Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Hi, Jarvis. I'm the lead pastor here at Village church East. It's my privilege to welcome you in house and online, and we're going to be talking about continuing our study through second corinthians. But before that, I want to give you a little update. We have a congregational meeting in two weeks. You will definitely want to be here for that. If you're online, you're watching, you're definitely going to be here. We'll try and taper the service down a little bit so we have a little more time at the end. Want to give you a building update.
[00:00:30] You know, we took a field trip, road trip a couple of weeks ago to go see a potential site for us to have 24/7 presence in the Carrollstream community. Right now. We set up, we tear down here at Carroll Stream, Fountainview Athletic center, but we eventually would like to have and been praying for a way that we can have an influence in the community on a regular basis. A place where we can operate a base of operations from where we can influence this community better and more consistently with the gospel of Jesus Christ. And so I just wanted to let you know that this week the elders got together and decided that we would send a letter of intent, which we sent over with. Basically, there's no obligation, it's just an offer for that location. And we want to keep you up to speed with this on a regular basis so that, you know, everything that we know at that meeting that we have in two weeks, we should hear back by then. We'll hear basically what their counteroffer is and we'll be able to give you a little bit more information. The goal in all of this is not to go in debt. Amen. Amen. That's right. So we are going to move slowly and intentionally forward with what these plans are, with the idea that God is paving the way and we're following his lead. So keep praying for us. I know you have been, you've been asking about, is there anything that has happened since then? I wanted to give you that update, and over these next two weeks, if you would join us specifically in prayer for this, that would be really good. We have found out a lot of things since we visited there last time, which include renovation costs and all of those things. And this is looking like a very reasonable opportunity for us to move forward, which is why we're doing that. So pray for us, all right, and pray with us, and we will keep you up to speed. Let me just say also thank you to all of you who have been praying for us and who have been financially behind this endeavor that we have had for so many years, even our friends at Bridgeway, our family at Bridgeway who are watching online today, they, too, have really jumped into this. And as a part of our family, even though they may not ever get to see the building in person, they want to back this with us and support our ministry. So I wanted you to know that as a church, and just let you know, this seems to be unifying thing for us as a church body, and we're praying that that would continue. All right, I want to give you, before I jump into the message, I want to give you an illustration that everybody should identify with, because we live in the wonderful district of Illinois. All right, here we go. Close to Chicago, actually, this was, to be fair, this happened to me just outside of Illinois, but it's in this general area where it happened. I was driving just south of Milwaukee, and I got into a rainstorm. Again, not unusual, but it was in the fall. It was like the cold rain that was coming down. And the trucks are really, really.
[00:03:41] They're really careful with the other cars around them when they drive on the highway. And they're really careful. They drive with making sure that they don't bother any other cars around them. They don't. And I got behind one of those trucks, this truck, somebody had loaded it, and it had, or it had driven so long that it was just a mess. And the back of it, this transport trailer, it had a tarp over that. It was flapping like crazy in the wind. And so I'm traveling along, and I ended. This guy passed me because it was hard to see. It was one of those rainstorms that you couldn't even basically see through. And he passed me, and I literally, at that point, I could not see. And then I did notice this tarp that was flying around in the back, and things were flying off of his trailer. So immediately I thought to myself, yeah, I need to slow down so that this person can pass me. And I would be really careful, because when things are flying off a transport trailer, of course you're going to think what's going to happen.
[00:04:44] You're going to get dinged by one of those things. And sure as shooting, as I was slowing down, all of a sudden, bang, right, my windshield.
[00:04:52] And I thought to myself, which we all think to ourselves at the time, maybe it's not that bad. Maybe the slope of my windshield is such that it would just, like, ricochet off and maybe nothing happened. It's cold. It's rainy, it's wet. But I thought, at least I got to pull off. I got to see what happens. So I get to the next exit, and I pull into a gas station, and I look and Shershoot, and there is a little tiny chip in my windshield.
[00:05:19] So I thought, okay, well, maybe that's not that bad. And so I drove the rest of the way home, and I parked the car, and I thought to myself, I'll take care of it because it's really small, so I'll take care of it when I get to it. And I went into the house, and I went to bed, and then I woke up in the morning and found out that it had frozen overnight. And I looked at the windshield, and it seemed to me that it was a little bigger than it was the day before. But I thought, well, maybe that's just my imagination. Surely it's not that bad. So I had a full day. I didn't necessarily want to get this dealt with today. It's not on my calendar. So I drove around, did my stuff, and I thought to myself, I'll get to it when I get to it. Parked the car, went to bed overnight, and it was colder that night. And when I woke up in the morning, what happens to a chipped windshield when you don't take care of it?
[00:06:10] That's right.
[00:06:12] Crack all the way across the windshield.
[00:06:17] So then I had to clear my calendar, and I had to go get this whole thing fixed. And I thought to myself the whole time, I was thinking, maybe they'll just put a little glue in there. Maybe it'll solve the thing. But I waited too long. The winter froze up, and the crack went all the way across the windshield.
[00:06:37] This message is called the principle of the chipped windshield. Have you ever noticed how many times in life that actually occurs to things that you have to deal with?
[00:06:49] It's not that bad. It's not as bad as I think that it is. It's not as bad as other people make it out to be. And all of a sudden, you let it sit and fester, and then all of a sudden, it becomes something that is bigger than it was. And you find out, I should have dealt with it a long time ago.
[00:07:06] One decision to wait to handle something, and suddenly it becomes much and much bigger and seeming seemingly, this happens overnight.
[00:07:17] In two corinthians, the actions of a few had caused a chip in the windshield, but because they weren't dealing with it, because they let it fester, because they didn't think it was such a big deal. Over time, those bad actors, those actions of sin in the church, had ended up becoming a crack that went across the entire congregation. And Paul the apostle writes to them, one corinthians. You know, he sent four letters. We've already talked about this. First Corinthians is actually his second letter. Then there's a letter after that called the severe letter, which we do not have. Then second Corinthians is actually the third letter or the fourth letter. So there's one and then two and then three and then four. And he writes all three of those first letters, begging them to deal with the situation that was in the church, and they didn't want to, or they didn't know how to. And over time, that windshield, that crack, that chip, ended up becoming a major crack in the church. Paul was discouraged. He knew this could happen.
[00:08:26] He knew the principle of the chipped windshield, and he knew if they let it go long enough, it could destroy the church.
[00:08:33] So he writes this last letter, this letter before second Corinthians, where we're reading now, which is what we think is his last letter, because we don't have anything after that.
[00:08:44] But in this letter, the second Corinthians letter, he finds out that they actually had dealt with the issue. He had gone there, and Chloe had come to him, and a friend of his, and in one Corinthians, we have this story. She came with a bad report. He was sad. There's a chip in the windshield. One Corinthians talks about all the different things they should be handling, and there's all kinds of stuff in there that are sin and just a breakdown of the system.
[00:09:10] So then he writes the severe letter, and he says, like, first Corinthians is. Yeah, first Corinthians is talking about the letter that he wrote before that. And then the severe letter that we don't have is like, why haven't you fixed anything yet?
[00:09:24] And then he keeps getting these bad reports. Timothy comes to him and says, yeah, they haven't done anything yet. So this severe letter, he's thinking to himself, why haven't they done anything yet? And then finally Titus comes to him and says, paul, relax.
[00:09:40] They've dealt with the windshield issue. They've dealt with the chip.
[00:09:45] So now Paul is facing what to do next.
[00:09:50] This is an interesting message. Like, if you understand the background of what's happening here, these verses will leap off the page at you. But if you don't, you could easily read over these verses that we're going to go over this morning and not get a whole lot out of them. But knowing the background that you know now of this Paul the apostle's heart, who served in Corinth for 18 months as their pastor and now has written to them three letters begging them to fix this ship in the windshield before it becomes a crack. And then all of a sudden, it did become a crack.
[00:10:26] And now this same Paul gets a good report from Titus, and he writes them two Corinthians. And in two Corinthians, we come to chapter two, where he addresses the chip that became a crack and what he and they should do next.
[00:10:47] This is an interesting message.
[00:10:50] Second Corinthians. We're starting in verse five of chapter two.
[00:10:54] Paul says, now, if anyone has caused pain, he has caused it not to me, but in some measure, to not put it too severely to all of you.
[00:11:05] What he's saying is, all that stuff that I addressed in the last three letters were sins, were gossip, were attacks against me, were people that were trying to take away my authority as your leader. These people have come against me, but I want you to know, when they came against me like this, they created division in the church. The pain that they caused me bled over onto the entire church.
[00:11:33] And as a gracious leader, Paul acknowledges this pain, not the only pain that he felt. It's not like he goes, you guys have been so mean to me. Instead, he says, I want you to know that these bad actors, these few bad actors in the church have not only caused me pain, but I want you to know I understand they have caused you pain as well.
[00:11:56] Again, the series that we're going through is church hurts, because some of the worst hurts you can deal with are those that you are most vulnerable with.
[00:12:05] So daddy hurts, church hurts, sex hurts. Those are the top three, the three that you lay yourself most bare, most vulnerable, most, I don't know, most transparent.
[00:12:20] And then when you're hurt by those three entities, it leaves deep scars.
[00:12:26] Someone has to step in and address the hurt that is caused. So Paul not only deals with the sin, which he does in the first three letters, but now he deals with the hurt that the sin caused.
[00:12:39] So I have four things about authority that I want to tell you this morning. The first one is, authority must be carried out by those assigned by Goddesse.
[00:12:48] Paul is given this opportunity to lead, and he uses this opportunity so that he can lead them toward a healing moment, not to leave them in the hurt, but to help them heal. They did the right thing to address the sin. They did the job that was assigned to them. Listen to this. This is in one corinthians 512. This is the letter addressing some of the sins. This is one of the verses, is it not? Those inside the church whom you are to judge. God judges those outside. Purge the evil person from among you. There was somebody in there that was gossiping, that was challenging Paul's authority, that was even spreading a different gospel in doing so. And Paul said, listen, you have got to deal with that chip or it's going to become a huge crack and it's going to hurt a lot of people. The problem was the people in Corinth.
[00:13:43] They didn't want to do the responsibility of fixing the chip. They hoped that it would go away on its own.
[00:13:51] There were some in the church that wanted to deal with the chip because the leaders weren't doing it. They wanted to get in on the scoop. They wanted to have a part of something that didn't involve them at all.
[00:14:05] And so, because the leaders didn't lead in fixing this thing, Paul realizes that the church now has gone through an upheaval.
[00:14:14] These folks are the kind of folks that like to be in the know. They like to. They like to be in the back room. Like they. They like to be the last one at the table. What do you call that? Now? There's a certain saying. The last one at the table, last one in the room. I forget what it is.
[00:14:29] Yeah, no, no, that's not it. They like to be in the know. There's a group of people that always like to be. Oh, yeah, yeah, I know everything that's going on. I could tell you all the details. The problem was that the leadership was really timid to fix this chip in the windshield. And so people began to talk and to think of different ways that they should fix it themselves and creating chips that weren't even there.
[00:14:53] This led to chaos in the church and Paul to write the severe letter. But then the leadership finally did step up.
[00:15:01] The authority of the leaders finally came upon them. They listened to what Paul was saying, and then they shepherded like they should. This was their assignment. Leaders know that authority has to be carried out by those who God has put into that place of authority.
[00:15:17] God is very strict when it comes to those. He calls to shepherd his people.
[00:15:21] In one, Peter five, two, we read this. Shepherd, the flock of God that is among you. This is to Peter, who we know is a disciple of Jesus Christ, who planted churches, was a pastor at churches, and he receives this letter, and it says, shepherd, the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion. But willingly, as God would have you, not for shameful gain, but eagerly. Not domineering over those in your charge, but being an example to the flock. And when the chief shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.
[00:15:59] Peter is writing this letter and he's saying, this is all you elders out there, all you leaders in the church. This is the kind of heart you need to have for your congregation because you have been given this authority by God. It's yours. You have to follow through, even when it's hard, even when it's difficult, even when it might hurt people. You need to do it as Jesus would do it himself. You are an under shepherd of the great shepherd.
[00:16:23] Bottom line, if you decide to attack church leadership or make demands on their authority, there will be consequences for that because that authority has been designated by God to handle the chips when they come up. What if you're in a church where you simply cannot stand the leadership or you don't agree with the leadership and what they're doing? Well, you have three choices, actually. Number one, you can go to the leaders and let them know what you're thinking. That's always a possibility.
[00:16:53] The church leadership should be willing to hear you and humbly receive what you have to say. They may not always agree with you, but they need to hear what you have to say. Because we're a family. A church is a family. However, if it's an accusation against one of the leaderships, those in leadership, then you go to one Timothy 519, which says you need two or three witnesses to make an accusation against the elder. If it's something even more deep than just an issue in the church that you don't agree with.
[00:17:25] But if the elders still don't go your way, you have two choices remaining.
[00:17:30] One, you can bend and submit and adjust and continue to serve in love. In other words, you can give up what you think is going on and let the leaders do what they're called to do. Or two, you can leave.
[00:17:43] You could always leave. There's other churches around you can leave. And the idea is, if it's something that important, then you need to be. You need to be willing to let God handle it and let him deal with whatever he needs to do. God loves the church far more than you do and far more than any of the leadership does as well. He will deal with his church.
[00:18:05] However, in the world in which we live, these options are not followed very much. In fact, some people have made it even a business to go around seeking issues that they can reveal in churches, they don't even attend Facebook.
[00:18:28] This wonderful redeeming website of Facebook and social media gives us the opportunity to judge everybody else. And so biblically, this is where we stand. However, in our world today, it seems more and more the regular thing today for people inside and outside of the churches to want to get the scoop of what churches are doing and how they're dealing with chips and accuse them.
[00:19:03] I am always very, and it seems so normal. It doesn't like it doesn't even rock our world anymore.
[00:19:10] But this is what I would say. If you are a Bible believing church, where do you find that in scripture?
[00:19:17] It's nowhere.
[00:19:19] Our responsibility is to make sure that the leadership do the jobs that they're required to do. And if we don't agree with it, we have three options. Go and talk with them.
[00:19:29] If they don't listen and nothing is done, bend and submit and serve in love, or three, leave. Those are the three options that we have and let God deal with the situation.
[00:19:41] This is an ancient design of the devil. It's nothing new in this information addicted world, the society in which we live. The scoop is what attracts people.
[00:19:51] Everybody wants the inside scoop.
[00:19:56] Unfortunately, if you do that, the cracks will spread and it will do more damage than just to the church that you've become.
[00:20:03] You've turned from love to dislike or even love to hate, and those cracks will spread.
[00:20:10] Paul knows this. So in verse five, he says this. Now, if anyone has caused pain, he has caused it not to me, but in some measure, not to put it too severely to all of you.
[00:20:22] This pain word is interesting to me because the pain was aimed at Paul, but it ended up hurting the entire church.
[00:20:31] It completely bled right into the entire church.
[00:20:35] Titus must have reported back to Paul that they did discipline. And so Paul writes the next verse. For such a one, punishment by the majority is what church?
[00:20:47] Enough.
[00:20:48] Don't you love that? Paul is the one that was attacked. Paul is the one saying, okay, listen, they've attacked my character. They're calling me a thief. They're saying all the money that I'm gathering, I'm pocketing.
[00:20:59] They didn't have receipts back then. So he was taking money and he was giving it to other churches in need. They were accusing him of all of this derelict behavior.
[00:21:10] And Paul is saying, listen, whatever they said to me, I want you to know it has hurt you too.
[00:21:15] I understand that. But there's a time to put that hurt to an end. Punishment by the majority is enough.
[00:21:25] Which brings me to my second point. Authority is assigned to whom God gives it.
[00:21:31] We live in a culture that regularly questions authority. It's a regular thing.
[00:21:37] People think to themselves, what gives you the right to tell me how to live? Or they're not doing things that I would do. And so who are they to judge? Or leaders in the church are not qualified to make decisions for me. Not only do the leaders in the church or authority over us have the right to do it, they have the responsibility to do it. God has built this world on authority structures, all kinds of different ones. I just threw a few verses up here. We're going to read through them real quick so that you can see that God loves authority structures. There's a reason for it. Followers of Jesus. I put this one first. John 336. Whoever believes in the Son as eternal life, whoever does not obey, obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains in him. So who is the authority of those who follow Jesus Christ? Church Jesus is right. We have to obey the Son. He makes no qualms about that. He says, listen, if you're a follower of mine, you should be obeying me.
[00:22:38] Government. Romans three one. Let every person be subject to the governing authorities, for there's no authority except from God, and those that existed have been instituted by God. Therefore, whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. So, church, apparently we're supposed to obey who in this verse?
[00:23:03] The government, because the government has been set up by God. That's the authority structure. Pay your taxes, obey the law. That's the government. How about Colossians 320? Children, obey your parents and everything, for this pleases the Lord, who is to submit in this one to authority structures.
[00:23:22] Children. We love this one, don't we? Especially if we have kids. Yeah, don't quote Romans 13 at tax time, but you can quote this when your kids are bad. How about this one? Ephesians 525, husbands, love your wives as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her church, who is supposed to sacrifice so that they can lift up the other person in the household. Husbands, love your wives as Christ loved the church. One. Peter, three one. Wives, be subject to your own husbands so that even if some do not obey the word of God, they may be won without a word by the conduct of their wives when they see your respectful and pure conduct.
[00:24:07] Okay, wives, you love this one, don't you? So who is to submit in this one to somebody else?
[00:24:14] There's a structure even in the home. How about this one? Ephesians six, five. Bond servants. Obey your earthly masters with fear and trembling, with a sincere heart, as you would Christ, who is to submit to authority structure in this one. Bondservants. We call those workers these days. We call those people that work to get a paycheck. Obey your boss. And if you think you're getting off really hard on this one, Ephesians six nine says this, masters bosses do the same to them. And stop threatening, knowing that he who is both their master and yours is in heaven and there's no partiality with him. So who is under an authority structure? Not just the employee, but also the employer.
[00:24:59] You've got a boss in heaven. You got to give an account to him someday. And then how about this? Hebrews 1317, obey your leaders and submit to them, for they keep watch over your souls as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you. This is talking about leaders in the church.
[00:25:19] Do you see how God loves authority structures? God develops authority structures. It's not something that he goes away from. And the authority structures are meant to be followed, because if they're not followed and if these people under other authorities start usurping the authority of people that are over them by God, chaos, chips and windshields, cracks, and eventually society itself will crumble. Now, if you doubt that, you have been living under a rock for the last 20 years, because we live in a society that not only challenges authority but despises it, and what's happening to society, it crumbles.
[00:26:05] God assigns authority to those he will for his own reasons. And the roles of those authority structures is to submit to the next person up on the block until you finally get to the top one, and that is the Lord God himself.
[00:26:21] Number three, authority. God's way means leading God's way. If God has given you a role of leadership, you are meant to lead as God would lead that in that role, deal with sin quickly. Keep short accounts with those who are hurt. Don't lord your authority over others. These are all scriptural things. In your role of authority, it's up on the screen. In your role of authority that God gives to you, you're responsible for, for getting the chips addressed before they become an all windshield issue.
[00:26:51] This is what we are called to. This is why we're given these roles of leadership. Ephesians 426 says this, be angry and do not. What church?
[00:27:01] Can you be angry? Yes or no? Yes. Yes. Can you be angry and sin?
[00:27:07] Do you know when you get angry in sin.
[00:27:10] Like have you had that experience?
[00:27:12] Yes. Do you know when you get angry and do not sin, it is easy to tell the difference. Ephesians four says this be angry and do not sin. Do not let the sun go down on your anger and give no opportunity to the devil. I love that passage because of the word opportunity. If you hang on to your anger or if you deal with it in sin, if it turns into resentment or bitterness or worse, wrath that lashes out, you will give the devil an opportunity to do something awful with your justified anger. Does God get angry, yes or no? Yes, he does. There's nothing wrong with being angry. Does God sin, yes or no?
[00:27:55] Be like God.
[00:27:58] Nine times out of ten, humility allows the conflict to be resolved in the first step. James 119 know this, my beloved brothers. Let every person be quick to. This is an awesome verse that you should memorize. Quick to what's the first one hear, slow to what? Speak and slow to. It only works in that formula. You need to be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger. If you're quick to speak, you will be quick to anger, and you will be slow to listen. If you're quick to anger, you will be quick to speak, and you will be slow to listen. But it only works this way correctly. Listen lots.
[00:28:42] Speak less anger, not so much. Isn't that great?
[00:28:51] For the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God. This is not rocket science. You can tell you are not quick to listen when your first response is to speak. Let me say that again because it's almost to third grade. I'll say it one more time. You know you are not quick to listen when your first reaction is to be quick to speak. Be quick to listen. How many ears do you have?
[00:29:16] How many mouths do you have? How many times should you listen? More than you speak? At least twice as much and maybe even more. All right. Be quick to speak. Always point you to the destination of division. But being quick to listen with a humble heart will always point you to the destination of unity.
[00:29:38] Life in Christ is about offering a safe space for people to speak, and they may not always say stuff you want to hear. Welcome to humanity.
[00:29:46] Listen.
[00:29:49] Listen.
[00:29:50] In fact, James 516 says this. Sometimes you're not going to hear what you want to hear. James 516 says, confess your sins to one another and you will be healed. What kind of a safe space is that?
[00:30:04] It's meant to be done before the sun goes down, and we are meant to strengthen this muscle in us as children of God. Humbling ourselves before others so that we can deal with these chips before they become huge cracks. This is why, by the way, the elders are held more accountable in the congregation than the people are.
[00:30:23] Hebrews 1317, obey your leaders. Submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls as those who will give an account. So, leaders in churches, this really applies to us.
[00:30:35] Back to the verse, verse seven, two corinthians two seven. So you should rather turn to forgive and comfort him, or he may be overwhelmed with excessive sorrow. Now, this is a great verse. Paul is saying, I was the one that was hurt. You got, like the residue. You've been hurt. But now I want to tell you, you need to turn and forgive this person because it's been dealt with. The leadership has forgiven them, and you need to forgive them too, because if you don't, they will be overwhelmed. With what church?
[00:31:07] Excessive sorrow number four, authority. God's way means forgiving God's way. We are to forgive as God forgives. Does God forgive everybody?
[00:31:17] No, he does not.
[00:31:22] And yes, he does.
[00:31:26] Right?
[00:31:28] He offers forgiveness to everybody, but not everybody repents. Therefore, not everybody recognizes they have been an offense against God. They don't want his forgiveness, and it is not given to them. We are to forgive one another as God forgives us. Forgiveness is offered readily and freely to whoever asks it. Why would somebody ask for forgiveness?
[00:31:50] Well, they recognize they've hurt you, right? That's the only reason to ask somebody to forgive you or to forgive them. I have done this. I ask you for forgiveness. Forgiveness requires a recognition of fault committed by that person. The application of forgiveness can only happen when one person acknowledges their debt through their repentant heart. God offers forgiveness to all, and so should we.
[00:32:16] God applies forgiveness to only those who repent.
[00:32:22] Ephesians 432. Here it is in the verse. Be kind to one another, tender hearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you. But see, the temptation in withholding forgiveness is, we love excessive sorrow.
[00:32:39] Walk with me.
[00:32:41] If somebody comes to me and says, you know I hurt you, I know it was a really bad one, I need to ask you to forgive me.
[00:32:48] A little part of us says, maybe, but I want a little bit more blood.
[00:32:55] I need you to bleed just a little more. Or if somebody has hurt you, but they don't know they've hurt you, but you've been hurt. Silent treatment until they figure it out.
[00:33:08] Because you want them to bleed. You want them to have sorrow, excessive sorrow, just a little bit more. This is completely opposite for followers of Jesus Christ. We should, like God, be willing to freely overflow with forgiveness the minute somebody asks us and they repent.
[00:33:32] That's the way God offers forgiveness. And we should do this. Listen the same as he does. Here's a chart right here. Look what sin does. Sin does. It divides. It accuses. It causes people to hide in corners, sometimes with other people, and it spreads. Do you know what unforgiveness does?
[00:33:51] The exact same thing.
[00:33:55] Well, Craig, I don't think that I need to forgive because you have no idea how much I've been hurt. Well, that's your option. But you need to know you're doing the exact same thing as sinning.
[00:34:09] It divides. It accuses, it causes people to hide in corners, and it spreads like a crack in a windshield.
[00:34:18] An unwillingness to forgive can end up being worse than the sin it seeks to address.
[00:34:23] And why do we do it, church? Why do we do it? Because we just want a little bit more blood.
[00:34:32] Do you know what forgiveness does? Forgiveness does the opposite. Forgiveness is the gospel released.
[00:34:39] Forgiveness unleashes, and it replaces sorrow with joy.
[00:34:48] Think about it. You've all offended people. Well, actually, maybe you haven't, but I have. I have definitely offended one person in my lifetime. When I go back to that person and I say, all right, I am a bonehead, I realize what I did. I'm so sorry. Like, I'm married. So this is like a regular thing for me. So I understand what I've done. I'm sorry, and I'm asking you to forgive me. When I hear the words back, you're forgiven. Let's go do something together.
[00:35:19] It just, it releases my sorrow, my burden.
[00:35:25] It's a gift because it allows me to quickly come back to normal with that other person. It is a gift because it replaces deep excessive sorrow with gospel flowing joy.
[00:35:40] And this is not our option, church. This is what we are called to do because we live out the gospel. When somebody asks us for forgiveness, we offer it freely and we replace their sorrow with joy.
[00:35:55] Prodigals listens. Prodigals sometimes return.
[00:36:00] The worst thing you can do is to take somebody's flaws and share them with other people. Because, church, sometimes prodigals return.
[00:36:11] Keep the circle small.
[00:36:13] Don't share that stuff with people who have no purpose, no right in knowing those things. Keep the circle small.
[00:36:21] And remember, sometimes prodigals return. And the, the more people that know about it, the more you spread that excessive sorrow, the more you put on facebook, the more you rub their face in it, the more you revel in how difficult you can make their life. You push them farther away. And a trip home for a prodigal needs to be the shortest distance possible.
[00:36:44] Don't make it too long for them.
[00:36:46] This is why he goes on to say in verse eight, so I beg you to reaffirm your love.
[00:36:53] Do you find it weird that Paul would say, I beg you? Like, he doesn't say this, this is like a weird thing. But instead Paul says, listen, I'm begging you. Forgive them, welcome them back. Reaffirm that you love them, take the sorrow out of it and give them joy. Repentant hearts deserve restoration and they deserve to be welcomed back into the fold.
[00:37:21] All right, now listen, if the sin is so great, if it's like a crazy, you might need barriers, you might need personal barriers. If somebody, you know, if they've. I've actually gone through this where somebody that I was witnessing to, they accepted Christ as their savior. They were in jail because they had committed pedophilia, they had abused these little kids. And then they say, well, Craig, I want to come to church. And, and I said, okay, you can come, but we gotta have barriers. And so they had somebody walk around with them when they were in our building and I had to deal with the judicial system and all of that. Listen, welcoming back doesn't mean like, being stupid. It means welcoming back in love, removing the excessive sorrow and replacing it with a gospel filled joy.
[00:38:08] Verse ten. Anyone you forgive, I also will forgive.
[00:38:14] Paul knew what it meant to be forgiven.
[00:38:17] Paul had killed people in the church. Remember this guy? His name was Saul. Then you remember?
[00:38:24] And Paul was welcomed into the church by a guy, his name was Ananias. And he took him by the hand and he walked him into church and he introduced him to people who were scared to death of the apostle Paul.
[00:38:35] He knew what it was to be forgiven. I can't imagine how difficult it was for Paul to walk into these churches he once persecuted and now instructing them by saying, anyone you forgive, I forgive because I've been through it. Forgiveness is a release indeed. He goes on to say, what I have forgiven, if I've forgiven anything, has been for your sake. In the presence of Christ. A door opens when we forgive, and a door opens when we don't. Forgive.
[00:39:08] When we forgive, it opens the gospel when we don't. It not only hurts the other person, but it hurts us as well. I will prove it by speaking the Lord's prayer to you. You ready for this?
[00:39:20] Ready for this? Let's see. How does it go?
[00:39:24] Oh, yes, yes, you're already there. Yeah. It goes on to say after, you know, give us this day our daily bread, forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. What is the next phrase?
[00:39:39] And lead us not into temptation. Do you think Jesus intended for that to fit right there?
[00:39:47] Because when we don't forgive as God forgives, it becomes a problem for us.
[00:39:53] The temptation for us is to get a little more blood while the gospel screams release and forgive. Forgiveness.
[00:40:00] Forgiveness conquers the power of Satan.
[00:40:03] But unforgiveness opens the box to Satan's power in our lives.
[00:40:09] In fact, have you noticed when we are unwilling to forgive, how we love it when our enemies become others enemies?
[00:40:18] You know, I hate this person. Wouldn't you like to hate this person too? And if we're really friends, we can hate the same people. You ever notice that it is a strategy of Satan to create division? Division, division.
[00:40:36] Paul was more offended than the church. The accusations were against him. But Paul was saying, listen, we have to release the gospel forces. If God forgives and I forgive, then you must also forgive. And verse eleven says this, I love this verse. So that we would not be, what is the next word, church?
[00:40:56] So that we would not be outwitted by Satan. For we are not ignorant of his designs. Listen, Satan is a lot smarter than you are and he's a lot smarter than I am, but he always uses the same playbook and we always fall into it. If he can get you to hate somebody and he can get all your friends to hate that same person, division, division, division. We are not ignorant of his designs. He's a schemer. And he will even use your perceived rights to get you to do his will.
[00:41:31] Satan always outwits us by appealing to our heart first. You deserve reparations. You deserve to be treated right. You've been hurt. Make them bleed.
[00:41:43] Why offer humble forgiveness when you can still get a little more blood?
[00:41:49] This is the opposite of God.
[00:41:51] When you ask God for forgiveness, what does God do for you?
[00:41:56] Church? When you ask God for forgiveness, what does God do for you? If we confess our sins, he is what is it? Faithful. And he is just and he will what, forgive us our sins. There is no qualifier. In fact, you have offended and I have offended God so much a penalty had to be paid. Blood was required, but not yours and not mine.
[00:42:24] Blood was required and he paid that too.
[00:42:30] This is the gospel, the release of forgiveness when somebody needs it and it replaces their sorrow with joy.
[00:42:40] We are not ignorant of Satan's design. Ignorant of Satan's designs. So why do we keep falling for it?
[00:42:48] Because we love what our hearts tell us to love.
[00:42:52] And we deserve justice even though we, like, grace ourselves.
[00:42:59] So what?
[00:43:00] Number one, correction is not a right church. It is a responsibility.
[00:43:05] When I talk to people about parenting, I always say, blame God for everything.
[00:43:11] When my kids would disobey, I would say to them, okay, now you've punched your sister in the face. What is my responsibility to you now under God? You have to discipline me. Yes, I do. That's right. And why do I have to discipline you? Because goddess told you to. Yes, I do. All right, so I discipline them. All right, so then I come up and after the discipline, come upstairs and say, okay, now, what's your responsibility to God? I have to ask them for forgiveness. Yes, you do. Now go do it. Blame God for everything.
[00:43:48] What you're really saying is, don't you understand what will happen to me if I disobey God in this role?
[00:43:57] Correction is not a right. It is a responsibility. Hebrews 1317. I give you the verse one more time. Obey your leaders. Submit to them, for they are keeping over. Keeping watch over your souls. As those who will have to give an account, I and the elders of this church will be called to give an account for how we led this church. Not you, the elders of the church.
[00:44:20] So let them do this with, what's the next word there, church?
[00:44:24] Let them do this with what joy. And not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you. Now, let me make this clear. There's no issue in this church that I am addressing right now. It's just that this is what we have to talk about because it's next in the passage of scripture.
[00:44:43] But I just want to tell you I am grateful that I get to serve in this church.
[00:44:47] And I am grateful for the health of this church. And even though we have hiccups along the way and issues that we have to deal with, I want to make sure that we do them as God requires of us because I don't want any chips to turn into a huge crack.
[00:45:03] We don't have an option not to deal with sin, and neither do you. But the application is challenging. It can go in different ways, but situations must be addressed.
[00:45:12] Number two, make repentance a joy and not a sorrow. Can I just finish with this? Repentance is the norm for the christian life. Like this is normal.
[00:45:25] When you come to Jesus Christ, it's literally the first thing you do.
[00:45:29] I apologize for the way that I have offended a holy God, it should be normal for us. Repentance stops the chips in their tracks. I take you back to James five. Therefore, confess your sins to one another. Pray for one another that you may be healed. The power of a righteous person has great power, and it's working repentance on a regular basis. When we go to one another and say, I'm sorry, I was a bonehead, I didn't know what I was doing, or I did know what I was doing, and I'm even more of a bonehead, I'm really sorry. It should be a normal thing for us. Confess your sins to one another. Normal. You confess your sins to God all the time. Probably going to tick off each other once in a while, too. Make repentance a normal thing. But you know what comes after this verse in James 510 or 19, my brothers, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone brings him back, look at this.
[00:46:21] Let him know that whoever brings a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins. You know what that is? That's forgiveness.
[00:46:34] Confess is repent. But this is. Listen, if you've been wronged, you need to release unforgiveness so that you may save the soul from overwhelming, excessive sorrow. Even to the point where they would abandon the faith, your forgiveness might pull them back and heal their soul.
[00:46:55] Forgiveness allows sin to be stopped in its tracks and the gospel to be applied like it should.
[00:47:04] We know forgiveness is at the core of the gospel and church after today. You are not ignorant of the devil's designs.
[00:47:13] James four six.
[00:47:15] He gives more grace. Therefore, it says, God opposes the proud, gives grace to the humble. Submit yourselves, therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. We unlock the power of the gospel fastest when we are open and ready to forgive.
[00:47:33] Listen, your passion might be to be always right.
[00:47:37] I know mine is. And most of the time, I am always right.
[00:47:42] Just ask my wife.
[00:47:48] We know that we are not always right. Right?
[00:47:51] But it's really hard to be humble, isn't it? I wasn't right in this.
[00:47:56] I need to confess this. I need to ask for your forgiveness. And then church, we need to jump in there and we need to be like, safe light repairs, safe light replaces.
[00:48:09] We need to apply that salve to the crack, to the chip. We need to, we learn to be safe light employees at the drop of a hat. So we can stop Satan in his tracks and we can scream the gospel message to this world that desperately needs to be forgiven and understand the joy that comes when excessive sorrow is released with Gospel joy. Let's pray. Father, I'm grateful for our time together. I'm grateful for this message. It's a hard one to do because every one of us suffers under the silly belief that we're always right, but we're not. And we know that we're not. And all we need to do is look at our relationship with you to understand that we're not.
[00:49:04] We offend you on a regular basis, and you are always willing to forgive. Lord, may we forgive one another as you forgive us.
[00:49:12] May you raise up a church in 2024 across this globe that stands in the face of the darkness and offers forgiveness, restoration, release of sin, replace with love and in humility to treat one another better than ourselves.
[00:49:36] It goes against every grain in us to do this, so we need help.
[00:49:41] May you teach us how to live out the gospel on a regular basis so that we can be better lights, better reflections of your light in this dark world.
[00:49:55] And no matter how deep the holes people have fallen in. Father, may we at village church east be a place where we offer forgiveness.
[00:50:04] No matter how deep, how hurtful, or how painful the situation we're in.
[00:50:12] May we preach the gospel in the way that we treat others.
[00:50:17] I pray in Jesus name.
