Welcome to NECF sermons. Each message here is
designed to uplift and strengthen you in your
walk with God. Don't miss out. Stay with us until
the end for a rewarding experience. Let's dive
right in. You know, I was just speaking to the
pastors and I told them, I said, God has been
gracious to us in this house. There's no, we
gather here and then, the word of God does not
speak to us. God does not speak to us. Every
time and every moment we gather, there's always,
always the word of God for our spiritual building.
And I want to encourage you to be serious about
what you're receiving. Hallelujah. 52 weeks,
52 days, every Sunday, every Wednesday, and every
Friday. Hallelujah. As Paul would say, we have
not shown to declare to you, right, the counsel,
all the counsel of God's word. Now you have a
responsibility. Now, if you don't see your life
becoming better, it's not that God is not faithful.
It's not that God is not working. Probably you
have to examine how you've been responding to
God's word. It will be foolishness for you to
be doing something over and over and over again
and expect to see a different result. Hallelujah.
So this new year is an opportunity. to restock,
to take stock, rather, and to be open to changing,
change your ways. Let me use the word, let me
use this phrase, change your ways. The things
you've been doing have not been usually resolved.
Maybe there's another, but there's a better way
to do it. Hallelujah. So please, be encouraged
to take advantage, to participate. And enjoy
the work of God. Because you see, sometimes when
we come in, we speak with some of you, we are
wondering, you've been here for three years,
four years. You've been hearing, we've been teaching
you from week out and week in. And we are surprised
at the responses we hear and some of the actions
we see you take. You see that we are not doing
well. So really encourage us. The greatest encouragement
we can receive as your pastors is the result
that we will see, the fruit that we will see
coming out of your life. Hallelujah. Now turn
with me to Matthew 22. Matthew 22 from verse
34. Unread from the NLT. But when the Pharisees
heard that he had silenced the Sadducees with
his reply, they met together to question him
again. One of them, an expert in religious law,
tried to trap him with this question. Teacher!
Which is the most important commandment in the
law of Moses? And we know what the law of Moses
is, right? Pastor has been teaching us about
the law of Moses. So which is the most important
commandment in the law of Moses? What is the
central point of Moses' teaching? What is the
dominant theme? In the law of Moses. Jesus replied.
Verse 37. This is it. You must love the Lord
your God. With all your heart. All your soul.
And all your mind. This is the first. And the
greatest commandment. And summarily. We are talking
about loving God. How we love God is our. is
by our response to his word. This is how we demonstrate
our love towards God. Amen? We demonstrate our
love to God by our response to his word. And
the response that will show that we love God
is faith. Hallelujah. We show faith, we believe
in God's word. Or we talk about believing in
God, or we're talking about putting our trust
in Jesus Christ. This is how we express our love
towards God. So he went on to say in verse 38,
this is the first and the greatest commandment.
A second is equally important. Love your neighbor
as yourself. So when we express our faith towards
God, we express our faith towards God. believing
in his provision for our salvation, believing
in his word, what he says about who he is and
what he has done, then we love our neighbor.
And he went on to say in verse 40, the entire
law and all the prophets and all the demands
of the prophets are based on these two commandments.
So the summary of God's message to us, right,
is about love. Love for God and love for one
another. Love towards God and love one to another.
We love God by responding to his word, by obeying,
then we respond equally. by how we demonstrate
love towards one another. And this has been the
summary of all that the prophets have been seeing
from Genesis to Revelation. This is the message.
Love towards God, faith in Jesus Christ, and
then how we love one another. And this has been
what we've been discussing this season. How we
can effectively walk in love towards one another.
And we established that we are a family. We are
members of the same family. And how we become
members of this family is by faith in Jesus Christ.
Our response towards God, towards... having faith
in Jesus Christ and his finished work brings
us into family, brings us into relationship with
God. And then we highlighted as well that as
family, offenses will come in the course of our
human relationship. All right? Because sometimes
we have so much expectations towards one another
that is not real. Because we have so much expectation
that in the house of God, as a fellowship together,
oh, these are angels. You know, we're angelic
beings. So when a brother offends you, you become
offended by the entire church. So long as we
are in this world and we are humans, offenses
or conflicts would arise during our human interactions
because we have different history. All of us
come from different backgrounds. Are we together?
We have different stories. We have different
experiences. So in the course of our relationship
as humans, because first of all, we are humans.
Okay? Of course, we are supernatural beings,
but we are living in the world. We have physical
body and we live in a physical world. So in the
course of our interaction, there will be conflict.
I think in the course of our meeting with the
pastors, Pastor Victor bring us to something
that was, you know, that was a lie to me. He
said that, Even in scriptures, the apostles,
some of the conflict they have was just a conflict
of opinion on what is right. It's not necessarily
that they were selfish, no. It was their passion,
their display of passion for the work of God
can bring conflict and friction. So it is not
something new to find offense even in our midst.
because Jesus has informed us. He has taught
us in the Word. The Word of God is very explicitly
clear about our relationship and what will happen
within our relationship with one another. So
don't be surprised if someone that is a believer,
that is born again, that even carry the Spirit
of God, you know, do something that offends you.
These are things that... are bound to happen
in the course of our interaction with one another
because we are humans. But the word of God went
on to teach us that we are obligated to do what?
To forgive. Alright? And when a relationship
gets sour, we have obligation to forgive and
to reconcile our relationships. Because we are
members of God's family, we have a responsibility.
To protect our relationship. To guard our relationship.
You know, we live in a world where people don't
regard relationships. And whenever they relate
with people, it's all about what they will get
and then that's all. But God wants... See, the
Christian faith is a relational faith. And God
has high value for relationships. For family.
Hallelujah. So reconciliation, forgiveness and
reconciliation is very, very integral part of
your faith. If you're a believer and you don't
forgive, you find it hard to forgive. It means
that you're not living out your character. Amen?
So forgiveness and only forgiveness, reconciliation
is very, very important. Without forgiveness,
without reconciliation, forgiveness is not complete.
Without reconciliation, forgiveness is not complete.
If you say I forgive but I don't want to talk
with this person, that is hypocrisy. Because
without reconciliation, forgiveness is not complete.
So we have a duty to not only forgive but to
reconcile the relationships. And we say that
the most important goal In the course of reconciliation
is that we what? That we gain the brother or
the sister. We are not trying to reconcile the
point to prove ourselves right or the other person
wrong. But the most important thing that we value,
we have high value for the relationship. So the
relationship is more important than the offense.
Hallelujah. The relationship is more important
than the offense. And God has set us an example
in the word of God. And we are saying on Wednesday
that Jesus Christ or Christmas or the most, that
the message of Christmas is actually the message
of forgiveness and what? And reconciliation.
Now we read in Matthew 18, verse 15. Matthew
18, verse 15, the key scripture. It says, moreover,
if your brother sins against you, Go and tell
him his fault between you and him. Between you
and him alone, if he hears you, you have deigned
your brother. But if he will not hear, take with
you one or two more, that by the mouth of two
or three witnesses, every word may be established,
and if he refuses to hear them, tell it to the
church. But if he refuses even to hear the church,
let him be to you like a heathen and a tax collector.
And shortly I say to you, whatever you are buying
on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever
you lose on earth will be lost in heaven. Again
I say to you, that if two of you agree on earth
concerning that anything that they ask, it will
be done for them by my Father in heaven. For
where two or three are gathered together in my
name, I am there in the midst of them. So these
were the words of Jesus to the disciples, especially
those who are his, that he has called them out,
not only for salvation, but he has called them
forward for the work of ministry. All right?
So Jesus is giving an instruction, and we'll
read further, we'll see how. Peter responded
to this from verse 21. Matthew 18, 21. Then Peter
came to him and said, Lord, how often shall my
brother sin against me? Since you've told us
that if our brother sins against us, what should
we do? We should go and tell him and reconcile
and all those things. Then Peter said, how often?
Shall my brother sin against me and I forgive
him up to seven times? Then Jesus said to him,
I do not say to you up to seven times, but up
to 70 times seven. And then he began to explain
to them how the relationship happens in the family.
Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a certain
king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants.
So Jesus here gives a parable to explain or to
teach further what he has said in the previous
verses. Now we establish that whatever God will
tell us to do, he himself always set the example
for us. And God cannot tell you to do something
that he himself has not worked out the pattern
for us. And we say that the birth of Jesus Christ
Is actually God in Christ reconciling the world
to himself? 2 Corinthians 5, verse 17 and 18
tells us that God, he's a pioneer of reconciliation,
forgiveness and reconciliation. Therefore, if
anyone in Christ, he is a new creation. All things
have passed away. Some of us, when we forgive,
We see all things though. We had archives and
files and folders of offenses of people that
once they do something, we dust all the files
and we begin to open and count all the offenses,
specific date and time and season. But in Christ,
we see that all things of God have passed away.
Behold, all things have become new. Now, all
things are of God. Who has what? What has he
done? God, a Christ, has reconciled us to himself
through Jesus Christ and has given us also the
responsibility of going out to reconcile people
to God. So we have a ministry of telling people
that God... has reconciled himself, or rather
the message of God being reconciled with men,
that Jesus has forgiven, that God has forgiven
sins through Jesus Christ. So then how can we
who are ministers of reconciliation, forgiveness
and reconciliation, live in all forgiveness?
That is hypocrisy. How can we who are supposed
to be ministers to preach the forgiveness of
God? To preach the reconciliation of God are
not able to agree within ourselves and forgive
and reconcile with one another. And that is not
the truth. We can't be what we are what we are
not. We can't teach or preach what we have not
experienced or what we are not doing. So God
himself, for him to even give us that instruction,
he demonstrated it by himself and then giving
us the responsibility to go out to do what? To
do same into the world. And if we do the same
in the world, then we have an instruction. It
becomes an obligation. It becomes a commandment
for us to do what? To lift out the message. Because
when you forgive and you reconcile, you are acting
the gospel. You are acting the word of God. We
say that by the standards of God's perfection,
all men have what? We have all trespassed against
God. We have transgressed. Romans chapter 3 verse
9 talks about transgression of all men. All men
have sinned by the standards of the law. What
then are we? Better than they? Not at all. For
we have fiercely charged both Jews and Jews that
they are all under sin. The next verse. As it
is written, there is no unrighteous, no not one.
There is none who understands. There is none
who seeks after God. They have all torn aside.
They have together become unprofitable. There
is none who does good, nor not one. Their throat
is an open tomb. With their tongues they have
practiced deceit. The poison of abscess is under
their lips. Whose mouth is full of cursing and
bitterness? Their feet are swift to shed blood.
destruction and misery are in their ways, and
the way of peace they have not known. Now this
is describing a man that is under sin, a man
that has not experienced the salvation and the
forgiveness of God. And the way of peace they
have not known. Yes, the next verse. There is
no fear of God before their eyes. Now we know
that whatever the law says, now this is the description.
Now we know that whatever the law says, it says
to those who are under the law, that every mouth
may be stopped and all the world may become guilty
before God. So by the standards of the law, all
men are what? We are equal. We are all falling
short of the standards of God. Verse 20. Therefore,
by the deeds of the law, no flesh will be justified
in his sight. For by the law comes what? The
knowledge of our shortcoming. By the law comes
the understanding that we cannot meet up the
standard of God. Hallelujah. So none of us can
meet the standard of God. Alright? But now the
righteousness of God, this is how God equalizes
us. Now the righteousness of God, apart from
the law, is revealed, being witnessed by the
law and the prophets. Even the righteousness
of God through faith in Jesus Christ to all and
on all who have faith in Jesus Christ, who believe
in Jesus Christ. For there is no difference between
all of us here. For all our world in the past,
all have sinned and all have come short of God's
standards. Remember I was telling us, the scripture
says, if your brother sins against you, it simply
means that in our relationship there are standards.
And we in the course of our relationship can
fall short of our standards. The expectation
that is needed in our interaction every day,
we can fall short of the standards of our interaction
together. I can offend you, you can offend me.
In the course of even correcting, I can offend.
For all have sinned and all have fallen short
of the glory of God. Be justified, how? Free.
Free. By His grace. through redemption that is
in Christ Jesus. So God reconciles himself, right?
Three, whom God set forth as a propitiation by
his blood through faith to demonstrate his righteousness.
Because in the forbearance of God, God has passed
over the sins that were previously committed
to demonstrate at the present time his righteousness,
that he might be the just. the just and the justifier
of the one who has faith in Jesus Christ. Hallelujah.
So by the standard of God's perfection, all men
have trespassed. By the standard of God's perfection,
all men are worthy of condemnation. And we see
God coming to us, isn't it? Coming to us and
then dealing with the transgression that we have
transgressed. And we see God, coming to us in
the form of Jesus Christ, isn't it? Jesus was
born in order to reconcile us. So it would be
fitting for Jesus to say, if your brother sinned
against you, do what? Go to him. Because when
we sinned against God, God came to us. And what
did he come to us to do? He didn't come to give
you a better life. He didn't come to make you
financially rich. He came fundamentally toward
to reconcile with you because there's a problem.
There's an offense problem. There's a relationship
problem. So God in Christ came to us to deal
with the issue of sin for us to be forgiven.
And when we are forgiven, did God cease to communicate
with us? Did he say, okay, the world have died
for you. Henceforth, I don't want to talk with
you again. I don't want to relate with you again.
No. He lived in us in the form of the Holy Ghost.
He inhabits us. He lives in us permanently and
forever. We have union with him, eternal relationship
with him. We have this union that is eternal
that we can communicate, we can come in, we can
enjoy fellowship, we can enjoy his leading, we
can enjoy his preservation by the Spirit. So
not only that he forgave us and reconciled us
to himself, he brought us into an eternal union.
That is why we are committed to telling you that
you cannot, we repeat, you can never be separated
from the love of God. Because God himself has
committed himself to your redemption, to your
reunion with him, to the forgiveness of your
sins. Therefore, he has brought you into this
eternal relationship with him. So therefore,
We on our paths have an obligation. And what
is our obligation? That when a brother sins against
you, what do you do? You do what God has done
for you. Because you cannot outdo what God has
done. What Christ has done has eternally reconciled
you to God. What Christ has done has forgiven
all your sins, past, present, and future. So
you cannot see, your sin cannot overdo what God
has done in Christ. And this places us in a position
to always forgive one another. Consequentially,
it means That there's no sin that a brother can
do to you that you cannot forgive. Because there's
no sin that you can do, right, to God that God
can never forgive. As a child of God, you are
eternally forgiven. And it comes with a consequence.
And the consequence is that what? That you also
forgive. Always. And that is our heart prayer
that this message of love will be rooted in our
heart. That God's love will be rooted in our
hearts. That we will understand the depth, the
breadth, the width, the length, the height of
the love of God towards you. And by that understanding,
you begin to live this kind of love towards people.
This is how people will know that you are a child
of God. It's not in how many times you give prophetic
words. It's not in how many times you prophesy
or you pray in tongues and then your words are
sanctimonious. That is what makes you a believer.
That's not what makes you a child of God. That's
not what makes you spiritual. The spirituality
will be seen in your demonstration of love towards
people, especially, especially the people of
God. So God in Christ has reconciled us to himself.
Similarly, he laid down a pattern for us that
in our relationship with one another, we can
forgive one another. Verse 15, Matthew 18, 15
says, if your brother sins against you, Go and
tell him his fault between you and him alone.
If he hears you, you have gained your brother.
And then we discuss that the instruction for
the believer is to be quick. The instruction
for us is to be quick to forgive and to seek
reconciliation. Whenever a brother sins against
you, we'll know how mature you are. Spiritual
maturity now. Spiritual maturity. We'll know
how spiritually mature you are. to the speed
at which you forgive and reconcile. If it takes
you years to forgive, it means that you don't
understand the things of God and you are still
a bit. The speed at which you respond to offenses
in the sense that you respond. What is our response
to offenses? Forgiveness. Forgiveness shows the
level of maturity in the things of God. Now,
when we are offended, it's not enough to pray
for the person. Because oftentimes, we pray for
people when we are offended. We must also talk
to them. You don't just have the liberty to solve
the problem the way you like. You know, some
people come to us and then when there's an offense,
we say, see brother, there's a need for you to
reconcile with this brother or with this sister.
Say, no, me, that's the way I feel. That's the
way I do my things. You don't have an exclusive
way of doing things in the family of God. You
don't define the rules in the family of God.
You don't determine how relationships are led
in the family of God. You follow the rules as
given within the family, within the kingdom of
God. So you don't just have the liberty to solve
the problem your own way. The Bible is clear
about what you should do. Forgive. Go to the
person and seek reconciliation. And I can feel
in my heart that last week, Sunday, and even
Wednesday, there are some people here that are
battling with reconciliation. And they feel,
you know, at least I have forgiven the person.
But instruction for you, number one, is not just
to forgive the person in your heart. What do
you do? You must initiate conversation concerning
the offense. And you must speak the offense.
reconcile with the person because the Bible is
clear about what you should do. Go to the person
and seek reconciliation. You can't just say,
I don't feel like doing it. Your love work will
be tested by how many relationships you have
restored. Some of us, every... Every city, every
town, everywhere we go, there are relationships
that end in crisis. And we are so used to it.
People know us with relationships. Every relationship
you have with people always ends in chaos. People
are always the ones that are offending you. People
are the ones that are always doing you wrong.
People are the ones that are always taking advantage
of you. People are the ones that are always...
Anywhere you go, your first speech is like, everybody
just ends up offending you. Don't you think that
there's a problem with the way you live? So we
can't accumulate offenses. Our love will be tested
by how many relationships we have been intentional
about restoring. Verse 16 went on to say, but
if you will not hear, take with you one or two
people. that by the mouth of two or three witnesses,
every word may be established. First step is
that you go, all right, and you may share reconciliation.
Now, if you need help to do that, we are here
to always help. We'll teach you what to do. We'll
teach you what to say. We'll teach you how to
say it because there's wisdom in reconciliation.
But if the person refuses to hear you, the person
is not interested in hearing you, especially
you are in church here. And then you try to reconcile
the pain with the person. And the person say,
I have forgiven you. But when they see you, they
change what? When they see you, they don't even
want to greet it. They don't even want to. When
they say, look for a neighbor and hold the neighbor,
and you are coincidentally seated around the
same seat, the person will go and look for another
person. Because they don't want to look at your
eyes. They don't want to bless you. They don't
want to pray for you. The Bible says, take with
you one or two that by the mouth of two or three
witnesses, every word may be established. Now
the individuals that you take, the one or two
that you take must be the family of God's people.
Hallelujah. Now this is very important. You can't
have an offense with a brother in church. And
the person that will help you reconcile with
the person is Mehmet in the class, from your
class, or Selçuk. You can't have an offense with
your brother in church. And the person that you
take, the one or two people you take is police.
The one or two that you take to the person's
door for reconciliation is police. 1 Corinthians
6, verse 1. 1 Corinthians 6, verse 1. There any
of you, the way Paul is speaking here, he says,
there any of you, Having a matter against another,
go to the law. Which law? Is it the law of God?
Go to the police or to the court before the unrighteous
and not before the saints? Do you not know that
the saints will judge the world? And if the world
will be judged by you, are you unready to judge
the smallest matters? Do you not know that we
shall judge angels? How much more things that
pertains to this life? How much more carnal things?
If then you have judgments concerning things
pertaining to this life, do you appoint those
who are least esteemed by the church to judge?
I say this to your shame. That is, if you are
the one that will call police for your brother
and sister in Christ, shame on you. Paul is saying,
shame on you. Is it not that there is not a wise
man? Is it so, rather, that there is no wise
man among you, right, among the family of God's
people? Not even one. Who will be able to judge
between brethren? But brother goes to law against
a brother, and that before unbelievers. Imagine
a believer that professes Christ. goes to report
another believer that professes Christ before
an unbeliever that does not know God. And he
knows the two of you are believers. What gospel
are you preaching? Is there an opportunity for
this person to understand? Imagine you coming
together tomorrow to tell the person about the
love of God and the forgiveness of God. How will
you correlate the issue that happened between
the two? This person... So, you people that know
the love of God and the forgiveness of God can
do these terrible things one to another like
this. It is now therefore it is already an utter
failure for you that you go to law against one
another. Why do you not rather, this is what
it says, rather accept wrong? Alright? Why do
you not rather let yourself be cheated even if
it's been a business? I'd rather allow my brother
to take advantage of me than to sue him. I know
this seems hard and difficult. You know, when
they are preaching these kind of things, people
don't shout glory. People don't rise up and rejoice.
It may not seem juicy, but you know what? We
will face it with the truth. All right? Because
this is the counsel of God's word. I don't have
an opinion. If I have an opinion, maybe I would
have done it another way. My human mind and wisdom
and intellect wouldn't be far from doing what
I do. You know what I'm saying? There's a law
of physics. Equal, false, What will happen? Equal
reaction, right? Which law of force? Motion?
Is it motion? In the kingdom of God, it's not
like that. It's not physics. In fact, in the
kingdom of God, one plus one is not two. First
of all, it's above the law of mathematics. The
one plus one of God in marriage is one. Hallelujah.
So, Is not forced in. Then receiving equal level
of. Then we will be full of. Crisis and chaos.
So we have an obligation. No. You yourself do
wrong and cheat. It is a believer. Say you yourself
do wrong and cheat. And you do these things to
your brethren. To your brothers and your sisters.
Some of you in this house cannot even do business
together. People cannot even sit together and
say, okay, let's pay house rent. The house rent
is £2 .56, for example, now. We are supposed
to £2 .56 divided by two is how much? 120 what?
Point something, something, something. You will
not even allow your brother to carry one point
something, something, something, something. Your
account was balanced to the latter. Habba. Carnal
things. Material things. You always want to exhaust
every privilege in every relationship. You yourself
do wrong and cheat. And you do these things to
your brethren, to your brothers and sisters in
Christ. You know, some of you... See, let me
say this in this house. You know, there are agents
all around. And there are some of us, some of
them in this house. If we hear you doing things
unethical, first of all, you will have us to
face. All right? And then we'll deal with you
appropriately. Now, I'm not saying you shouldn't
do business. But be ethical. Be righteous about
it. Do you even know that the unrighteous will
not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived.
Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers,
nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves,
nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor
extortioners. Who are extortioners? Extortioners
will inherit the kingdom of God. This is not
your identity, all right? And such were some
of you. That is where some of us were coming
from. But you were what? We were washed. We were
sanctified. We were justified in the name of
the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of God. It means
that God has forgiven us. He has made us whole.
He has brought us into a new life. So how can
we, who have been justified and set free from
that kind of life, be living that kind of life?
Even in the family of God's people. So please,
watch out how you live. The individuals you must
carry to go to the concern must be the people
of God. And I said this last week. I said, if
you are the one that someone comes to you and
says, see, when someone offends you and he tries
to reconcile, And the person seems to be difficult
in that reconciliation. When you go to another
person, you're not going there to defend to,
you know, sometimes we want to paint a picture
of ourselves as good. We are the ones that are
right. We are the ones that have been offended.
You know, we try to build the person. Now, when
the person is on your side and you're going to
meet the other person, you go sophisticatedly.
And what you get is actually, So, if you are
the one that is going to accompany someone to
go for reconciliation, don't take sides. Agree
together. Even if you know who is wrong, who
is right, your goal is not to point who is right
or who is wrong. Your goal is to reconcile the
brothers. So, by virtue of your responsibility
as a spiritual man, you are to do what Christ.
What Christ? When Christ came to reconcile us
to God, did he look at our sins before he died
on the cross? What did he do? Even while we were
in sin, he died for us so that we can be brought
into fellowship with God. So you're the one that
is turning the gap. You must act the way Christ
will act. Your goal is the reconciliation of
that relationship. Your goal is that that relationship
will work. will be built up because that is the
will and the purpose of God. So when a brother
says against you, we look for brethren to help
us in the course of that reconciliation once
we find difficulty. And then the last part, it
says, verse 17, and if he refuses to hear them,
that is, you have made the first step. He couldn't
succeed. He gathered one or two, and then you
go to the person, two or three. That mission
failed. If he refuses to hear verse 17, what
do you do? Tell it to who? To the church. That
is, the leadership of the church should now be
involved in trying to reconcile. But if he refuses
to even hear the church, let him be to you like
a heathen and a tax collector. This is where
some of us are looking. We are looking for an
escape. The Bible says, let him be to us like
a heathen or a tax collector. So what do we do?
We treat the person like a sinner, like a trash.
Is that what the Bible is teaching? How did Jesus
treat publicans and sinners? That should tell
us how we should treat somebody that you tried
to reconcile and even in the reconciliation.
Listen, you are not the one that offended this
person in the first place. This person offended
you. Alright? And what did he do to you? You
went to him to reconcile and then he blasted
you. As in the word. You went and carried one
or two brothers or even three because you won
a good number. You went to him and the person
he... He refused to listen to you. You came to
the pastors and said, Pastor, see, this is what
I've done. I've done A, B, and C. And this person
is not responding. The Bible says what? Treat
him like a heathen, a home believer, a tax collector.
Telling it to the church refers to leadership.
And how should we treat the person? As a tax
collector, as a sinner, Let's see how Jesus treats
Republicans and sinners. I think we'll do this
and then we'll stop here. We'll continue next
time. How do you treat a brother? Remember? It's
a brother that you're going to treat like a sinner.
Amen? We're not saying the brother is a sinner.
Sinner in this context is someone that is an
unbeliever. He is a brother, but you have to
treat like the way we treat sinners, unbelievers.
Now, how did Jesus treat sinners? Matthew 5,
verse 44. Let's see how Jesus disdained sinners,
how Jesus was disgusted by tax collectors and
sinners. Matthew 5, verse 44. But I say to you,
We read from verse 44 to 48. But I said to you,
love your word. Aha. This one is a difficult
one. Love your word. Love your word. I want us
to read this verse together. Want to go. But
I said to you. Again. But I said to you. But
I said to you. How do you love your enemies?
Bless those who curse you. That is, you pronounce
God's blessings on them. You pray for their ways
to prosper. Now, this completely, completely
destroyed the theology of my enemies fall down
and... Love your enemies. This is Jesus speaking.
Bless those who curse you. Do good to those who
what? Who love you, who hate you. That means
that if you have an opportunity to do good for
them, what do you do? You respond by doing good
to them. Pray for those who what? Who spitefully
use you. They took advantage of you and persecute
you that you may show that you are what? You
are really the sons and the children of your
father. In heaven, what did he do? He makes his
son, right, to shine on all, on those who are
evil and on those who are good. And he sends
his reign on those who are just and those who
are unjust. So in God's love, there's no selection.
God's love is for all men. For he's loved those
who love you, what have you. Do not even the
tax collectors do the same? Who are the tax collectors?
They are the people that are called sinners.
And if you greet your brethren only, won't some
of you even your brethren until you don't greet
them? Because you have an issue, you don't greet
them. When you see them, you change roads because
you have offense. Let me tell you, you are living
in disobedience to God's word. And I'm telling
you this, we're going to look at it subsequently.
God will hold you accountable for that offense.
Do you know how another God will hold you accountable
for that offense? If you go to Matthew, let's
look at this briefly. Matthew 18, verse 32. Matthew
18, verse 32. 32. The last verse in that parable,
is it 32, sir? Cat 5. So my heavenly father,
right, will also do to you, to you, if each of
you from his heart does not forgive his brother
his trespass, which means our God will hold you
accountable for unforgiveness. Are we together?
We're going to study this and understand it based
on the context. So, we'll stop here. I will continue
from seeing how we ought to treat a stubborn
brother or a stubborn sister. A brother that
have refused to reconcile with us even when we
make the steps to reconcile. And God will help
us to live with them in accordance to his will
and his purpose. That they might know the love
of God and respond to the love of God for his
glory and for his honor. This is what I want
to matter and pray and ask God to help us. We
appreciate you being here today. We hope you
carry this word with you throughout your week.
Don't forget to check the show notes for additional
insights. Stay connected with us through our
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you care about. Until next time, stay blessed.