1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:02,780 about discipline in our families. 2 00:00:03,660 --> 00:00:05,400 You know, God has a family too. 3 00:00:07,280 --> 00:00:09,480 And God wants his kids to behave. 4 00:00:11,320 --> 00:00:13,780 When our kids don't behave, what do we do? 5 00:00:15,240 --> 00:00:17,120 No, what do we do for them? 6 00:00:17,120 --> 00:00:18,560 We discipline them, right? 7 00:00:19,480 --> 00:00:20,320 Right? 8 00:00:20,320 --> 00:00:24,600 What do you think God does when his kids don't behave? 9 00:00:26,380 --> 00:00:27,740 I was reminded of that this week 10 00:00:27,740 --> 00:00:29,160 when my granddaughter came out 11 00:00:29,160 --> 00:00:31,160 with another one of her famous statements. 12 00:00:33,080 --> 00:00:37,400 Her little brother, Connor, has been ill with a cold. 13 00:00:37,400 --> 00:00:40,840 And so when given the opportunity to pray at the table, 14 00:00:40,840 --> 00:00:44,160 Natalie said yes, and here's how she prayed. 15 00:00:44,160 --> 00:00:47,300 Lord, we just wanna thank you for this day. 16 00:00:48,960 --> 00:00:50,320 Does that sound Christian or not? 17 00:00:50,320 --> 00:00:51,140 Yeah. 18 00:00:51,140 --> 00:00:52,200 Right, okay. 19 00:00:52,200 --> 00:00:54,520 And then she says, and Lord, 20 00:00:54,520 --> 00:00:56,940 please help Connor get better from his cold. 21 00:00:56,940 --> 00:01:01,940 And please Lord, please tell us what he did bad 22 00:01:02,820 --> 00:01:04,140 so he got the cold. 23 00:01:04,140 --> 00:01:09,060 He's not the way kids sing. 24 00:01:10,180 --> 00:01:12,380 God does discipline us though, doesn't he? 25 00:01:13,300 --> 00:01:15,540 He disciplines his family when we misbehave. 26 00:01:15,540 --> 00:01:17,080 We've all experienced that. 27 00:01:19,200 --> 00:01:21,820 God's kids in Corinth have been misbehaving. 28 00:01:22,860 --> 00:01:24,840 And so God sends a message to them 29 00:01:24,840 --> 00:01:26,180 through Paul the apostle, 30 00:01:26,180 --> 00:01:27,420 and we're going to read it this morning 31 00:01:27,420 --> 00:01:29,420 in 1 Corinthians chapter five. 32 00:01:29,420 --> 00:01:30,740 Please open your Bible there, 33 00:01:30,740 --> 00:01:32,140 pull out your outline, 34 00:01:32,140 --> 00:01:34,340 and let's dig into God's word together. 35 00:01:34,340 --> 00:01:37,040 1 Corinthians chapter five. 36 00:01:37,040 --> 00:01:39,100 This is what God says through Paul 37 00:01:39,100 --> 00:01:41,940 to his kids who are misbehaving. 38 00:01:43,420 --> 00:01:44,980 It's actually reported 39 00:01:46,120 --> 00:01:49,340 that there is sexual immorality among you, 40 00:01:49,340 --> 00:01:53,780 and of a kind that does not occur even among pagans. 41 00:01:53,780 --> 00:01:58,160 A man has his father's wife, 42 00:01:58,160 --> 00:01:59,540 that is his stepmother. 43 00:02:01,120 --> 00:02:03,280 And you are proud. 44 00:02:03,280 --> 00:02:05,620 Shouldn't you rather have been filled with grief 45 00:02:05,620 --> 00:02:08,000 and have put out of the fellowship 46 00:02:09,160 --> 00:02:10,920 the man who had done this? 47 00:02:12,120 --> 00:02:14,720 Even though I am not physically present, 48 00:02:14,720 --> 00:02:17,000 I am with you in spirit. 49 00:02:17,000 --> 00:02:19,940 And I've already passed judgment on the one who did this, 50 00:02:20,980 --> 00:02:23,000 as if I were present. 51 00:02:23,000 --> 00:02:26,440 When you are assembled in the name of our Lord Jesus, 52 00:02:26,440 --> 00:02:27,880 and I am with you in spirit, 53 00:02:27,880 --> 00:02:30,200 and the power of our Lord Jesus is present, 54 00:02:31,200 --> 00:02:35,120 hand this man over to Satan 55 00:02:37,360 --> 00:02:38,880 so that the sinful nature, 56 00:02:38,880 --> 00:02:40,480 I think better it literally says, 57 00:02:40,480 --> 00:02:44,240 so that the flesh may be destroyed. 58 00:02:44,240 --> 00:02:47,180 I think the NIV does not translate this well. 59 00:02:47,180 --> 00:02:50,080 So that the flesh may be destroyed 60 00:02:50,080 --> 00:02:53,360 and his spirit saved on the day of the Lord. 61 00:02:54,720 --> 00:02:56,360 Your boasting is not good. 62 00:02:56,360 --> 00:02:58,760 Don't you know that a little yeast 63 00:02:58,760 --> 00:03:02,040 works through the whole batch of dough? 64 00:03:02,040 --> 00:03:04,340 Get rid of the old yeast 65 00:03:04,340 --> 00:03:07,500 that you may be a new batch without yeast, 66 00:03:07,500 --> 00:03:08,800 as you really are. 67 00:03:09,980 --> 00:03:14,180 For Christ, our Passover lamb has been sacrificed. 68 00:03:14,180 --> 00:03:16,760 Therefore, let us keep the festival, 69 00:03:16,760 --> 00:03:18,320 not with the old yeast, 70 00:03:18,320 --> 00:03:21,920 the yeast of malice and wickedness, 71 00:03:21,920 --> 00:03:25,440 but with bread without yeast, 72 00:03:25,440 --> 00:03:28,280 the bread of sincerity and truth. 73 00:03:30,480 --> 00:03:33,580 God is a loving father who disciplines his children 74 00:03:33,580 --> 00:03:35,980 so that we can experience, 75 00:03:35,980 --> 00:03:38,400 what does it say there on the outline? 76 00:03:38,400 --> 00:03:40,640 All his favor. 77 00:03:42,240 --> 00:03:43,400 I hope that you'll let God 78 00:03:43,400 --> 00:03:45,240 write that in your heart this morning. 79 00:03:46,520 --> 00:03:47,740 When God disciplines us, 80 00:03:47,740 --> 00:03:49,700 it is never to get even. 81 00:03:51,540 --> 00:03:52,580 When he disciplines us, 82 00:03:52,580 --> 00:03:54,760 it is never to pay back. 83 00:03:58,320 --> 00:04:00,960 When we are disciplined by our loving father, 84 00:04:00,960 --> 00:04:05,340 it is always so that he can pour into our lives 85 00:04:05,340 --> 00:04:10,340 the favor he so much yearns to show to us. 86 00:04:12,680 --> 00:04:14,300 Hebrews 12, six says, 87 00:04:14,300 --> 00:04:18,340 the Lord disciplines those he, what? 88 00:04:18,340 --> 00:04:19,400 He loves. 89 00:04:20,420 --> 00:04:22,140 Not those he's mad at, 90 00:04:23,800 --> 00:04:25,440 those he loves. 91 00:04:25,440 --> 00:04:29,860 And he punishes everyone he accepts as a son. 92 00:04:33,220 --> 00:04:35,340 God wants to teach the Corinthians 93 00:04:35,340 --> 00:04:37,300 some important lessons about discipline. 94 00:04:38,540 --> 00:04:40,500 And so, through the apostle Paul, 95 00:04:40,500 --> 00:04:42,220 he first brings to their attention 96 00:04:42,220 --> 00:04:44,660 what the accusation is. 97 00:04:44,660 --> 00:04:47,320 This is not something that's a secret. 98 00:04:48,260 --> 00:04:49,860 It's well known in Corinth, 99 00:04:49,860 --> 00:04:53,300 and the word is spreading beyond Corinth. 100 00:04:53,300 --> 00:04:56,340 And so, the accusation is explained to them 101 00:04:56,340 --> 00:04:59,060 that there is a man in their church 102 00:05:00,100 --> 00:05:05,100 who is living in a pattern of sexual immorality. 103 00:05:06,460 --> 00:05:10,520 Now, the word that Paul uses here is the word pornea. 104 00:05:10,520 --> 00:05:11,860 That's the Greek word. 105 00:05:11,860 --> 00:05:13,820 You can see that we get our English from it, 106 00:05:13,820 --> 00:05:17,140 porn or pornography. 107 00:05:19,540 --> 00:05:22,180 It's a very broad word, 108 00:05:22,180 --> 00:05:24,500 and it's meaning in the Greek language. 109 00:05:24,500 --> 00:05:27,960 It means any kind of sexual intimacy, 110 00:05:29,260 --> 00:05:33,780 sexual relationship that is outside of marriage. 111 00:05:34,700 --> 00:05:35,540 Any kind. 112 00:05:37,280 --> 00:05:39,460 But Paul makes it more clear here what's involved. 113 00:05:39,460 --> 00:05:41,220 It's not just a general thing. 114 00:05:41,220 --> 00:05:45,420 He says there's a man living with his stepmother. 115 00:05:45,420 --> 00:05:46,780 We don't know where his father was. 116 00:05:46,780 --> 00:05:47,780 Maybe he died. 117 00:05:49,620 --> 00:05:51,100 But he's a Christian, 118 00:05:52,060 --> 00:05:54,100 and he's living with his stepmother. 119 00:05:56,260 --> 00:06:00,940 Paul says even the pagans despise this kind of thing. 120 00:06:00,940 --> 00:06:03,820 It's not an acceptable kind of incest, 121 00:06:03,820 --> 00:06:05,100 even to the Romans. 122 00:06:06,960 --> 00:06:09,400 The result, Paul is saying, 123 00:06:09,400 --> 00:06:12,880 is that the church had lost its positive witness 124 00:06:12,880 --> 00:06:13,840 in the community. 125 00:06:14,720 --> 00:06:17,020 Instead of being a beacon of hope in Corinth, 126 00:06:17,020 --> 00:06:19,700 a city that was given to immorality, 127 00:06:19,700 --> 00:06:21,660 famous for its immorality, 128 00:06:21,660 --> 00:06:24,100 instead of being a beacon of purity and holiness 129 00:06:24,100 --> 00:06:27,380 to the pagans of Corinth, 130 00:06:27,380 --> 00:06:30,260 the church had actually become a scandal, 131 00:06:33,080 --> 00:06:35,380 a scandal in the city. 132 00:06:35,380 --> 00:06:38,460 God is upset. 133 00:06:41,700 --> 00:06:44,700 Now he's not just upset because there's a man in the church 134 00:06:44,700 --> 00:06:45,540 who's living this way. 135 00:06:45,540 --> 00:06:47,860 He's upset because of the attitude 136 00:06:47,860 --> 00:06:49,140 that the Corinthians had about it. 137 00:06:49,140 --> 00:06:51,820 He exposes the attitude in verse two. 138 00:06:51,820 --> 00:06:54,640 They were proud of their tolerance. 139 00:06:57,820 --> 00:06:59,720 Here are people who say they know God, 140 00:07:00,780 --> 00:07:03,460 people who've trusted in Jesus Christ, 141 00:07:03,460 --> 00:07:06,500 people who believe the scriptures to be the word of God, 142 00:07:07,940 --> 00:07:10,220 and that they were tolerant of sin, 143 00:07:11,600 --> 00:07:13,300 even sin right in their midst. 144 00:07:14,420 --> 00:07:16,880 It reminds me of some of the kinds of language 145 00:07:16,880 --> 00:07:18,920 that we hear, the statements that we hear 146 00:07:18,920 --> 00:07:23,060 from Christians or so-called Christians today 147 00:07:23,060 --> 00:07:26,320 in our culture, who are willing to tolerate 148 00:07:26,320 --> 00:07:30,900 any kind of sin for the sake of being broad-minded 149 00:07:30,900 --> 00:07:31,780 and accepting. 150 00:07:31,780 --> 00:07:36,320 That's the very attitude that God condemns here. 151 00:07:38,220 --> 00:07:41,260 They were proud of the fact that they were tolerant 152 00:07:41,260 --> 00:07:42,100 of their sin. 153 00:07:42,100 --> 00:07:44,480 Paul says instead, you should be filled 154 00:07:44,480 --> 00:07:46,080 with grief about this. 155 00:07:47,240 --> 00:07:50,580 You should be weeping as though you had lost 156 00:07:50,580 --> 00:07:53,260 someone that you love. 157 00:07:54,640 --> 00:07:57,600 Your heart should be filled with sorrow 158 00:07:57,600 --> 00:08:00,240 that this man is choosing to live like he is, 159 00:08:00,240 --> 00:08:03,000 but instead, you're boasting about it. 160 00:08:05,180 --> 00:08:07,780 Their hearts had become calloused and insensitive 161 00:08:08,780 --> 00:08:13,080 to what sin really does, what it is. 162 00:08:14,420 --> 00:08:17,460 And so instead of being ashamed or even sorrowing 163 00:08:17,460 --> 00:08:20,660 and grieving over this man who had fallen 164 00:08:20,660 --> 00:08:24,080 into this pattern, they were proud 165 00:08:24,080 --> 00:08:26,220 that they accepted him into the fellowship. 166 00:08:26,220 --> 00:08:30,640 The result of their attitude was that they felt 167 00:08:30,640 --> 00:08:35,640 no need to deal with sin, and they were blissfully 168 00:08:36,120 --> 00:08:41,120 ignorant of the stench of their testimony 169 00:08:41,120 --> 00:08:43,320 in the nostrils of God. 170 00:08:44,640 --> 00:08:48,260 And so God writes to his children who are misbehaving here, 171 00:08:48,260 --> 00:08:52,080 more than just the man, in immorality, by the way. 172 00:08:52,080 --> 00:08:53,560 The church was misbehaving. 173 00:08:53,560 --> 00:08:57,600 And so Paul writes to tell them the action 174 00:08:57,600 --> 00:08:59,600 that he expected from them, and that takes up 175 00:08:59,600 --> 00:09:01,560 the rest of our text. 176 00:09:01,560 --> 00:09:05,280 Now before I get into this, I want to say some things 177 00:09:05,280 --> 00:09:06,940 regarding judging. 178 00:09:09,280 --> 00:09:13,360 Paul expected the Corinthians to be discerning 179 00:09:13,360 --> 00:09:16,120 and judging regarding this member of the church. 180 00:09:17,360 --> 00:09:19,120 Before we deal with that, I want to say 181 00:09:19,120 --> 00:09:21,500 that we need to be cautious about judging. 182 00:09:21,500 --> 00:09:25,580 For example, Jesus in Matthew chapter seven 183 00:09:25,580 --> 00:09:27,740 says that we should be very careful 184 00:09:27,740 --> 00:09:32,100 about judging the motives of other people. 185 00:09:33,980 --> 00:09:35,760 We can't see people's motives. 186 00:09:36,640 --> 00:09:37,560 Motives are hidden. 187 00:09:37,560 --> 00:09:41,100 Now God knows what motives are, but we don't. 188 00:09:42,340 --> 00:09:45,160 And so Jesus says be cautious about judging motives, 189 00:09:45,160 --> 00:09:49,000 because the kind of judgment that you give out to others 190 00:09:49,000 --> 00:09:51,540 is the kind of judgment you're going to get back. 191 00:09:52,420 --> 00:09:53,600 Be careful about that. 192 00:09:55,500 --> 00:09:57,580 Here in Corinthians even, he says, 193 00:09:57,580 --> 00:10:01,540 be careful about judging the ministries of other people. 194 00:10:01,540 --> 00:10:04,900 He says, in fact, I don't even judge my own ministry. 195 00:10:04,900 --> 00:10:07,420 He says, I leave that to the Lord to judge. 196 00:10:08,660 --> 00:10:10,860 Sometimes we get very critical in judging 197 00:10:10,860 --> 00:10:14,040 of the way other people do things. 198 00:10:14,040 --> 00:10:19,040 We need to be very careful about that. 199 00:10:20,840 --> 00:10:23,220 But Paul does expect, and God does expect, 200 00:10:23,220 --> 00:10:28,220 that his children will discern when the family 201 00:10:28,300 --> 00:10:30,940 or when we ourselves are misbehaving. 202 00:10:32,900 --> 00:10:35,500 Now what Paul is going to tell the church here to do 203 00:10:36,880 --> 00:10:40,140 is sort of on a scale or continuum. 204 00:10:40,140 --> 00:10:44,420 It's the extreme end of it. 205 00:10:44,420 --> 00:10:47,620 Church discipline or family discipline 206 00:10:47,620 --> 00:10:49,940 actually begins long before this. 207 00:10:49,940 --> 00:10:54,940 For example, first of all, I am to examine my own heart. 208 00:10:55,140 --> 00:10:57,060 One of the benefits of the Lord's Supper 209 00:10:57,060 --> 00:10:59,740 is that every time we take the Lord's Supper, 210 00:10:59,740 --> 00:11:01,780 we examine ourselves to be sure 211 00:11:01,780 --> 00:11:04,420 that we don't have unconfessed sin. 212 00:11:04,420 --> 00:11:09,420 If we have unconfessed sin in our hearts, 213 00:11:10,980 --> 00:11:13,300 then we will partake of the Lord's Supper 214 00:11:13,300 --> 00:11:17,580 in an unworthy manner, it says in 1 Corinthians 11. 215 00:11:17,580 --> 00:11:21,140 And in doing so, we bring judgment on ourselves. 216 00:11:21,140 --> 00:11:23,420 So we should first judge ourselves, 217 00:11:23,420 --> 00:11:26,140 we should examine ourselves, says God. 218 00:11:29,300 --> 00:11:33,460 But then we're also to look out for one another 219 00:11:33,460 --> 00:11:35,140 in the family. 220 00:11:35,140 --> 00:11:39,140 In Galatians, Paul says, if you see a member of the family, 221 00:11:39,140 --> 00:11:43,860 a brother, a sister, who has fallen into sin, 222 00:11:43,860 --> 00:11:46,080 seek to restore that person. 223 00:11:47,860 --> 00:11:50,000 We're to make a judgment about it. 224 00:11:50,000 --> 00:11:53,700 Oh, what she's doing, what he's doing, 225 00:11:53,700 --> 00:11:55,220 is going to harm them. 226 00:11:56,580 --> 00:11:58,320 I need to do something about it. 227 00:11:58,320 --> 00:12:01,380 Paul says, seek to restore them and be careful yourself 228 00:12:01,380 --> 00:12:03,820 as you fall into temptation. 229 00:12:03,820 --> 00:12:06,000 But go after them. 230 00:12:06,000 --> 00:12:10,520 We have a responsibility for one another in the family. 231 00:12:11,460 --> 00:12:13,480 That's part of God's plan of discipline 232 00:12:13,480 --> 00:12:14,780 for his children too. 233 00:12:16,020 --> 00:12:17,460 And as one of God's children, 234 00:12:17,460 --> 00:12:20,620 I not only need to be looking out for others, 235 00:12:20,620 --> 00:12:23,620 but I need to accept it when they're looking out for me. 236 00:12:24,900 --> 00:12:28,780 And come to me and say, I'm perceiving something, 237 00:12:28,780 --> 00:12:31,060 is this true and can I help you? 238 00:12:31,060 --> 00:12:33,020 I need to listen to what they're saying. 239 00:12:37,780 --> 00:12:41,140 Now if my brother offends me, I'm to go to my brother. 240 00:12:41,140 --> 00:12:42,340 Is that right? 241 00:12:42,340 --> 00:12:44,380 That's what Jesus said, I'm to go to my brother 242 00:12:44,380 --> 00:12:47,580 and then I'm to bring my offering to the Lord. 243 00:12:47,580 --> 00:12:49,300 I'm just trying to get it straightened out. 244 00:12:49,300 --> 00:12:52,620 If I offend my brother, I'm to take the initiative. 245 00:12:52,620 --> 00:12:55,600 I'm to go to him and get it straightened out. 246 00:12:57,620 --> 00:12:59,420 Now if my brother won't listen to me, 247 00:12:59,420 --> 00:13:02,860 Jesus says I'm to get another member of the family 248 00:13:02,860 --> 00:13:05,200 and I'm to go to my brother, my sister. 249 00:13:06,900 --> 00:13:11,900 And I am to appeal with his help, his mediation 250 00:13:11,940 --> 00:13:13,380 that we might get reconciled, 251 00:13:13,380 --> 00:13:15,620 that things might get right between us. 252 00:13:16,520 --> 00:13:18,640 And Jesus says that if that doesn't work, 253 00:13:18,640 --> 00:13:20,560 take another step down the scale. 254 00:13:20,560 --> 00:13:22,660 Take it to the leaders of the church. 255 00:13:24,060 --> 00:13:27,820 Ask them to get involved in this to try to help you. 256 00:13:27,820 --> 00:13:30,620 Sometimes they can help and sometimes it doesn't help. 257 00:13:31,500 --> 00:13:33,940 But leaders of the church have a responsibility 258 00:13:33,940 --> 00:13:37,420 to try to intervene, to see if something can be done 259 00:13:37,420 --> 00:13:39,060 to bring reconciliation. 260 00:13:39,940 --> 00:13:42,140 All of these are early steps 261 00:13:43,700 --> 00:13:46,300 in God's discipline of his children. 262 00:13:46,300 --> 00:13:49,640 But there's one that's left for the end down here. 263 00:13:50,520 --> 00:13:53,080 The very extreme one and that's the action 264 00:13:53,080 --> 00:13:57,480 that Paul is telling the Corinthians they need to take. 265 00:14:00,480 --> 00:14:01,520 What were they to do? 266 00:14:01,520 --> 00:14:03,200 Well verse five puts it this way. 267 00:14:03,200 --> 00:14:05,800 They were to put the offender outside 268 00:14:05,800 --> 00:14:07,940 the fellowship of the church. 269 00:14:07,940 --> 00:14:11,520 It says hand the man over to Satan. 270 00:14:13,280 --> 00:14:15,680 Now do you find that almost shocking language? 271 00:14:17,160 --> 00:14:19,120 Hand the man over to Satan. 272 00:14:20,420 --> 00:14:22,220 First of all, there is an implication here 273 00:14:22,220 --> 00:14:24,880 that by being a part of a church, 274 00:14:24,880 --> 00:14:27,000 within the fellowship of a church, 275 00:14:27,000 --> 00:14:30,920 there is a hedge of protection around me 276 00:14:30,920 --> 00:14:34,480 that is in place and prevents Satan 277 00:14:34,480 --> 00:14:37,480 from attacking me in certain ways. 278 00:14:37,480 --> 00:14:40,080 That's one of the reasons I think every believer 279 00:14:40,080 --> 00:14:42,080 ought to belong to a local church. 280 00:14:44,360 --> 00:14:46,800 Because it puts a hedge around us 281 00:14:46,800 --> 00:14:50,140 that prevents Satan from attacking us in certain ways. 282 00:14:50,140 --> 00:14:55,140 But here, God's plan for discipline in the most extreme 283 00:14:55,920 --> 00:15:00,160 is that that hedge of protection be taken away 284 00:15:02,840 --> 00:15:06,640 and that Satan, Satan be allowed to attack 285 00:15:06,640 --> 00:15:10,600 that person's flesh, meaning his body. 286 00:15:14,780 --> 00:15:17,860 And as a result of that, the person will begin 287 00:15:17,860 --> 00:15:21,980 to feel the pain of what he's doing. 288 00:15:23,560 --> 00:15:26,800 Because Satan has an entrance into his life 289 00:15:26,800 --> 00:15:29,160 that he wouldn't have otherwise. 290 00:15:29,160 --> 00:15:32,200 You see, this is a very serious step for a church to take. 291 00:15:34,240 --> 00:15:37,440 And so we have to assume that there were earlier steps 292 00:15:37,440 --> 00:15:39,000 that had failed in Corinth. 293 00:15:40,280 --> 00:15:42,600 This is the most extreme action 294 00:15:43,520 --> 00:15:46,280 a church can take against a member. 295 00:15:46,280 --> 00:15:47,960 Paul puts it later in verse 13, 296 00:15:47,960 --> 00:15:50,940 expel the wicked man from among you. 297 00:15:51,880 --> 00:15:55,320 The church is to be discerning, it's to make a judgment. 298 00:15:55,320 --> 00:15:56,380 This is wrong. 299 00:15:58,800 --> 00:16:01,180 There's no repentance. 300 00:16:01,180 --> 00:16:05,280 Therefore, you may no longer be a part of this fellowship. 301 00:16:06,760 --> 00:16:07,600 That's what they were to do. 302 00:16:07,600 --> 00:16:08,960 Now, how were they to do it? 303 00:16:10,000 --> 00:16:11,960 Paul goes to some length here to explain. 304 00:16:11,960 --> 00:16:13,680 He says, first of all, they're to do it 305 00:16:13,680 --> 00:16:15,800 in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. 306 00:16:15,800 --> 00:16:18,720 That is, with the authority of Jesus himself. 307 00:16:19,880 --> 00:16:24,160 They were to see this as a delegated authority from Jesus 308 00:16:24,160 --> 00:16:27,280 to take the action with the authority of Jesus. 309 00:16:27,280 --> 00:16:29,040 They're to do it with unity. 310 00:16:30,680 --> 00:16:32,400 He says, when you're assembled together, 311 00:16:32,400 --> 00:16:35,640 when you're gathered together, take this action. 312 00:16:35,640 --> 00:16:37,280 It's not to be done in secret. 313 00:16:38,420 --> 00:16:41,600 It's not to be done by part of the church. 314 00:16:41,600 --> 00:16:44,580 It's to be done by the entire church. 315 00:16:44,580 --> 00:16:48,320 All must participate in the exclusion. 316 00:16:49,400 --> 00:16:52,480 This is part of God's discipline for his family. 317 00:16:54,880 --> 00:16:56,040 Say, does this work? 318 00:16:56,960 --> 00:16:57,980 Well, it did in Corinth. 319 00:16:57,980 --> 00:17:01,260 The good news, the wonderful good news is that this man 320 00:17:01,260 --> 00:17:04,400 who was excluded from the fellowship repented. 321 00:17:05,520 --> 00:17:07,940 And because he repented, Paul tells them 322 00:17:07,940 --> 00:17:10,680 in 2 Corinthians, receive him back. 323 00:17:10,680 --> 00:17:12,920 Now look, he's sorrowing. 324 00:17:12,920 --> 00:17:15,480 He's sorrowing for what he did. It's a genuine sorrow. 325 00:17:15,480 --> 00:17:17,640 You see the fruit of the repentance in his life. 326 00:17:17,640 --> 00:17:19,760 Now take him back. 327 00:17:19,760 --> 00:17:22,100 They were sort of holding him off, apparently. 328 00:17:24,440 --> 00:17:25,600 Now why did it work? 329 00:17:26,700 --> 00:17:29,420 Because we assume they all did it. 330 00:17:29,420 --> 00:17:32,280 I've seen this kind of discipline hampered 331 00:17:32,280 --> 00:17:34,900 in the life of a person before, 332 00:17:34,900 --> 00:17:37,560 when the church takes the action 333 00:17:37,560 --> 00:17:43,240 and he has supporters in the church who stick with him. 334 00:17:43,240 --> 00:17:44,800 And say, well, we support you. 335 00:17:44,800 --> 00:17:46,000 That's what they chose. 336 00:17:46,000 --> 00:17:47,280 We're not on that side. 337 00:17:50,000 --> 00:17:51,300 When there's sin involved. 338 00:17:52,940 --> 00:17:56,700 Friends, we never do another person a favor 339 00:17:56,700 --> 00:17:58,580 when we support them in their sin. 340 00:18:02,160 --> 00:18:04,700 Paul says thirdly, you're to do this with haste. 341 00:18:04,700 --> 00:18:05,960 I'm not with you yet. 342 00:18:05,960 --> 00:18:07,480 I will be soon, but I'm not there. 343 00:18:07,480 --> 00:18:09,160 But I am with you in spirit. 344 00:18:09,160 --> 00:18:10,960 He says get it done now. 345 00:18:11,840 --> 00:18:13,060 Don't wait till I come. 346 00:18:14,120 --> 00:18:15,560 Take this action now. 347 00:18:16,560 --> 00:18:19,120 And finally he says do it with power. 348 00:18:20,280 --> 00:18:23,840 You're to do this with the power of Jesus himself. 349 00:18:23,840 --> 00:18:27,800 With the ability, the moral ability of Christ, 350 00:18:27,800 --> 00:18:30,760 his might, take this action. 351 00:18:30,760 --> 00:18:34,520 Do what Jesus would do if he were there. 352 00:18:34,520 --> 00:18:36,940 And by the way, he is. 353 00:18:38,320 --> 00:18:42,560 Where two or three are gathered together in my name, 354 00:18:42,560 --> 00:18:43,480 there what? 355 00:18:44,600 --> 00:18:46,920 I will be in the midst of them. 356 00:18:48,040 --> 00:18:50,520 And that statement that Jesus made in Matthew 18, 357 00:18:50,520 --> 00:18:53,540 if you look at it, is in the context of discipline. 358 00:18:55,640 --> 00:18:58,240 What do you do when a brother sins? 359 00:18:58,240 --> 00:19:02,060 And Jesus says where two or three are gathered together 360 00:19:02,060 --> 00:19:05,000 in my name, I'm there. 361 00:19:05,000 --> 00:19:06,180 He's here spiritually. 362 00:19:08,260 --> 00:19:09,680 Now why were they to do this? 363 00:19:10,520 --> 00:19:11,400 To be mean? 364 00:19:13,460 --> 00:19:16,080 No, they were to do it first of all, 365 00:19:16,080 --> 00:19:19,400 for the salvation of the wrongdoer, verse five. 366 00:19:19,400 --> 00:19:20,760 Paul puts it this way. 367 00:19:20,760 --> 00:19:23,240 So that the flesh may be destroyed. 368 00:19:24,960 --> 00:19:26,740 So that his body will be attacked, 369 00:19:26,740 --> 00:19:31,000 so he will face physical deterioration. 370 00:19:31,000 --> 00:19:33,880 Satan will be able to get at him 371 00:19:33,880 --> 00:19:35,720 in ways that he could not before. 372 00:19:35,720 --> 00:19:37,000 That's part of it. 373 00:19:38,380 --> 00:19:42,040 By the way, this is similar to what John says 374 00:19:42,040 --> 00:19:43,880 in 1 John chapter five when he talks 375 00:19:43,880 --> 00:19:45,860 about the sin unto death. 376 00:19:47,720 --> 00:19:51,460 The sin unto death is the sin of a believer, 377 00:19:51,460 --> 00:19:52,540 not an unbeliever. 378 00:19:55,560 --> 00:19:57,720 The sin unto death is not a particular sin 379 00:19:57,720 --> 00:19:59,760 that a person might commit. 380 00:19:59,760 --> 00:20:03,200 It is a pattern of sinful action 381 00:20:03,200 --> 00:20:05,980 that is not repented of in a believer's life. 382 00:20:07,240 --> 00:20:09,640 John says that that pattern, if it remains, 383 00:20:09,640 --> 00:20:11,560 there's no repentance, all the steps 384 00:20:11,560 --> 00:20:13,240 of discipline are gone through. 385 00:20:13,240 --> 00:20:15,760 It may be God's choice to say, 386 00:20:15,760 --> 00:20:17,640 my child, I love you so much, 387 00:20:17,640 --> 00:20:19,960 I can't stand to see you living this way. 388 00:20:19,960 --> 00:20:21,660 I'm calling you home early. 389 00:20:27,200 --> 00:20:29,000 Right here in 1 Corinthians in chapter 11, 390 00:20:29,000 --> 00:20:30,160 Paul is going to say to them, 391 00:20:30,160 --> 00:20:32,280 because some of you partake of the Lord's Supper, 392 00:20:32,280 --> 00:20:36,040 not discerning, not examining your hearts first. 393 00:20:36,040 --> 00:20:37,620 He says some of you are sick, 394 00:20:38,760 --> 00:20:41,300 and some of you have already died. 395 00:20:45,560 --> 00:20:47,440 God wants his children to behave. 396 00:20:48,960 --> 00:20:50,480 He takes it very seriously. 397 00:20:52,000 --> 00:20:54,240 Now part of the reason was so that 398 00:20:54,240 --> 00:20:55,640 the body would be destroyed, 399 00:20:55,640 --> 00:20:57,960 but then he says that the spirit 400 00:20:57,960 --> 00:21:00,880 may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus. 401 00:21:00,880 --> 00:21:02,480 So Paul is not saying that this man 402 00:21:02,480 --> 00:21:06,140 is put outside the church and he loses his salvation. 403 00:21:06,140 --> 00:21:08,140 In fact, he says just the opposite. 404 00:21:10,200 --> 00:21:11,720 He's put outside the church, 405 00:21:11,720 --> 00:21:15,800 and the devil is able to attack him in ways 406 00:21:15,800 --> 00:21:18,140 that hopefully will bring him to a senses. 407 00:21:19,120 --> 00:21:22,640 But nonetheless, he will be saved 408 00:21:22,640 --> 00:21:25,080 when Jesus comes, says Paul, 409 00:21:25,080 --> 00:21:26,660 because he belongs to Christ. 410 00:21:26,660 --> 00:21:29,860 Now Paul says for his sake, 411 00:21:29,860 --> 00:21:32,620 for his sake, take this action. 412 00:21:32,620 --> 00:21:34,740 But secondly, he says for the sake of the church, 413 00:21:34,740 --> 00:21:36,340 take this action. 414 00:21:36,340 --> 00:21:39,380 For the sake of you, the body, take this action. 415 00:21:40,460 --> 00:21:43,540 The destructive, divisive effects 416 00:21:43,540 --> 00:21:45,760 of sinful attitudes and behaviors 417 00:21:45,760 --> 00:21:49,100 will take a toll on you. 418 00:21:51,020 --> 00:21:54,380 He then goes into this explanation of leaven or yeast, 419 00:21:54,380 --> 00:21:56,500 and we all know how yeast works. 420 00:21:57,380 --> 00:22:01,060 It spreads through the body of dough, right? 421 00:22:01,060 --> 00:22:02,280 Makes good bread. 422 00:22:04,480 --> 00:22:08,540 But Paul says, sin is like yeast, 423 00:22:09,460 --> 00:22:14,200 and a little bit of it will affect the whole church. 424 00:22:14,200 --> 00:22:17,220 Therefore, none of you dares to be indifferent 425 00:22:17,220 --> 00:22:20,980 about a pattern of sin in the church. 426 00:22:20,980 --> 00:22:24,820 God wants you to be free of the yeast of sin 427 00:22:24,820 --> 00:22:26,240 at work in your midst. 428 00:22:28,000 --> 00:22:30,060 He goes back to this Old Testament picture. 429 00:22:30,060 --> 00:22:32,540 He says, Christ the Passover lamb 430 00:22:32,540 --> 00:22:34,860 has been sacrificed for you. 431 00:22:34,860 --> 00:22:37,180 The spotless lamb has been slain, 432 00:22:37,180 --> 00:22:41,820 his blood has been shed, and you've been forgiven. 433 00:22:41,820 --> 00:22:45,360 Does anybody know what came after the feast of Passover 434 00:22:46,300 --> 00:22:47,320 in the Old Testament? 435 00:22:47,320 --> 00:22:51,360 That was one day, then there was a seven day period 436 00:22:51,360 --> 00:22:55,660 following that called the feast of unleavened bread. 437 00:22:56,660 --> 00:22:58,800 After they had observed the Passover, 438 00:22:58,800 --> 00:23:02,840 the Jews were then not to eat bread with leaven 439 00:23:02,840 --> 00:23:03,920 for the next seven days. 440 00:23:03,920 --> 00:23:07,060 It had to be unleavened bread. 441 00:23:07,060 --> 00:23:09,280 Now Paul uses that as an analogy, 442 00:23:09,280 --> 00:23:10,640 and he's saying to the church, 443 00:23:10,640 --> 00:23:14,340 look, you've been forgiven by God. 444 00:23:14,340 --> 00:23:17,220 Christ the Passover lamb has been sacrificed 445 00:23:17,220 --> 00:23:20,640 for you, but now you are eating from the bread 446 00:23:21,720 --> 00:23:23,200 in the Christian life. 447 00:23:23,200 --> 00:23:25,940 You're eating, you're feeding on Christ. 448 00:23:25,940 --> 00:23:28,640 Do not bring leaven into this feast. 449 00:23:28,640 --> 00:23:31,580 Do not bring sin into this feast. 450 00:23:34,140 --> 00:23:36,200 For the sake of the church, deal with it. 451 00:23:37,880 --> 00:23:42,880 Do not incorporate the yeast of a vicious character 452 00:23:43,360 --> 00:23:46,620 or being wicked, but rather live with the bread 453 00:23:46,620 --> 00:23:50,680 of sincerity, being open, authentic, truthful, 454 00:23:50,680 --> 00:23:52,340 be a person of integrity. 455 00:23:55,600 --> 00:24:00,400 God has a family, and God loves his family so much 456 00:24:00,400 --> 00:24:03,380 he can't stand to see us living in patterns 457 00:24:03,380 --> 00:24:04,560 that will destroy us. 458 00:24:06,000 --> 00:24:09,300 Therefore, he brings discipline to us. 459 00:24:10,680 --> 00:24:13,600 And part of his discipline is that the family 460 00:24:13,600 --> 00:24:16,680 needs to look after ourselves too. 461 00:24:16,680 --> 00:24:19,560 It's something like parents. 462 00:24:19,560 --> 00:24:23,360 We parents discipline our children, and when they're young, 463 00:24:23,360 --> 00:24:25,560 they obey because of parental discipline. 464 00:24:26,700 --> 00:24:30,360 But as they grow up, we parents understand 465 00:24:30,360 --> 00:24:32,400 that we can't always be around. 466 00:24:33,300 --> 00:24:35,340 And so we teach them not only to obey 467 00:24:35,340 --> 00:24:39,380 because of parental discipline, because of self-discipline. 468 00:24:41,060 --> 00:24:43,360 They learn to discipline themselves. 469 00:24:43,360 --> 00:24:48,360 But we also know that there are things in our own lives, 470 00:24:48,960 --> 00:24:52,600 patterns in our lives, that we can't deal with ourselves 471 00:24:52,600 --> 00:24:54,160 by self-discipline. 472 00:24:54,160 --> 00:24:55,520 And so there's a whole other step. 473 00:24:55,520 --> 00:24:57,360 It's called spirit discipline. 474 00:24:58,500 --> 00:25:01,280 It's trusting the Holy Spirit to give me the power 475 00:25:01,280 --> 00:25:03,820 to change the patterns in my life. 476 00:25:03,820 --> 00:25:05,820 I can't do it myself. 477 00:25:05,820 --> 00:25:10,820 God wants us as his family to learn self-discipline. 478 00:25:13,640 --> 00:25:16,560 But he also wants us to enjoy the discipline 479 00:25:16,560 --> 00:25:19,880 of the Holy Spirit, so that we're being changed 480 00:25:19,880 --> 00:25:21,960 as his people from the inside out. 481 00:25:23,120 --> 00:25:25,820 And we have new patterns developing in our lives. 482 00:25:27,480 --> 00:25:30,480 Well, what are the lessons our heavenly father wants us 483 00:25:30,480 --> 00:25:32,920 to learn from this text today? 484 00:25:33,840 --> 00:25:35,760 Just wanna mention three of them. 485 00:25:35,760 --> 00:25:40,580 The first one is this, that God takes my sin seriously. 486 00:25:41,520 --> 00:25:45,380 That's because sin is terribly destructive to me. 487 00:25:46,760 --> 00:25:50,880 It offends God, yes, but it also destroys me. 488 00:25:50,880 --> 00:25:55,260 And God loves me so much, he cannot stand to see my life 489 00:25:55,260 --> 00:25:56,580 go up in flames. 490 00:25:57,400 --> 00:25:59,040 God loves you so much. 491 00:26:00,180 --> 00:26:03,760 He's so crazy about you, he just can't stand to see sin 492 00:26:03,760 --> 00:26:07,420 eating away at who you are in Christ. 493 00:26:09,720 --> 00:26:11,600 And so he brings discipline into your life. 494 00:26:11,600 --> 00:26:13,160 And sometimes that's discipline 495 00:26:13,160 --> 00:26:14,820 because of your own self-judgment. 496 00:26:16,640 --> 00:26:19,200 And sometimes it's because a brother or a sister comes 497 00:26:19,200 --> 00:26:23,560 to you and says, you know, gotta tell you what I'm observing. 498 00:26:24,680 --> 00:26:27,580 And if I'm wrong, forgive me, but here's what I see. 499 00:26:27,580 --> 00:26:29,980 And you listen to him, and you ponder. 500 00:26:29,980 --> 00:26:34,980 And sometimes it's because a leader in the church comes. 501 00:26:39,420 --> 00:26:41,820 Hopefully it never comes to the point 502 00:26:41,820 --> 00:26:43,980 where we have to be excluded from the fellowship 503 00:26:43,980 --> 00:26:46,460 and we miss all of those earlier opportunities. 504 00:26:49,020 --> 00:26:52,120 God takes my sin very seriously. 505 00:26:52,120 --> 00:26:54,860 The second lesson I need to see is this, 506 00:26:54,860 --> 00:26:57,820 that my sin affects others around me. 507 00:26:57,820 --> 00:27:02,820 Not only must I not play with sin because I will get burned, 508 00:27:04,940 --> 00:27:09,940 but my sin affects those around me, my family, my spouse, 509 00:27:12,220 --> 00:27:14,460 my coworkers, my church. 510 00:27:15,720 --> 00:27:17,540 I never sin alone. 511 00:27:18,700 --> 00:27:23,060 The effects of my sin ripple out in my relationships. 512 00:27:23,060 --> 00:27:25,100 Therefore there can be no compromise with it 513 00:27:25,100 --> 00:27:28,100 because it's like leaven, it's like yeast. 514 00:27:28,100 --> 00:27:33,100 It permeates, it ferments, and brings decay. 515 00:27:35,100 --> 00:27:37,740 And folks, it not only happens in my life, 516 00:27:37,740 --> 00:27:41,140 it not only happens in my family, in our church, 517 00:27:41,140 --> 00:27:44,740 but when our society tolerates sin, 518 00:27:46,480 --> 00:27:51,420 it will destroy our society, and that's where we are. 519 00:27:51,420 --> 00:27:53,920 And that's the importance that we as the people of God 520 00:27:53,920 --> 00:27:57,580 get this petition signed and get this on the ballot, 521 00:27:57,580 --> 00:28:02,580 to do what we can to preserve our society. 522 00:28:02,720 --> 00:28:05,320 Our society does not understand this principle. 523 00:28:05,320 --> 00:28:09,640 It's so sold out to tolerance and broad-mindedness. 524 00:28:11,620 --> 00:28:14,900 Why does God put these standards out there? 525 00:28:14,900 --> 00:28:18,540 Not because he wants to see if we will cross the line, 526 00:28:19,540 --> 00:28:22,320 not because he's trying to be mean to us 527 00:28:22,320 --> 00:28:24,220 or to be a killjoy. 528 00:28:25,340 --> 00:28:27,620 It's because he sets the standards 529 00:28:27,620 --> 00:28:31,420 because he knows what's beyond those standards 530 00:28:31,420 --> 00:28:36,260 destroys us personally and as a people. 531 00:28:36,260 --> 00:28:38,020 That's why he does it. 532 00:28:38,020 --> 00:28:40,020 That's why the standards are important. 533 00:28:41,240 --> 00:28:44,400 My sin affects others around me. 534 00:28:45,860 --> 00:28:50,180 But thirdly, delay in dealing with my sin 535 00:28:50,180 --> 00:28:52,400 only worsens it. 536 00:28:54,440 --> 00:28:57,640 Delay in dealing with my sin only makes it worse 537 00:28:57,640 --> 00:28:58,600 than it was. 538 00:29:00,040 --> 00:29:03,740 How wise a person is then to deal with sin early on. 539 00:29:05,460 --> 00:29:07,800 It's as though I went to a doctor and a doctor said, 540 00:29:07,800 --> 00:29:09,060 Gale, I've got bad news for you. 541 00:29:09,060 --> 00:29:11,600 You've got cancer, there's this tumor, there's malignancy, 542 00:29:11,600 --> 00:29:12,900 and it's right in there. 543 00:29:14,380 --> 00:29:15,920 You know what I'm gonna say to him? 544 00:29:15,920 --> 00:29:18,160 I'm gonna say, well, let me think about it for six months 545 00:29:18,160 --> 00:29:20,920 and I'll get back to you is what we ought to do. 546 00:29:20,920 --> 00:29:22,160 You think so? 547 00:29:22,160 --> 00:29:23,920 Oh, no, no, no, no, no. 548 00:29:23,920 --> 00:29:25,920 What I'm gonna say to him is, where's the table, 549 00:29:25,920 --> 00:29:26,760 where's the knife? 550 00:29:26,760 --> 00:29:28,900 Let's get going on this right now. 551 00:29:29,880 --> 00:29:34,280 Because I know that cancer will continue to eat away at me 552 00:29:34,280 --> 00:29:38,340 as long as it's there and sin is the same way. 553 00:29:40,940 --> 00:29:43,080 When I have an attitude or behavior 554 00:29:44,820 --> 00:29:46,840 that is destroying me, 555 00:29:46,840 --> 00:29:48,920 God wants something done about it. 556 00:29:48,920 --> 00:29:51,920 So how do you deal with sin? 557 00:29:51,920 --> 00:29:53,920 What do you do with sin? 558 00:29:53,920 --> 00:29:54,860 It's very simple. 559 00:29:56,080 --> 00:29:58,640 You openly confess it to God. 560 00:30:00,440 --> 00:30:03,480 Do you remember David, after he had sinned with Bathsheba, 561 00:30:03,480 --> 00:30:06,800 he tried to cover that whole mess up for a year. 562 00:30:07,920 --> 00:30:09,780 He had sinned with her, he had killed her husband, 563 00:30:09,780 --> 00:30:11,520 it was a stench. 564 00:30:11,520 --> 00:30:16,520 He tried to cover it up and ignore, pretend it didn't happen. 565 00:30:18,400 --> 00:30:20,880 But all that time, he began to waste away. 566 00:30:20,880 --> 00:30:24,780 In Psalm 32, he tells us even how it affected him physically. 567 00:30:26,600 --> 00:30:30,320 And finally, he did something about it. 568 00:30:30,320 --> 00:30:31,600 Listen to his words. 569 00:30:32,800 --> 00:30:37,360 Then I acknowledged my sin to you, Lord, 570 00:30:37,360 --> 00:30:40,520 and did not cover up my iniquity. 571 00:30:40,520 --> 00:30:43,440 Aren't we masters at wanting to cover it up? 572 00:30:43,440 --> 00:30:45,160 He said, I didn't cover up my iniquity. 573 00:30:45,160 --> 00:30:50,160 I said, I will confess my transgressions to the Lord, 574 00:30:50,880 --> 00:30:54,840 and you forgave the guilt of my sin. 575 00:30:56,360 --> 00:30:59,420 Oh, my friend, will you see how much God loves you today? 576 00:31:01,080 --> 00:31:04,080 And the reason he wants you to own up, 577 00:31:04,080 --> 00:31:08,160 he wants you to confess your sin 578 00:31:08,160 --> 00:31:11,280 is so that it won't continue to destroy you 579 00:31:11,280 --> 00:31:13,260 and destroy those around you. 580 00:31:14,740 --> 00:31:16,480 God delights to forgive us. 581 00:31:16,480 --> 00:31:19,720 And the reason he brings discipline into our lives 582 00:31:19,720 --> 00:31:23,820 is so that we can know the full measure of his favor. 583 00:31:26,480 --> 00:31:30,220 He so wants to bless you and bless your family 584 00:31:31,280 --> 00:31:34,680 that he calls you away from that pattern, 585 00:31:34,680 --> 00:31:39,680 away from the attitudes that are destroying you. 586 00:31:42,760 --> 00:31:45,960 He calls you to confess it to him openly 587 00:31:45,960 --> 00:31:47,320 so that he might forgive you 588 00:31:47,320 --> 00:31:50,880 and put you back in the place of blessing. 589 00:31:53,560 --> 00:31:55,500 Will you let him do that for you today? 590 00:31:57,520 --> 00:32:01,200 He is like that father of the prodigal son, 591 00:32:01,200 --> 00:32:03,060 and he stands out there in the road, 592 00:32:03,060 --> 00:32:04,880 and he's looking down that road 593 00:32:06,520 --> 00:32:09,160 waiting for you to pop up over that hill 594 00:32:10,160 --> 00:32:15,000 so that he can run and embrace you and love on you 595 00:32:16,640 --> 00:32:18,000 as you come back home to him. 596 00:32:18,000 --> 00:32:18,840 Will you come? 597 00:32:20,720 --> 00:32:21,720 Let's pray together. 598 00:32:24,680 --> 00:32:26,180 Father, I don't know where this message 599 00:32:26,180 --> 00:32:27,680 finds us this morning. 600 00:32:29,600 --> 00:32:32,400 I know that all of us deal with sin 601 00:32:32,400 --> 00:32:33,800 every day of our lives. 602 00:32:36,480 --> 00:32:39,040 We still have patterns, thought, and action 603 00:32:39,040 --> 00:32:43,760 that not only displease you, but they destroy us, 604 00:32:43,760 --> 00:32:44,660 and we know that. 605 00:32:46,680 --> 00:32:49,160 And Father, there are some of us here today 606 00:32:49,160 --> 00:32:52,020 who have kind of hung on to that. 607 00:32:54,000 --> 00:32:57,920 And instead of confessing it, we have covered it over. 608 00:32:57,920 --> 00:32:59,020 We've excused it. 609 00:32:59,020 --> 00:33:04,020 We've explained why your standard doesn't apply to us, 610 00:33:05,180 --> 00:33:06,020 but it does. 611 00:33:07,260 --> 00:33:08,140 Forgive us for that. 612 00:33:08,140 --> 00:33:11,220 Oh God, I pray that today my brother, my sister, 613 00:33:15,180 --> 00:33:16,540 who's under your discipline, 614 00:33:18,500 --> 00:33:22,500 will respond today, right now, 615 00:33:22,500 --> 00:33:24,860 and not let it go any further. 616 00:33:24,860 --> 00:33:25,940 Help them to come. 617 00:33:25,940 --> 00:33:30,940 As we're praying, the team is going to sing a verse 618 00:33:31,780 --> 00:33:32,900 and a chorus of a hymn. 619 00:33:32,900 --> 00:33:36,580 If you'd like to come for prayer, 620 00:33:36,580 --> 00:33:38,220 I invite you to slip out and do that. 621 00:33:38,220 --> 00:33:41,140 Would you stand, please, with our heads bowed? 622 00:33:41,140 --> 00:33:43,300 I'm going to be here in the front. 623 00:33:43,300 --> 00:33:45,380 Pastor Dave will be here. 624 00:33:45,380 --> 00:33:47,920 Others will be here who can pray with you. 625 00:33:47,920 --> 00:33:50,420 I want to invite you to come this morning. 626 00:33:50,420 --> 00:33:52,060 Just openly confess to the Lord. 627 00:33:52,060 --> 00:33:53,840 I want to get back to that place. 628 00:33:53,840 --> 00:33:55,580 Come today, will you?