourself of the evil. That is a monkey. What's going on here and what's taking place? You're the man? Who is outward? Knowingly and supported by other people living and operating in a simple matter. You have a man that says hey God's cool with this is the Church of cool with this. Everybody's good with this. We can actually use our Liberty and do things even the pagans can't Duke isn't Jesus so good. Isn't he great and call Sis? This is known for you all and this is a riffic and this one commentator whose last name is ha just drives it at doing evil with the light and persistency. You have a church supporting a man or delighting in the evil that they're doing and persisting in it in first John chapter 3 verses 9 through 10, we get this passage that when you read it on your own you kind of go. I don't know if I'm living that John. What am I what's going on in my life at this sort of makes sense of this passage? He says no one. God makes a practice of sinning Forgot by this is evidence for the children of God and who are the children of the devil extinct race who are the children of God and the devil? What does Paul say to do to this man cast them out to who asked him out to the devil, why did acting living persisting in the ways in which the devil would celebrate the ways in which a child of that nature would actually participate in and John says here it's evident are the children of God or the son of the devil. Whoever does not listen. Whoever does not rack this. righteousness Whoever does not practice this idea of practice is doing something to get good at it. Right? That's why we practice something and here in the church at Corinth. You have a man who is practicing this sin of Romans chapter 1 not just that they are ungodly, but that they're both stink participating in celebrating in their ungodliness. He says whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God nor the one who does not love his brother and he sent you to the core of this with John is getting that is his idea of when you commit your life when you respond to the call of the Gospel your entire life is reordered. Your heart and I'm slowly sometimes quickly another area speeds to shift and move you got the love for God to put it up the love for the things of this world. It does not say anywhere that you are perfect. You will walk since endlessness that we won't hurt and harm one another at times that we won't intentionally or unintentionally sin against one another but there's this mentality and idea that when we've been adopted into the family of God our home value system has changed our heart has been changed and no longer do we Delight in sin and persisting in it, but then that we repent of sin and turn from it, but yet in Corinth you have a man but it's a lighting who's promoting he was celebrated for the sin that he is in. Paul then goes in this passage. He says you need to purge yourself of this anomalous the evil and you need to walk in sincerity and in truth. And it is not Perfection and sinlessness, but this word sincerity. It's I like cornea and what it means is the walking openness and honesty. The big difference isn't it to walk in openness and honesty walking in the light of God's presence that really actually reminds me of First John chapter 1 verse 7 says he who says he has no sin. He is not of God. He's a liar, but the one who's it was actually look at their life, honestly and declare that I'm in perfect and in need of God, there's an openness in which the light can shine into Fennekin expose the areas of darkness and push it out. And so here we have this idea of walking and sincerity and in truth an atmosphere of openness and honesty to help facilitate to create here at redeemers as a culture in which honesty and Truth prevails within our bodies within our small groups a culture in which we are so connected and love and care for one another that we can all Ashley Sheriff the things going on in our lives and have this run through our heads. There's nothing I can uncover that Christ hasn't already covered. Having a desire to walk in open this before one another because if there's anything I've learned in the last 15-20 years is America largely has bought into a cover-up culture went to cover anything up. It's gone wrong. We're going to bury it and we're just going to hope it doesn't come back out of the Grave like a zombie to bite Us in the butt that is our biggest fear. And so we didn't have to operate Maneuvers for the rest of our lives at the fear of somebody finding this thing out and we so desperately desire for people thought to know that the way to manipulate and maneuver throughout life in such a way that it begins to bog us down. When you look at the Psalms and you see even David when he was a busted in his sin. I said I just want a contrite and broken hearts. I want. Sacrifice. All these other things I want an openness and honesty. Return to live in a cover-up culture that wants to justify why we did what we did minimize what we did and it wasn't a big deal or simply ignore are wrong. And what's so unique about Christianity is the gospel welcomes failures the gospel of the say this is how you have to be in order to be here. But recognize it turn from it to God for help. He is faithful to forgive us Paul is not too much of a realist to think that a community won't have sinned. I tell you something. I know a lot of you and you know me we are licensed and don't we Not a sinless perfect Community. I love the joke. Almost a cliche. Now. If you find the perfect Church don't go to it. You'll ruin it. That's a really personalized it. You'll be the one that wrecks that perfect Community. What do they say most Pastors in seminary? If it wasn't for the people cast ring would be great. You know, it was just people there's math as a reality that there's going to be a mess and the scriptures are aware of the message that says this is how we're going to handle our mess. We don't get to ignore nor do we get to celebrate and persist in our sin the saying I did not coin and I really liked and we've mentioned it before hard words produce soft hearts. Soft words produce hard Hearts listen harsh words, even if they are truthful or produced bitter Hearts. It's a what we want to talk about this more business idea. How do we go about when there's sin against one another or if it's not sin against one another but some known thing some known problem and we're going this is not good for our brother for our sister because they love Jesus. I want to see them walk in the truth and walking. Like, how can we help them? How can we help them grow? And what were called to its you? Well in Ephesians 5 will look at verse 15 where it says this season 4 part of me verse 15 Turn 14 so that we may no longer be children tossed to and fro by The Way They Carried about by every wind of Doctrine by human counting by crafting it and deceitful schemes rather speaking truth. through this hard words You guys know that when you got something that's real that's difficult and you have to go to somebody it's truthful it feels heavy and he says you have to speak truth. Then how in love you. We just speak truth, which has to happen. Is this harshness? If we just speak love. We often don't get to the heart of the moments. We never see hearts moved or changed because we speak truth in love. We are to grow up in every way in whom is the head into Christ's home from the whole body joint and held together by every joint with which it is equipped when each part is working properly makes the body grow that build itself up in love. Once again, we have another passage that focus on the Camino aspect of Christianity this idea that we belong to you want another the equipping of the Saints for the work of the ministry that we care love and are there for one another in efforts to grow up in Christ. And so we have to understand and know first and foremost this morning that words are powerful. Words are powerful. My little brother, which means I got pounded all the time. I did I just you know how driving to trampolines thrown off couches, so I know the maldonado's know what I'm talking about. I got some boys. All right, it's just how it goes. Do you know what those things hurts? Extremely small minimal amounts of pain in comparison to harsh words that have been shared with me overtime weather for people close to me or people that were against me.

Where do you need among humans? Right? I know the animal kingdom has certain ways and maybe making noises like the bird that sounds so beautiful outside. They're really claiming territory. By the way, it's pretty offensive. If you really want to know what's going on there. They're saying my land my tree my food get out of here. God gave us these words to communicate and so often we take our words and we hurt one another and words have a way of sticking with us. So, do you still remember the words that were harsh spoken to you from parents? I'm loved ones and you become the words that define your life and they move with you throughout your life. You have the words fail you every time you attempt something or loser. Every time you step out the never Mount and we use these words and they weighed deeply honest word can also encouraged and build up words have this capacity for to change the course and direction of our life worth are incredibly powerful there for Paul says use your words wisely speak the truth in love. And so when there is conflict amongst us, Polishing this is how I want you to walk through this. You have your Bible. You can slip over to Matthew. I'm going to talk about two different processes here this morning and how we handle problems. The first is how we handle problems with one another. This is a process for if your brother sins against you. Your sister sins against you so he says here in Matthew chapter 18 and verse 15 your brother sins noticed if if maybe I didn't mean we don't know yet. But if and you feel that it's happened your brother sins against you go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. He listens to you. You have gained your brother, but it does not listen take one or two other along with you that every charge may be established for the evidence of two or three Witnesses who refuses to listen to them. Tell it to the church refuses to listen even to the church. Let him be to you as a gentile and a tax collector is a few things that I want to walk through here this morning on this idea of if your brother sins against you first of all, I'm about you, but I know personally we all make mistakes. I also know sometimes we make mistakes unintentionally and intentionally or things that we committed often volitionally men's our sins of omission. We promise to do something and we just simply didn't do it and they're like, yeah, you hurt me. Why don't you come through you gave me your word you promised you'd be there. We live in a very busy fast-paced digital age in which tyranny of the urgency is what monopolizes our time and so sometimes things just slip past us. I'm not justifying it minimizing. It's the bring into reality what happens and if it's still a sin of I didn't do what I said, I was going to do we all sin and then we get criticized just unjustly for arson. Ross centers respond to send simply thanks Paul trip that really clarifies a lot of the mask and the problem that were in this passage realizes the reality that if we're truly going to be Brothers and Sisters in Christ ever truly going to spend time with one another I got to tell you. I got two sisters and a brother growing up we sinned against each other all the time. I can remember making my sister. So magic this line every time you may have won the battle, but I'll win the war and she put her chair in front of the door and sit there for an hour and a half to mom came home. Why to be the first one to tell her side of the story.

Call Nan I loved it loved it. We all get that get that. Read each other and we actually have reasons for what's going on. What is she say here? He says go to him alone. Don't go to your mama. your spouse talk to your pastor don't go to an elder a deacon Deaconess a friend a community group leader. Go to them alone. Don't go to Twitter. Don't get on Facebook and go some people and you just start writing a very event that happened. It's like we know what you're talking about. You are not a crypt by any means this is ridiculous. Send a letter. Guilty, do not send an email. Go to the person does the first way in which Jesus tells us to handle our problems when we sin against one another. Another similar is no need and I'm preaching to the choir on this when the idea of Confrontation comes up. I think 99.9% of us are like, oh my goodness. I don't want to go to a meeting. I don't want to be too. There's this weird percent 5.01 of you. Let me ask you can't wait for the confrontation you're weird, but you are we don't need to fear confrontation winter stand that confrontation happens when UR stand for stand for most our position in Christ that we are a child of God. We understand who we are when we go into a meeting looks like it was love that were forgiven that God has been gracious with us and if we're dealing with another brother or sister in Christ, if you had that same mentality, not only about themselves are not the person they're sitting across from what you mean when something's brought up. We don't have to get all defensive. We don't have to justify why we did we did we can receive from them think on it and then respond to it. Typically happens you wrong somebody. I may come to you yet to responses. Oh my goodness. I'm so sorry. I agree. I said that I certainly didn't mean for it to sound that way. If I did I'm deeply sorry and you on your brother you on your sister. The first thing we do when we go to somebody with sure the agreements we sure the problem and we wait for their response. Now the other responses. Oh my gosh. You're such a baby. I can't believe you took it that way. I didn't do that that wasn't a big deal and they can minimize it or they can justify their actions. And when that happened Jesus goes there's another thing that you need to do. Then you need to go and grab a couple of people that are going to be unbiased that certainly haven't heard yet what's going on because you followed step one and you did it the right way and didn't tell your mom your dog your aunt and your cousin and brought them with you to this meeting so you can have your way shown and he says here you take a couple of people with you to establish a testimony of witness. This is different than when Paul is talking about when there's an accusation against an elder when is an accusation against an elder. To have two or three that are witnesses to the sink that had happened because of the position that leadership can be placed in however in this circumstance situation. It might be some private problem happen and if they bring a couple of people so that the testimony can be the languages established amongst you together. I want to come see this stuff. We have this grievance with one another and their there they go. Oh, wow. This is serious. You brought back up. She brought people with you. They're going to know about what I did there going to be able to maybe even kind of go out either. You're crazy or I'm missing something in this problem. I'm sorry and you on your brother. You want your sister or the continue to dig your heels in wasn't me? I didn't do it not my problem. You're too sensitive your baby whatever it is. And she said there's a third step but you do if it gets to that if it's not serious enough to grab their attention those first two it says go to the Lourdes ekklisia. Jesus had not died and resurrected yet. But Jesus obviously knew the plan of the church are the Gathering. He says go to the Gathering. Those are gathered together. He doesn't want again just say go to church leadership. He says go to the church corporate together.

And then talk to this brother talk to the sister. And if they don't respond treat them as a gentile and a tax collector, what does that actually mean? This is kind of a paradox on the science. And here's why. First of all, Jesus is talking about having to break fellowship with somebody that has to happen. Sometimes there are times maybe when you are in a relationship with somebody and they continually wound and they hurt I don't care if it's physical mental verbal sexual whatever it is. And every time you get back around them, they just Crush you use you abuse you and hurt you and harm you and there comes a point when you have to look at the person and say I'm breaking fellowship with you. I tried to reconcile a try to make this work between us, but it's obvious that you are not turning and repenting from that. So what I'm going to do is treat you like a gentile and tax collector. Here's the deal though. How did Jesus treat the Gentiles and tax collectors? Welcome mini hung out with them. One of them was a disciple of his he ate meals with them Jesus the Same look you might have to disassociate brick fellowship with them, but it doesn't mean you stop loving and caring and praying for them. You don't start stop at you be praying for their salvation for their change for the repentance. And then Jesus tells that story of turning the other cheek gets slapped upside the head every time you see the person but in that culture you receive somebody with the kiss of friendship when you came together. So they slap you there you turn the other cheek to receive them back and a kiss a friendship. You have to remain soft. Open to reconciliation and not growing hard and bitter but they're absolutely even in this Saga when there's a problem between you and somebody else. There might come a time and what you have to put some space between the two of you from speaking 16 years of ministry experience of doing this poorly doing this. All right, every once in awhile doing this well in my own life and analyzing other people I've been involved with before you go to somebody you forgive them first. Forget the first redeemers, this is so important if you think right now for a moment, I didn't want to come this morning because I'm hearing this now and I think I need to go to my brother. That's confrontation. I'd rather not. You don't go to them until you forgiven. I mean like paid it down in your heart realize that Jesus forgave you so much more forgiving because of you go into this discussion with any animosity or anger. You will want Vengeance retaliation punishment and judgment and you'll give a five-year-old. It's okay. We can be friends again. Like I do with my kids. It doesn't work. It doesn't work. You yourself have to forgive forgiveness takes one reconciliation takes to you got some hard work to do before you come in that situation. You can forgive without them giving an apology. Are you ready to forgive the person if they respond and I'm so sorry moment are going to be mad at you a little bit more. I wanted to punish you going to go couch and cry on the bathroom floor in order for there to be some real punishment in your heart. So you knew how bad you hurt me. Are you ready to forgive? How do I know when their name gets brought up to get angry and bitter in your heart. Do you whisper to your kids your spouse your friend their jerk? The horrible people I wouldn't be friends with him lights and he's jobs. Reason, I know this is our lives this I Don't Preach up here out of saying you guys all to learn this I'm saying I live portions of this in my life and it's real and I know what it's like to fake forgiveness and try to enter into a relationship. I just get more and more mad. I'm going to my life. How do you do that? I kind of the cross of Jesus. I have to go to the parable where he tells the story of the guy that was in dead of millions and millions and then he got let free he went out and punish the guy that I owe to my ten bucks because I'm that guy that got three that wanted to punish the other guy. I miss that.

listen forgive them first because I rarely when we come to that first conversation. Does it go? Well, he's our human reaction when sin is called out in our life is to self justify. To minimize to the flag or we use one big word to cover all of its got defensive this. There's a time when it's okay to defend yourself when you've never done anything wrong and I mean ever I mean in that situation I didn't do that but did not happen. That's not being defensive. Best thing. I actually didn't do the wrong you think I did but what we tend to do is cuz typically when somebody brings conflict to us cuz nobody likes it. It means probably something did happen. He just wants to get into Conflict for the sake of conflict again, you're weird if that's you so here's what's being said here. We need to slow down make sure we forgive before we head into that situation. And if somebody gets defensive another follower, Jesus give him a couple of days. Don't be like or I got my homies out in the car. We're going to pull them out right now, and then we're going to go to step 2, cuz I did step one and I knew you weren't going to respond. So we're ready to get down on this thing. I got Bread on speed dial couple of the year. We're going to handle this if you're going down, brother.

I don't know how many you guys ever have to be called out in your life that you hurt somebody in and at first you don't see it, but after 5 days 6 days feel like wow. You got is me. Have a hard time seeing myself clearly eye blind spots. I get that. I understand that give somebody some space and some time for the process to actually happen. Then then you can bring somebody else into the situation. Then you can continue to walk down that path of reconciliation problem is we want immediate reconciliation. We want a microwave confession. I just like done. I'm sorry. I didn't do that to you. It doesn't happen like that. Give people the same Grace that you to yourself. See if the word patch see if I turn if they don't then you move on to the next step is that makes sense with Matthew 18 church. So if you have a problem with somebody in our church or even outside of our church walk through this before you go to those other things. That's what Jesus is saying saying, here's how to handle your business trip how to handle your problems, but we come to you first Corinthians and I could turn this into a three-part study and she goes like that it will finish it out though.

40. This is important. Cuz I know I know that in our life we're going to troubles were in a problems were going to conflict. And you know what it always does is it seeks to divide what God is doing amongst the body and redeemers. I don't know if you've seen what God is doing here in this church, but it's not just a Sunday morning saying that the connectedness that God is doing in bringing us together and caring and loving and serving one. Another is contagious. It's exciting exciting to see Community groups pop-ups exciting to see more people gathering together. But the problem is the more people that gather together, the more potential there is force in cities aren't more sinful because people are worse there. They're more sinful as more people are gathered together there to happen as follow me on that and it just so many more to pull from the church is growing as we continue to grow there is going to be conflict and problems and that's why we're taking the time to actually discuss and talk about this stuff and give it the attention that it needs. So we properly wash Through the process is in order to glorify God to the most ability that we have we want to do this right? Here's what I want to leave you with this morning if you got a grievance or problem somebody. 4utv come down here to this. Before you even go all that I'm going to give generously to God this morning it deal with that has a deal before you deal with that. You probably need to focus on the cross deal with your own heart Benigno deal with your brother sisters Hearts, but no one understand because God gave us this process got us. He's in the midst of it that true reconciliation can happen. Why is that possible? Because we have a God who said you who were far from me you who are rejected me rebelled against you wanted nothing to do with me. I've given my very life for you to bring you into fellowship with me tonight to site to move on your heart to change to justify Sanctified and make you righteous. And so does God first and foremost is initiated any and all of this with us making this process even a possible thing for followers of Jesus to walk this morning. That is the basis the foundation of Why We Gather that is why we connect and meat and grow because Jesus Central Central and Central to all that we do in this church will continue to make that the point. But if problems send that have to be dealt with as a ways to handle it in a Godly manner next week we're going to look at is when it's not against one another but it's a grevious outward public problem. How we go about that? What are we going to do with that? What is the scripture say? What is the word say and how we can for those things with prayer or thank you. For your grace your goodness and your generosity if you Lord that you have been so kind to us and restoring us unto fellowship with you. How dare we hold? the sins of our brothers and sisters against them when we realize we been free from I pray for a huge sense of forgiveness this burden to forgive too overwhelmed and overcome us at this church if there's hard and bitter Hearts because of things that have happened to us when we learn to forgive. properly walk through these processes And then see what you would have but give us wisdom.

Encouragement help us where we failed help us into batter in this area to deal with conflict, but our brothers and sisters. Thank you for your love and generosity in the cross in Jesus name.