Matthew 18:1-14 "Becoming As Little Children"

Matthew 18:1-14 "Becoming As Little Children" Marc Transparenti / General The King's Road of Preparation / Childlike; Faith / Matthew 18:1-11; Mt 18:1-5; Mt 18:1-6; Mt 18:6-11; Mt 18:5-11; Mt 18:12-14 Chap 18: The Discourse on the Church; The Manual for Disciples and how they are to conduct themselves in the Kingdom. Good Morning Calvary Chapel Lake City! • Parents you may dismiss your kids! • If you don't have a Bible... • This Friday at 7pm is our last "Campfire Worship" for the Summer... • Starting on Thursday 8/19 at 7pm Bible Study, we begin our Mid-Week Bible Study. • And, since this is the first home Bible Study as a church. I think it appropriate that we start with the book of firsts... In the Beginning...Genesis... • If you are new to Calvary Chapel...I'm Pastor Marc, welcome! • Welcome Card! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Please turn in your Bibles to Matthew Chapter 18, today we are looking at Matt 18:1-14 From Matt 16 verse 13 up to Matthew chapter 20, we observe Jesus preparing and instructing His disciples of His impending rejection, death and resurrection and the principles they will need to know as Jesus builds His church through them. Thus, our general theme has been "The King's Road of Preparation." Last week, we finished Matthew 17 and Jesus took His Twelve disciples back to Capernaum where Peter was questioned by Temple Tax collectors if Jesus would pay the Temple Tax... • Jesus is the Son of God, therefore not obligated to pay this tax. "The sons are free." God initiated this tax back in Exo 30 to support the Temple, and the Temple is the Lords. • Not only the Temple, but Ps 24:1-2 "The earth is the LORD's, and all its fullness, The world and those who dwell therein. 2 For He has founded it upon the seas, And established it upon the waters." • It's all His...Jesus is tax exempt. • But, in love Jesus pays the Temple Tax so as to not offend the Tax Collectors. In humility and love God stoops to His own creation in so many ways. He loves you more than His liberties. • I wish we could say the same about ourselves, because too often we love our liberties and entitlements more than we love other people. And, Jesus' disciples...they too fell into carnality...seemingly as they traveled through Galilee towards Capernaum...just after Jesus spoke about being betrayed, killed, and rising again...they were sorrowful, did not understand, and were fearful of His sayings...and then got into a dispute about 'who would be the greatest' Apostle is Jesus' kingdom. So, as they arrive in Capernaum, Jesus uses the example of the Temple Tax to teach humility and the importance of love over liberties. And, with the disciples disputing in the backdrop, Matthew Chapter 18 is what many consider 1 of Jesus' 5 major discourses in Matthew...often called the "Discourse on the Church." • Jesus is going to teach these bickering disciples about greatness, forgiveness, conduct, and life under kingdom authority. • The king has expectations for His church...His "called out ones," and these expectations still apply today. We are in the same dispensation of time...the Church Age. • Jesus begins His lesson by taking a child and sitting him in the midst of the disciples... as another object lesson. The title of today's sermon is, "Becoming As Little Children." Let's Pray! Matt 18:1 "At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, "Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?" 1. When you read Matthew's account it seems as though the disciples approach Jesus with an innocent inquiry, but when we read, Mark 9:33-34, this was a loaded question, and Jesus sees through it. a. Mark 9:33-34 "And when He was in the house He asked them, "What was it you disputed among yourselves on the road?" 34 But they kept silent, for on the road they had disputed among themselves who would be the greatest." i. The greatest...they are not thinking in general terms of being great in the Kingdom, as in exercising love, joy, peace, patience...fruits of the Spirit. 1. No...they are asking Jesus as though He had already decided who would be the top elder (per the definition of "greatest"...Gk. mĕizōn meaning "elder, greater, even 'at the beginning'"). ii. The disciples were the chosen Twelve by Messiah...by King Jesus...His top guys, and they seem to be thinking about their place in His kingdom...it's a self seeking question as indicated by the disciples falling silent when questioned about their dispute...seemingly in pride. iii. The Jewish thought...which was a misunderstanding... was that Messiah would come and establish His kingdom and usher in peace for Israel...they did not understand a 1st and 2nd coming. 1. Even after the resurrection in Acts 1:6 the disciples ask, "Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?" Huge misunderstanding. The disciples think that time is now. b. In true 'Jesus fashion,' Jesus answers their question "Who then is the greatest?"... with a question of His own... "What was it you disputed among yourselves on the road?" i. And, Jesus' question trumps the disciples question, and convicts them...they were not aware that Jesus knew that they were disputing...thus they fall silent, likely in shame, for disputing amongst themselves over what the bible calls "selfish gain" or "covetousness." ii. In this moment, as Jesus has been doing...He breaks them down. He breaks them down and then He will build them up. 1. Presently, none of them feel like the greatest because disputing over position is counter to a Kingdom heart attitude. 2. In the world...throughout the ages, people have fought and back stabbed for power and position. You see this historically as the new rising nation topples the old king of the hill. 3. You may even have seen this personally as a colleague has fought viciously over a business deal or for a promotion, with no concern for anyone but themselves. 4. And, this is how the disciples are acting here...and it's wrong. And, in one gentle question...Jesus shatters them to the core...He breaks them down. a. I don't know if God has spoken to you, but in my experience... time and again...He has shattered me... simply by impressing upon me a ...brief statement or question that is gentle, but firm and cuts me to the core ... "a still small voice." iii. Considering the past few scenes...it's surprising that any of the disciples had the audacity to dispute over who was the greatest. 1. At the transfiguration, Peter spoke out of turn and the Father divinely interrupted, "This is My beloved Son in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him!"...all focus on Jesus. a. If Peter, James, and John heard the Father, none of these three should have be disputing who was the greatest in the kingdom. b. Though I do suspect these three... i. Peter because Jesus said great things about him in Matt 16:17-19... Jesus said, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah..." then, "...you are Peter and on this rock I will build My church..." and "...I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven..." and then Peter is on the Mount of Transfiguration...surely he would have a case to be the greatest. ii. And then James and John...also on the Mount of Transfiguration, and then in Matt 20:21 we will see their Mommy petition, with them in agreement... "Grant that these two sons of mine may sit, one on Your right hand and the other on the left, in Your kingdom." 2. It would be really surprising if the remaining nine disciples argued who was the greatest because...coming off the mount, the remaining nine were disputing with scribes...and in unbelief were unable to heal the demon possessed boy. Jesus called them "faithless and perverse" or "unbelieving and twisted." 3. Then, when Jesus spoke about His death and resurrection...all 12 disciples were sorrowful, fearful, and did not understand. 4. And, after all of this failure...now they dispute about who was the greatest??? a. None of these disciples had strong ground to stand on. b. So, when Jesus questions what they disputed about, they all fall silent. They likely felt ashamed for being prideful...for thinking so high of themselves. i. Pro 11:2 states, "When pride comes, then comes shame; But with the humble is wisdom." ii. Pro 13:10 tells us, "By pride comes nothing but strife, But with the well-advised is wisdom." iii. C.S. Lewis wrote, "It is Pride which has been the chief cause of misery in every nation and every family since the world began. Other vices may sometimes bring people together; you may find good fellowship and jokes and friendliness among drunken people or unchaste people. But Pride always means enmity-it is enmity. And not only enmity between man and man, but enmity to God. 2. So, as the Master Teacher...Jesus places a child in their midst...an object lesson of who they AND who we need to emulate... Matt 18:2-4 "Then Jesus called a little child to Him [child...Gk "paidion"...a young child up to 7 yrs old], set him in the midst of them, 3 and said, "Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven." 1. With the context of the disciples disputing over who would be the greatest...Jesus' response will challenge the thoughts and attitudes of how the disciples view themselves and each other. a. Here in Chapter 18... "The Discourse on the Church"... Jesus gives us a "Manual for Disciples." If you want to know how you should be thinking and behaving toward one another, Matthew 18 is your guide. 2. So, Jesus calls the child and the child comes to Jesus. As a disciple, obedience to His calling is paramount. a. Obedience to Jesus' teachings of faith, love, humility...these were lessons the disciples were wrestling with in the last few accounts...lessons they would need to master. b. To be a disciple of Jesus, we too must be obedient to our King and His teachings, and master these lessons...take them to heart. 3. It's important to note that Jesus uses a child as an object lesson. a. Children had no rights according to the law....they were amongst the least. i. Child rights was not enacted until the 20th Century starting in 1924 when The League of Nations adopted the "Geneva Declaration on the Rights of the Child." 1. Then in 1946 and 1948, the UN established the "International Children's Emergency Fund, UNICEF, and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights." 2. Now, I can't speak on those organizations, but my point is that child rights is a relatively new phenomenon. a. In centuries past, children had no rights...and still today, in many parts of the world...children are still being labored to death and sold into the sex trade...as it was in Jesus' day. ii. So, when Jesus sat a child in the midst of his disciples, before He even speaks...he puts on display one with no rights...the least... 1. And, Jesus modeled how we should treat the least. In the parallel account...in Mark 9:36 we read, "Then He took a little child and set him in the midst of them. And when He had taken him in His arms, He said to them..." 2. Jesus took the child in His arms...the loving embrace of God to the least of these. 3. Before Jesus has even spoken a word...before He even began His lesson...He already spoke so much with the object lesson of loving a child...loving the least. 4. This is the heart of being a disciple...not disputing and jockeying for position. Those are attitudes of the world. 4. So, then Jesus speaks in V3... "Assuredly, I say to you..." a. "Assuredly" or "truly; trustworthy" Gk. amēn which is of Hebrew origin...how we close our prayers. It's trustworthy that for entrance to the kingdom of heaven, one must be a) converted, and b) become as little children. So, what does this mean? i. Conversion... Similar to the idea of repentance, but a different Greek word. 1. Conversion (strĕphō) by def. "to change; to turn; to twist." 2. Repent (mĕtanŏĕō)- "to change one's mind or purpose; to think differently." a. Acts 3:19 "Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out..." b. Repentance is what you think and conversion is the step you take. You think and then you do. c. In your testimony, at some point you thought differently about Jesus. Formerly, you did not believe, and then you believed. You had a change of mind...you repented of disbelief. Then, you prayed to accept Him as Lord and Savior and were converted. ii. And, that's true to our salvation, and true to salvation, but that is NOT the lesson here for Jesus' disciples. Jesus was not suggesting they need to get saved. 1. What Jesus is saying...my paraphrase is... "Guys, unless you change your thinking and become humble, you're not going to enter the Kingdom of heaven." a. This was a rebuke to their disputing over power...an encouragement to convert or change their worldly thinking because this is not how Kingdom citizens think. b. If you are thinking like the world, you're not going to be in the kingdom of heaven because sin is not permitted in God's kingdom. i. Rev 21:27, speaking about eternity, states, "But there shall by no means enter it anything that defiles, or causes an abomination or a lie, but only those who are written in the Lamb's Book of Life." c. The disciples had to change this worldly thinking, and start thinking like a Kingdom citizen...to become as a child. i. D.A. Carson stated, "The child is held up as an ideal, not of innocence, purity, or faith, but of humility and unconcern for social status. Jesus advocates humility of mind, not childishness of thought." ii. The disciples had their thinking all twisted...they needed to think about being great differently (the idea of conversion)...in Jesus' Kingdom...the citizens are great because they are different from the world...they reflect the King. iii. ....they are like children...they are humble and do not have rights...people fight for their rights in the world because of covetousness and selfish gain... iv. ...in Jesus' Kingdom all His citizens love God and love others...this is the code, and when everyone lives by that code, you don't need to fight for personal rights and fight for position or power. b. And, look at what Jesus says next... V4, "Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven." i. "Therefore" is a capstone...because of all that was said and seen... previously in the context...here now is the main point... ii. The heart of the matter is this...humility. In their disputing and vying for position, the disciples were the opposite of humble...they were prideful. 1. Mark 9:35 adds, "If anyone desires to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all." 2. Luke 9:48 adds, "For he who is least among you all will be great." iii. The disciples were out of line in their hearts, their minds, and their behaviors...so Jesus breaks them down to stop their disputing and selfish ambition... 1. ...and then He builds them up to be humble and a servant...truly great in the Kingdom of heaven. iv. This example of a little child was perfect because it not only displayed what the disciple would need to become, but also pictured the very nature of Christ... 1. Phil 2:5-8 reads "Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, 7 but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross." 2. That's our model...that's who we are becoming like. 5. V5 is better paired with the next segment...VSS 5 & 6 forming a "promise-warning couplet"... "Whoever receives (promise)...whoever causes (warning)..." Matt 18:5-7 "Whoever receives one little child like this in My name receives Me. 6 Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin [or stumble as rendered in the NASB], it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were drowned in the depth of the sea. 7 Woe to the world because of offenses! For offenses must come, but woe to that man by whom the offense comes!" 1. Receiving a "little child" speaks about receiving a disciple...those who have become like little children...true disciples...spiritual children of God. a. The phrase in V5 "...one little child like this in My name..." that' a disciple. b. The words "who believe in Me" in V6 are a parallel clause to "in My name" in V5...both pointing to and defining who a disciple is. 2. "Whoever receives..." Receives by definition means "to accept." a. The promise here... is acceptance of a disciple is acceptance of the teacher...which will result in being accepted by God. b. One who comes in 'Jesus' name'...one 'who believes in Jesus' is a disciple, and a true disciple will carry the message of the teacher...they will represent His name and His gospel message. i. They are great...not for any other reason then because the come in Jesus' name...because they believe in Him. c. Receiving or accepting the disciple, means to accept Jesus...and means being accepted...this is a promise. 3. The warning... "Whoever causes..." Causes Gk. skandalizō by definition "to entrap or trip up" figuratively "to stumble or entice to sin or apostasy." a. Jesus lays down a huge warning here about stumbling a disciple. The warning of the millstone in V6 is tied to the woes in V7, as seen in Greek. i. "Causes" V6...is Gk. "skandalizō" and "offenses" 3x in V7 is Gk. "skandalŏn"...the root word for "skandalizō." 1. From "skandalizō" we get our English word "scandalize" and from "skandalŏn" we get our English word "scandal." 2. VSS 6 & 7 are tied together in warning against stumbling a believer. It's scandalous or offensive in God's eyes. b. Very simply, stumbling a believer means to influence them to stray from walking with Jesus. To lead them into sin. i. Believers stumble as they fall into various sins like fornication, addiction, pleasure, idolatry .... lusts of the flesh, lusts of the eyes, and pride of life. ii. Remember what we read last week in Rom 14? Love over liberty? Rom 14:13 "Therefore let us not judge one another anymore, but rather resolve this, not to put a stumbling block or a cause [skandalŏn] to fall in our brother's way." Then, in V15 Paul said, "Do not destroy with your food the one for whom Christ died." Love over liberty. c. Jesus' warning is stern. V7 "Woe!"- "An expression of grief or denunciation." i. "Woe to the world because of offenses! For offenses must come..." We can expect offenses to come from the world. The world that is being influenced by principalities and powers...Satan and his demons. It's not unexpected. ii. But there is a "gravely magnified" (Carson) woe upon the person responsible for stumbling a believer...for leading them into sin... for leading them away from Christ. d. "...it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were drowned in the depth of the sea." i. A Millstone- 2 Gk words... mulos - "a mill or a grinder (millstone)"... and onikos "for a donkey -or- turned by a donkey." 1. I have a slide of an ancient millstone. I've seen this one, in person, in the Old City in Jerusalem. This is not a 'hand grinder' or a 'mortal and pestal'...not much of a warning being tossed into the sea with a hand grinder...no...these were two large stones... an upper stone rolled over a stationary stone as turned by a donkey and ground grain. a. These stones were huge...hundreds of pounds. 2. And, the warning is...the person who stumbles a disciple...a believer... the judgment they face will be worse than having a several hundred pound millstone "hung around his neck" and "drowned in the depth of the sea." a. Imagine this...a group of men takes you by force onto a boat and takes you out to the deepest part of the sea. And, you know they are taking you there for judgment...to drown you... you will be submersed in water and die by inhalation of water. A terrible way to go. i. They tie a rope around your neck and throw a several hundred pound stone into the water sending you to Davy Jones' Locker. 1. Once the slack of the rope was gone, if the force of the stone sinking didn't kill you, the sea would. ii. It would be a pretty miserable death, but still... it would be better than judgment from God for stumbling a believer. iii. This may seem harsh, but to God...intentionally stumbling a believer...enticing them to sin and leading them away from God is a particular perversity that is abominable to Him. 1. This evil rejects Jesus and intends to harm His people...it's perverse. 2. In Pro 6 such a person is described, Pro 6:12-19 "A worthless person, a wicked man, Walks with a perverse mouth; 13 He winks with his eyes, He shuffles his feet, He points with his fingers; 14 Perversity is in his heart, He devises evil continually, He sows discord. 15 Therefore his calamity shall come suddenly; Suddenly he shall be broken without remedy. 16 These six things the LORD hates, Yes, seven are an abomination to Him: 17 A proud look, A lying tongue, Hands that shed innocent blood, 18 A heart that devises wicked plans, Feet that are swift in running to evil, 19 A false witness who speaks lies, And one who sows discord among brethren." 3. It would be better for such a person to die horribly by execution by drowning before they were to ever stumble a believer. a. There are degrees of eternal judgment... called "everlasting fire" in V8 and "hell fire" in V9...and God seems to have a particularly terrible judgment reserved for these perverse people who commit these heinous spiritual crimes. 4. Jesus continues with the same idea, now shifting focus to the disciples personally... Matt 18:8-9 "If your hand or foot causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you. It is better for you to enter into life [meaning eternity] lame or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet, to be cast into the everlasting fire. 9 And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you. It is better for you to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes, to be cast into hell fire." 1. The world and perverse people who stumble believers were warned. Now Jesus warns His own from being their own worst enemy. And, sometimes we are... a. I have often said that Satan does not need to do anymore than influence the world. He does not need to attack us personally because our very flesh is our own worst enemy. b. Paul in Gal 5:16-17 said, "Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. 17 For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish. i. When your flesh desires something (lust of the flesh), and your eyes behold that thing in the world (lust of the eyes)...you've got to make a decision...stay and fall or as Paul instructed Timothy, "Flee...youthful lusts." 2 Tim 2:22 Run away! Flee! c. If your hand reaches out for evil...if your feet walk toward darkness...if your eyes gaze upon sin...take extreme action not to stumble yourself. i. Don't literally cut off the members of your body, but cut sin out of your life...put to death the old man that lives for sin and live renewed in the spirit. ii. If you have sin in your life that you have not rooted out...a high place that you have not torn down...then Christian...I must ask...where does your allegiance lie? d. Jesus warns His disciples here that it's better to live maimed...than to let sin reign in your life and walk away from God... that will result in being cast into everlasting fire...into hell fire. i. William MacDonald wrote, "Better to enter into life without limbs or sight than to be consigned to hell with every member intact." e. When Jesus gave these warnings about the danger of hell... this was to saved believers...His Twelve Apostles...verses like this make me question eternal security...once saved always saved. i. Jesus said, "no one is able to snatch them out of My Father's hand." John 10:29 And, I believe that, but can that person walk away voluntarily? The Calvinist would say, "No, they were never saved to begin with!" ii. Pastor Chuck Smith in the pamphlet "Calvinism, Arminianism & the Word of God: A Calvary Chapel Perspective" wrote regarding "Perseverance of the Saints"... 1. "Maintaining a Bible-centered balance in these difficult issues is of great importance. We do believe in the perseverance of the saints (true believers), but are deeply concerned about sinful lifestyles and rebellious hearts among those who call themselves "Christians." We don't have all the answers to these matters, but we desire to be faithful to the Lord and His word." 2. Listen, Jesus said to saved believers...His disciples...cut that which causes you to sin off. What you believe happens after that eternally... doesn't really matter. a. "Jesus called a little child to Him" and the child came. The child was obedient. And, that's what we need to be concerned about as well...obedience to our King. b. Cut that which causes you to sin off. 3. Now, starting in V10-14, Jesus tells the Parable of the Lost Sheep. a. "But, Pastor Marc...my Bible has the Parable of the Lost Sheep starting at V12?" So, does mine, but VSS 10-11 tie in better with the Parable of the Lost Sheep. b. VSS 10 & 14 form an inclusion (or bookends) to the parable. Matt 18:10-14 "Take heed that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that in heaven their angels always see the face of My Father who is in heaven. 11 For the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost. 12 "What do you think? [Reflect on this...] If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them goes astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine and go to the mountains to seek the one that is straying? 13 And if he should find it, assuredly, I say to you, he rejoices more over that sheep than over the ninety-nine that did not go astray. 14 Even so it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish." 1. Just as in the beginning of this teaching, Jesus expresses a general concern for "these little ones." He tells His disciples, "See that you do not despise or "think little of" these little ones..." disciples. a. At least one disciple, Judas Iscariot, did not heed this advice. He thought little of Jesus and being a disciple and betrayed Jesus for money. 2. Then Jesus exclaims, "...for I say to you that in heaven their angels always see the face of My Father who is in heaven." a. I'm not sure if this is a proof text for guardian angels, but it seems that it could be that way... "their angels." i. Some see "angels" as referring to believers since after death we become "like angels" Matt 22:30 and "equal to the angels" Luke 20:36 in context of immortality. 1. With this idea...Believers should not be despised because they have the blessed privilege of "always see[ing] the face of [the] Father who is in heaven." b. Whatever the interpretation, certainly V10 emphasizes the special importance and value God has placed upon His disciples, as we will see in the Parable of the Lost Sheep. 3. In V11, Jesus tells His disciple the purpose of Him coming... "The Son of Man has come to save that which was lost." a. "Son of Man" is a favorite title Jesus has for Himself, which is an OT Messianic title and expresses Jesus' authority and earthly ministry; His suffering and death; and future exaltation and glory. b. Some manuscripts do not include V11. We do see this phrase repeated after the salvation of Zacchaeus Luke 19:10 "...for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost." i. And, while the context of Matthew 18 hovers over believers and Kingdom conduct...interesting enough...the word "lost" in V11 shares the same Greek word with "perish" at the end of V14. So, there is some merit for the placement of V11. 4. In VSS 12-14, Jesus tells the parable...which is similar to the Parable of the Lost Sheep in Luke 15, though the Shepherd in Matt 18 rejoices over finding the sheep that strayed...one who wandered off ...whereas in Luke 15 the context is salvation to the lost. a. But, here's the point of this parable in Matt 18, as Jesus tells it to His disciples... b. The Shepherd, who is pictured as the Son of Man in V11 and the Father in V14...there is unity in the Trinity...the Shepherd is willing to go beyond great lengths for His sheep. c. 99 are safe and secure, and it's not that He does not delight over them, but He is heartbroken that one of them has strayed up the mountain of sin. So, He ventures out, travelling far to seek the one that strayed, and this shows the immense love God has for His little children. i. It's not His will that any should perish into sin. 5. I want to close with a final observation...notice the heart of God in V13...when He finds the wandering sheep He rejoices... a. The wandering sheep, no doubt caused great inconvenience...the shepherd had to leave the 99 and go up a mountain to find the one, but He is not angry...He is not bitter...NO...scripture says... i. "...he rejoices..." He is cheerful. He is happy...He is glad. b. God loves His children. If you have strayed from God, come back to Him...He has been seeking you and will rejoice immensely at your return. Let's Pray! Read ahead. Next week we will finish Matthew 18... "The Discourse on the Church" looking at the topic of "forgiveness." If you are hear today, and you need prayer...we'd love to pray with you. If you want to turn to God, or turn back to God...let's pray. "The LORD bless you and keep you; The LORD make His face shine upon you, And be gracious to you; The LORD lift up His countenance upon you, And give you peace." ' Num 6:24-26 Page . Exported from Logos Bible Software, 10:30 PM August 14, 2021.