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The Family Affair · Near East Christian Fellowship Sermons

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Welcome to NECF sermons. Each message here is
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designed to uplift and strengthen you in your
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walk with God. Don't miss out. Stay with us until
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the end for a rewarding experience. Let's dive
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right in. So let's go back to the text that we
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have the Bible reading. In case you want to write
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a topic. I have been, I was struggling to get
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a topic for this. That's right. The family affair.
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Family affair. It's not a TV series. Because
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it's sounding very casual. It's sounding somehow
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not theological. And that's how I want it to
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be. The family affair. Part one. It's not Nollywood.
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Amen. Matthew 18 from verse 18 to 20. Let's go
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to Matthew 18 from verse 18 to 20. Assuredly,
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I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will
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be bound where? Will be bound in heaven. We know
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what heaven is, right? From January to now, we've
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been talking about heaven. Whatever you bound
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on earth, will be bound in heaven, and whatever
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you lose on earth will be loosed in heaven. Again
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I say to you, that if two of you agree on earth
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concerning anything they act, it will be done
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for them, by who? By my Father in heaven, for
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where two or three are gathered together in my
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name. I am there in the midst of them. Hallelujah.
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So one of the general, let me begin from misconception.
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One of the general misconception we have about
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verses 18 to 20 is that the text here is about
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prayers, right? Whatever you bind on earth will
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be bound and then Oftentimes, when we want to
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pray, that is the scripture we go to when we
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want to bind and cast out. So, particularly verse
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18, look at verse 18. It says, I surely I say
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to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound
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in heaven and whatever you lose on earth will
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be lost where? In heaven. And oftentimes, this
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particular verse is used for binding and losing
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what? Demons, right? It's used for binding and
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losing demons of which the context is not about
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casting devils. Hallelujah. It's not about casting
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devils. Now, we're not saying that the believer
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does not have the authority to cast out devils.
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No. What we're saying is that if your inspiration
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for casting devils is from this scripture, then
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you are misappropriating the scripture because
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that is not what the text is about. Of course.
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There are other scriptures that empower the believer
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with the knowledge of casting out devils. And
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this one is not one of it. We misconstrue verse
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19 to 20. Verse 19 to 20. Again, I say to you,
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if two of you agree on earth concerning anything
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that they ask, it will be done for them by my
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Father in heaven. For where two or three are
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gathered together in my name, I am there in their
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midst. So, we misconstrue this text, particularly
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these two verses, to be a prayer of agreement.
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You know, when we come together, let's agree.
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The Bible says that where two or three are gathered
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in my name, I am there in their midst. That is
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true. Alright? It's true. God is always with
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us. And where believers gather, God is in the
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midst of believers. Hallelujah. And then they
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say, whatever you agree, right? If two of you
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shall agree concerning anything, anything here
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has context. Anything is not just anything. Are
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we together? If two of you agree that something
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evil should happen to somebody, then God is not
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involved in that one. So it's not just blanket
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anything. In fact, even in the anything, there's
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a context to the anything that is discussed in
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that particular text. So it is very important
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that we put context into consideration when we
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come to scriptures. So, similar scriptures teaches
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us about prayers and the believer's authority
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over devils. But as I said, Matthew 18, 18 to
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20 is not one of them. So, context of any scriptural
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verse is very important in understanding Bible
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truth. And we will not be tired of it. emphasizing
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this every time we come to teach the Bible. Because
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without proper interpretation of the text, as
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we always say, worship cannot be effective. Hallelujah.
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You cannot worship God with a lie, with an actress.
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Okay? So the Bible must be properly explained.
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The Bible must be properly explained. And that
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is how we actually worship God effectively. Hallelujah.
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So what is the text about? Jesus here was teaching
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about forgiveness and reconciliation. Jesus here,
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the binding and losing is concerning reconciliation,
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forgiveness and reconciliation in the family.
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It is about forgiveness and reconciliation in
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the family and not about prayers or casting out
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devils. Now, verse 15 to 17 gives us context.
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Okay? Verse 15 to 17 gives us context. It says,
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moreover, if your brother, so it means that Jesus
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was speaking about a relationship between who?
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Between brothers, right? Between brothers. If
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your brother sins against you, go and do what?
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And tell him his fault between you and him alone.
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If he hears you, you have what? You have gained
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your brother. But if he will not hear, take with
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you one or two more. By the mouth of two or three
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witnesses, every word may be established. And
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if he refuses to hear them, tell it to the church.
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But if he refuses even to hear the church, let
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him beat you like what? Like a heathen and a
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tax collector. And surely I say to you, whatever
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you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and
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whatever you lose on earth will be loosed in
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heaven. that they ask, it will be done for them
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by my Father in heaven. For where two or three
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are gathered together in my name, I am what?
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I am there in the midst of them. Hallelujah.
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So we can see that Jesus is actually outlining
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the steps that family members, family members
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will take towards what? Forgiveness and reconciliation.
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So the conversation here is concerning forgiveness
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and reconciliation. Don't just put forgiveness
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alone. Forgiveness and reconciliation. Because
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without reconciliation, then I don't think that
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forgiveness is complete. Hallelujah. So how did
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he conclude that it is a family affair? First
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of all, we saw in verse 15, as I said, that it
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is an affair between brothers. It says, if your
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brother sins against you, if he hates you, you
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have been your brother. So if your Bible is yours
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on the land, wherever you see brother, right?
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If your brother sin against you, go and tell
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him his fault and you and him alone, if he hates
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you, you have what? You have... Your brother,
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on the line of the word, gain your brother is
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a brother. Invariably a sister. Okay? So, this
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is a family affair. We can also see in verse
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17. It says, verse 17, that is a church family
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matter. Right? Verse 17. And if he refuses to
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hear them, tell it to who? Tell it to the church.
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Tell it to the church. And believe me, the church
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is not your Facebook status. That's not where
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the church is, okay? It's not your Instagram
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status. Because that's where we know people's
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offense. Must do. That's the world's way of doing
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things. So, it is a church family matter. Tell
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it to the church. But if he refuses to even hear
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the church, so he said, family matter? Is it
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church family matter? Later on in verse 21, we
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see Peter overwhelmed by Jesus' explanation in
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verse 21. Then Peter came to him and said, Lord,
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how? How often should my brother sin against
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me? So Peter knows that he understood what Jesus
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was teaching. Jesus was speaking about what?
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The brotherhood. A family matter. Right? How
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often should my brother, my brother sin against
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who? Against me. Not against God. Okay? Sin against
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you. Sin against me. Sin against... You, an individual,
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a human being, not against God. So it is a family
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matter. It is a family matter. Hallelujah. Now
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I want us to establish this fact again that the
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family that we're talking about here is not necessarily
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a biological family. Okay? It is the family of
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God. It is what Pastor was telling us last week,
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that whenever we gather together in this place,
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the meeting we have here is a supernatural gathering.
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All right? It's a supernatural gathering. We
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are supernatural. We are super humans, but we
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are in the natural. So it is a supernatural gathering
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of believers. It is a supernatural family, not
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necessarily a biological family. But of course,
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biological family members can be your spiritual
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family, can be part of your supernatural family.
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But not every biological family member is your
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supernatural family member. Hallelujah. But your
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biological family can be your supernatural family.
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So, we learn from our previous teaching on the
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kingdom of God that a church is what? Is the
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household of God, which is the family of God.
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Now, this family is also what we've called what?
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The kingdom of God, isn't it? The family of God,
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the household of God is the kingdom of God. Look
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at Jesus' follow -up reply to Peter. In verse
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22. Then Peter came to him and said, Lord, how
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often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive
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him? Up to seven times. We're going to look at
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where Peter was inspired to ask for seven times.
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Jesus said to him, I do not say to you up to
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what? Up to seven times. But up to what? Seventy
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times seven. Then the follow up. to the answer
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is the verse 23 where Jesus began to give the
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parable. He says, therefore the kingdom of heaven,
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which means that the family that God is talking
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about is actually the kingdom of what? The kingdom
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of heaven. Therefore the kingdom of heaven is
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like a certain king. So Jesus was explaining
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a supernatural family. He's explaining the relationship
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within the supernatural family. within the kingdom
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of God, within believers. Hallelujah. So we become
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members of the family of God through our faith
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in Jesus Christ. We are just laying foundation
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before we go into dealing with the matters that
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concerns our lives. We become members of this
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family, the family of God. Through faith in Jesus
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Christ. Through faith in Jesus Christ. So if
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there is a member of your family that has not
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believed in Jesus Christ, then you are not...
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He is not part of your supernatural family. Biologically,
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you are siblings, right? But spiritually, you
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are not brothers. Are we together? That should
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give you... The necessity to preach the gospel
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to your brother, to your sister, to your siblings,
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to your parents. Amen. So we have the right into
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the family of God by faith. John 1, verse 12.
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John 1, verse 12, it says, But as many as received
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him, right? As many that received him, To them,
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he gave the right, he gave the authority to become
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what? To become the children of God. To those
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who believe in his name. Only to those who believe
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in his name that has come into this union of
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God. The union of the family have become part
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of the family of God. 1 John 3, verse 1 and 2.
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1 John 3, verse 1 and 2. 1 John. Behold what
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manner of love the Father has bestowed on us,
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that we should be called the children of God.
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Therefore the world does not know us, because
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it does not know him. Beloved, now, when? Now,
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all right? We are the children of God. Now, we
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are the children of God. And how do we become
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the children of God? By faith in Jesus Christ.
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And it has not yet been revealed what we shall
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be, but we have, we know that when he is revealed,
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we shall be like him, for we shall see him as
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he is. So through Christ, believers receive adoption
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as sons into the family of God. Through Christ,
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through faith in Christ. Through faith in Christ.
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Not just by coming to church and becoming part
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of a social garden, but by putting your faith
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in Christ, you become part of a family. Galatians
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chapter 4 verse 4. Galatians 4, verse 4 to 7.
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It says, But when the fullness of time has come,
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God sent forth his Son, of course, Jesus Christ,
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born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem
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those who were under the law, that we might receive
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adoption as sons. And because you are sons, that
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is those who have believed. God has sent forth
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the spirit of his son into our hearts, crying
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out, Abba, Father. Therefore, you are no longer
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a slave, but a son. And if a son, then an heir
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of God through Christ. You know, there are some
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people who have thought that when you become
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a believer, then you are not a son yet. You are
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a child. Then as you grow, then you now will
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grow into sonship. I mean, it will contradict
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so many biblical texts. Hallelujah. The moment
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you believe, all right? The moment you believe,
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you have the seal of sonship on you, which is
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the spirit of God that has been put in you, the
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believer. Romans 4, verse 14. Romans 4, verse
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14. Romans chapter 4, verse 14. For if those
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who are of the law, Romans 8, 14, sorry. Romans
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8, 14. For as many are led by the Spirit of God,
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these are the sons of God. For you do not receive
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the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you
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receive the spirit of adoption, by whom we cry
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out, Abba, Father. The Spirit himself bears witness
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with our spirit that we are what? That we are
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the children of God. And if children, then heirs,
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heirs of God and join heirs with Christ. If indeed
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we suffer with him, that we also be glorified
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together with him. Hallelujah. So we have, we
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share in the spirit of God. You know, we are
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all sons of God, children of God, because we
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have the spirit of God equally in all of us.
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Now the church and its members, you know, is
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what we call the household of God, right? It's
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what we call the household of God, the family
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of God, the church. So everybody in church here
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is your brother, is your sister. Hallelujah.
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Not by nationality, not by tribe, not by race,
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not by field of study, not by level of degrees,
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not by gender, not by age. All of us have become
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one part of another. There's no Greek, the Bible
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will say, and there's no Jew. There's no difference.
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So when you see somebody from Nigeria, he's your
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brother. He's your sister. Hallelujah. And that
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must be the perception of the believer. That
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must continuously be the mindset of the believer.
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1 Timothy 3, verse 15. 1 Timothy 3, verse 15.
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But if I'm delayed, I write so that you may know
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how you ought to conduct yourself where? In the
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house of God. So there's an expectation of how
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believers will conduct themselves within the
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community of believers, the house of God. Which
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is what? Which is the church. of the living God.
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The house of God is the church of the living
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God, a pillar and a ground of truth. Ephesians
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chapter 2, verse 19. Ephesians chapter 2, verse
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19. Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers
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and foreigners. Talking about you, talking about
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I, we are no longer foreigners. We are no longer
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strangers to ourselves. But what are we? We are
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fellow citizens, okay? We descend and members
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together of what? Of the household of God. We
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are fellow citizens. Doesn't matter the passport
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you are carrying in the natural, whether you
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are from Canada or you are from Nigeria. or you're
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from Liberia, wherever you come from, what do
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we have? We have one citizenship. And what is
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the citizenship we have? A spiritual citizenship.
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A supernatural family. And this family is an
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eternal family. And God is our Father. Galatians
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6, verse 10. Therefore, as we have opportunity,
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let us do what? Let us do good to all. Specifically,
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that especially is specifically what I'm talking
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about, those who are of what? Who are of the
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household of faith. Who are those of the household
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of faith? Our believers, our brothers and sisters
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in Christ. Hallelujah. So we are siblings. We
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are family members. So for you to tell someone
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in church brother, brother is not a cliche. No,
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don't call me brother. My name is Mark. Just
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call me Mark. I'm not a brother. We've attached
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the name brother to a certain form of stigma.
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When they call you a sister, oh, you know, you've
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become holy and righteous. She's a sister. See?
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It's an honor to be called a brother. It's a
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privilege to be called a sister. Whenever you
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call somebody brother or sister, call it with
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eternity in mind. Hallelujah. Call it in the
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context of the knowledge you have concerning
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what God has done. When you give, you know, you
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go out to preach and somebody become born again.
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immediately becomes one again. He's now a brother.
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You call him, you're a brother, you're a brother.
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You're my sister. You're part of my family. You're
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part of my spiritual family. You're part of the
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brotherhood. Hallelujah. So you're my brother,
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you're my sister. We are siblings. And we have
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an elder brother. And it's Jesus. Hallelujah.
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Matthew 12, verse 48. When Jesus was teaching,
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and they came to him, they said, Your brothers
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are looking for you. But he answered and said
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to them, One who told him, Who is my mother and
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who are my brothers? And he stretched out his
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hands towards his disciples and said, Here are
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my mother and my brothers. For whoever does the
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will of my Father in heaven is what? Is my brother
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and my sister and my mother. And what is the
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will of the Father? The will of the Father is
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that every man will believe in Jesus Christ.
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And when you become a believer in Christ, you
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become part of God's family. And Jesus and God
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and the Spirit of God in unison will become part
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of God's family. Hebrews 2 verse 11. Hebrews
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2 verse 11. It says, for both he who sanctifies
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and those who are sanctified, remove that din,
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are all of one. All right? For both he who sanctifies
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and those who are sanctified are all of one.
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For which reason he is not ashamed to call them
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what? Jesus is not ashamed to call you brother.
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He's not ashamed to call you my family. So why
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should you be ashamed of calling somebody in
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church your brother or your sister? He's not
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ashamed to call us brothers, brethren. Ephesians
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3, verse 14 and 15. Ephesians 3, verse 14 and
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15. For this reason, I bow my knees to the Father
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of our Lord Jesus Christ. From when the whole
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family, where is that family? In heaven, and
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earth is named. Who are those in heaven? The
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saints, those who have slept in Christ, alright?
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And we that are on earth, all right, that we
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are named, verse 16, that he will grant you,
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according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened
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with might through the spirit in the inner man,
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just trying to betray the family. All right?
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So as members of God's family, we carry his divine
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nature. We carry God's divine nature in us. So
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when we begin to talk about walking in love,
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it will be easier for us to understand. Why we
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should walk in love, how we should walk in love,
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and how we are empowered to walk in love. We
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have God's divine nature in us. Are we together?
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We have God's divine nature in us. We share in
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the sacred nature of God. 2 Peter 1 verse 4 talks
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about this. Of course, we read scripture that
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talks about his spirit inbearing in us. Now that
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spirit is God's nature in us. So whatever God
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will do, you can do. Hallelujah. 2 Peter chapter
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1 verse 4. Because you see, Peter said, how often
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should I forgive my brother? Right? In fact,
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let's look at the one before we come to this
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one. Let's look at the one in Luke. In Luke chapter
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17 verse 1. To give us context to that text,
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Luke chapter 17 verse 1. Then he said to the
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disciples, it is impossible that no offenses
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should come. Alright? but war to him through
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whom they do come. It should be better for him
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if a milestone were hung around his neck and
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he were thrown into the sea than he should offend
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one of these little ones. Take it to yourselves.
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This is Jesus speaking. If your brother sins
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against you, do what? Rebuke him. Now, what is
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rebuke? We must understand rebuke in this context.
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We'll explain that subsequently. And if he repents,
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what do you do? Forgive. Okay? Thinking about
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your brother. All right? And if he sues against
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you seven times in a day, because some of us,
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our forgiveness has limits. It seems as though
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our forgiveness, once someone do something once
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and twice, and I say it's enough. Your cup has
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full. And if he sins against you seven times,
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where? In a day. Right? And seven times a day
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he returns to you saying, I repent. You should
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do what? You shall do what? You shall forgive.
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It's not an advice. It's not a counsel. It's
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not a plea. It's an instruction. Verse 5. And
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the apostles said to the Lord, increase our faith
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because they know what Jesus is saying. Amen?
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No wonder it's an increase because this thing
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can only be done by faith. Hallelujah. So for
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us to be able to do what God has done, what God
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is doing, right? We must be able to have a mechanism
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in us that allows us to do what God is doing
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or what God has done. So what he put in us is
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his spirit to enable us to do what? to do what
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he has done and what he's doing. 2 Peter, we
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are about to read, 1 verse 4, talks about us.
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Yes, it says, by which we have been given to
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us. Is it a text? Previous verse? Previous verse
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to read? So we have... Yes. No, not... This is
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not... This is not the text I'm looking for.
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Anyway, but give me 1 John 4, verse 8 and 16.
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1 John 4, verse 8 and 16. It says, He who does
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not love does not know God. What is God? God
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is what? Is it loving? Verse 15. Go back. Verse
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15. God is what? God. Sorry. Verse 7. Give me
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verse 7. Beloved, let us love one another for
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love is what? Is of God. And everyone who loves
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is what? is born of God and knows God. Verse
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8. He who does not love does not know God for
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God is what? For God is love. Verse 16. And who
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have known and believe the love that God has
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for us. God is love. And he who abides in love
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abides in what? In God. And God does what? God
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in him. Hallelujah. So God our Father is love.
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Therefore, we carry in us the nature of love.
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Hallelujah. So when we begin to talk about how
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we will forgive and reconcile, know already that
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we have God working in us to will, to do and
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to will according to. To do what he has desire
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for us to do by his spirit. So it is him that
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is working in us. So love is a nature and a culture
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of this family. Okay? Love is what? Is our nature.
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So love is my nature. And it is our culture.
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It's our culture. It's a nature and also our
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culture. What is a culture? Culture is what we
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do. It's what we do always, not just do it once.
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All right? It's what we do always. John 13, verse
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34 and 35. And the commandment I give to you,
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that you do what? That you love one another.
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Is he talking about the world? No, he's talking
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about believers, disciples here. By this, all
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will know that you are my disciples, if you have
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love for one another. 1 Peter 2, 17. 1 Peter
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2 .17 Honor all people. Do what? Love the brethren.
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Love the brotherhoods. Love the brotherhoods.
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Hebrews 13 .1 Let brotherly love cease to exist.
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Is that what he's saying? Let what? Broadly love.
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Do what? Continue. This should be a memory verse
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for you for this week. Let broadly love continue.
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Four words. Let broadly love what? Continue.
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It is our culture. It is our lifestyle to love.
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First of all, we love one another. Hallelujah.
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Because we have the nature of God in us, we must
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love the members of our supernatural family.
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Tell your neighbor, you must love me. Tell your
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brother and your sister, say, you must love me.
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Say, I must love you. Ephesians 5, verse 1 and
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2. Ephesians 5, because we are children of God.
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So therefore be imitators of God as their children.
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So where are we learning our love from? From
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God, right? And walk in love as Christ also has
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loved us and given himself for us an offering
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and a sacrifice to God. for a sweet -smelling,
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sour aroma. Romans 12 verse 10. Romans 12 verse
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10. Be kindly affectionate to one another with
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what? With brotherly love. In honor, giving preference
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one to another. Putting others first. Honoring
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people. Honoring ourselves. Letting love find
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expression. From among the family of God's people,
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the church, the believers. 1 Peter 1 .22. 1 Peter
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1 .22. Since you have purified your souls, how
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did you purify your souls? By believing in Jesus
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Christ, right? In obeying the truth through the
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Spirit, in sincere love. of the brethren. Do
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what? Love one another. How? Casually. Casually.
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Fervently. Right? I think the apostle told us
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about fervency. Right? In what? Eh? The fervent
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spirit. Right? Fervency. Because he would love
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for the brethren. That's what it means. Loving
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one another fervently, not casually. With what?
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With a pure heart. Because some of us, our love
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towards one another is not pure. When somebody
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says, I love you, it's not really that he loves
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you. It's beyond what he's saying. It's not from
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a pure heart. Hallelujah. So we must love one
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another from a pure heart. From a pure heart.
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1 John 3 verse 16 1 John 3 verse 16 Talking about
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the love of God. By this we know love because
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He laid down His life for us and we also us to
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lay down our life for who? For the brethren,
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for the brothers, for the sisters. 17. But whoever
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has this world's goods, he's explaining how we
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lay down our lives for one another, not by dying
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physically. Probably to, it might lead us to
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that. Who knows? But whoever has this world's
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goods and sees his brother in need and shuts
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up He's heard from him. How does the love of
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God abide in him? It's a question, verse 18.
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My little children, let us not love a word. In
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words alone, but also in our action. Let our
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action correspond with our words. So as you've
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gone around and you've professed love one to
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another, back your words with actions. Are we
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together? Let your words be accompanied with
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actions. Let's perform our love. Listen, love
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without action is a wish. Amen? Because Jesus
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did not just tell you, I love you. God did not
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just say, I love you. But what did he do? He
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demonstrated the love. Hallelujah. You, Cannot
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love God. Amen? What will you give God? Eh? You
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receive the love of God. Hallelujah. So we receive,
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because love was, we see love in sacrifice. And
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God has demonstrated this love by giving us Christ.
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So we have to allow this love. flow through us
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into the life of others. Not just in saying,
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I love you, my brother, my sister, but it must
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be seen in our actions, our conducts, our relationship
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towards one another. That is why the Bible will
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counsel you. If you want to marry, make sure
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you marry from where? From your family. Hallelujah.
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Because it's only this kind of marriage that
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you can see the genuine love of God. 1 Peter
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4 verse 8. 1 Peter 4 verse 8. And above all things,
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you see, whenever you see love, you see this
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sense of fervence. Alright? Above all things,
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Have what? What kind of love? A fervent love
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for one another. For love will do what? Will
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cover a multitude of sins. Love will cover a
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multitude of sins. 1 John chapter 4 verse 20.
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1 John 4 verse 20. So loving one another becomes
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a necessity. Loving your brothers and sisters
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in Christ becomes something compulsory because
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you have experienced the love of God. Therefore,
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you must love one another. If someone says, I
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love God and hate his brother, what is he? He's
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a liar. So you cannot come to church and say,
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see, I don't like Sister Christy, but our blood
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do not. Which blood? Is it the blood Jesus shed
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that does not match? Hallelujah. You know, I
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don't have this connection. We don't connect.
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You have to connect because you've been eternally
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connected by the Spirit of God. The problem is
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with you. You're not walking in love. You're
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walking in the flesh. If someone says, I love
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God and hate his brother, he is a liar. For he
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who does not love... his brother whom he has
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seen with his coro -coro eyes. How can he love
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God whom he has not seen? How? Verse 21. And
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this commandment we have from him, from God,
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from Jesus, that he who loves God must. Hallelujah.
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You must love your brother also. You must love
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your brother also. Even if your brother is unlovable,
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you must love your brother. Even if your brother
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is loud, you must love your brother. Even if
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your brother is too quiet. Even if he is as vibing
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like Pastor Carson, you have no choice. Hallelujah.
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Because we have come into union. And this union
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is an eternal union by the Spirit of God. So
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we have an obligation to do what? To love one
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another. Even in offenses, we are coming to that,
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we explain that text. We are laying a solid foundation
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to bring us into explaining how we, us to forgive
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and reconcile. So, in this family, in this relationship,
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the supernatural relationship, amen? The supernatural
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family, tell your brother, offenses will come.
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Hallelujah. We saw that, right? Luke 17 verse
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1. Offenses will what? Will come. What does it
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mean? Conflict will come in the household of
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God. In the spiritual family of God's people,
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conflict will do what? Will come. Hallelujah.
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So when there's conflict, what do you do? You
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run away. When there's conflict, what do you
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do? You change church. How many of you, your
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mom has offended you and decided to change family?
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Huh? Some people say they're all worse. Your
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boss annoyed you, you didn't change the job.
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Your lecturer offended you. You cannot even drop
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the course. And the moment a brother does not
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greet you well, you change church. Can you now
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say that you are the one with the problem? Leave
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the job now. Let's see what will you eat. Hallelujah.
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You will show up the next morning even before
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your boss. He rubbishes you. Abuse, you send
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dirty emails, stupid. You show up again and say,
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thank you, sir. Yes, sir. But little things in
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church, because they didn't serve you well, and
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you became offended. All these were hypocrites.
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You are one of the hypocrites. Because you also
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will offend people. So the Bible says that Yes,
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he says to them, it is impossible, right? It
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is impossible that no offenses should come. Which
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means that offenses will definitely arise from
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our relationship with one another. Listen, some
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of the conflict will arise from even being what
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is right. We only have differences in perspective.
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All right? For example, Pastor Chidi will say,
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this should be there and that one should be there.
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You are thinking this one will be there. And
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that one should be there. And then conflict has
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come. I don't like the way you talk to me. Talk
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to me as if I'm a child. Before you know it,
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emotions have rised. And then words have been
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said. Even the words are out of context. But
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we give context to the words that were said.
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We give meaning to what we think people are saying.
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And then what happens? We rise in our hearts.
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Alright? Offense. We see offenses rising in our
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hearts. So in the family of God, so long as we
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are in this world, offenses will come. Hallelujah.
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So what do we do? We prepare ourselves for offenses.
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Amen. We are empowered. We are waiting for offenses
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to come. So disagreement will come. We are not
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immune from disagreement and conflicts. There
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are several examples in Scripture. We'll just
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look at examples and then we continue within
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the midweek. There are several examples you can
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see in Scripture of people, of believers. Listen,
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I'm not talking about baby Christians. Your apostles,
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Apostle Paul, Galatians 2, verse 11 and 14. Not
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even in the book of Acts. Galatians 2, verse
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11 to 14. Now, when Peter had come to Antioch,
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who are you speaking? Paul is the one speaking
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here, right? Even though we've not heard Peter's
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side of the story. But this is Paul speaking,
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right? Now, when Peter had come to Antioch, what
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did he say? I was touching to his face because
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he was to be blamed. All right? For before setting
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me, this is what Peter was doing. For before
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certain men came from James, he would eat with
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the Gentiles, right? But when they came, he withdrew
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and separated himself, fearing those who were
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of what? Who were of the circumcision. So it
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seems as though Peter was not, he knew the truth,
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but he was not, he was not trying to please people,
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right? And Paul said, I withstood him, verse
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14. Yes, verse 13. And the rest of the Jews also
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played the hypocrite with him. So that even Barnabas
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was carried away with their hypocrisy. Verse
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14. But when I saw that they were not straightforward
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about the truth of the gospel, I said to Peter
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before them all, if you, being a Jew, live in
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the manner of Gentiles and not as Jews, why do
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you compare Gentiles to live as Jews? Here's
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his confrontation. And then we will look at how,
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later on, Paul and Barnabas, I see Paul is very
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confrontational. Paul and Barnabas, Acts 15 verse
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36. Yes. Acts 15 verse 36. Then after some days,
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Paul said to Barnabas, let us now go back and
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visit our brethren in every, it's our ministry
50:47
partners. In every city where we have preached
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the word of the Lord and see how they are doing.
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All right? Verse 7. Now Barnabas was determined
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to take with them John, call Mark, John Mark.
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But Paul insisted that they should not take with
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them the one who had departed from them in Pamphylia
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and had not gone with them to the walk. Why is
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it that when we are doing the work, you run away?
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So that when the things are done, You want to
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come and partake in the glory. No, no, no, no,
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no. And I mean, Paul is right. Are we together?
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Peter is also right. If you look at it from different
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contexts, both of them are right. But this is
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disagreement. Hallelujah. Then the contention
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became what? It became so sharp. To the point
51:48
that they parted from one another. Alright? And
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so Barnabas, he assisted and then he took Mark.
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Do you know why? Mark is related to Barnabas.
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This family relationship. So they came to Cyprus
52:06
here. Okay? But Paul chose Silas and departed.
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Being commended by what? Now, underline this,
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the church, the brethren to the grace of God,
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because the church was part of that conflict.
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We'll discuss it subsequently. How the church
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is important in dealing with offenses and conflicts
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in the church. Hallelujah. Philippians 4 verse
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2 in the NLT. Philippians 4 verse 2. We're just
52:38
looking at, pointing at examples of believers
52:40
who had conflict and issues. Philippians 4 verse
52:49
2. Now I appear to you, dear, whatever the name
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is, I don't know whether it's correct, and St.
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Tiki, please, because you belong to Jesus Christ,
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right? I beg, because you are believers, settle
53:06
your what? Your disagreement. Which means that
53:10
they have disagreement that Paul was aware of
53:14
their disagreement. And this is Paul's premise
53:17
for a context. The context is that they are believers.
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They both belong to the Lord. For the fact that
53:27
you belong to the Lord, do what? Settle your
53:30
beef. Hallelujah. So, there are examples we can
53:38
see. We are not immune to having this disagreement
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and conflict, right? But when we have disagreement
53:44
within ourselves, as family, what is our response?
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Do we leave the family? Do we refuse to reconcile?
53:52
Do we forgive and yet not reconcile? Forgiveness
53:58
and reconciliation is a very important part of
54:01
our nature. Alright? And God has enumerated to
54:06
us a standard and a procedure by which we must
54:09
work, we must reconcile. Hallelujah. If your
54:14
brother sees against you, What do you do? You
54:17
don't go to your Facebook status to post about
54:20
the offense of your brother. You go and tell
54:24
him his fault between you and him alone. If he
54:28
hears you, you have won, you have gained your
54:31
brother. But if he will not hear, take with you
54:35
one or two more that by the mouth of two or three
54:39
witnesses, every word may be established. We're
54:44
going to look at... how this works. Are you the
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one that has been offended? You go. Are you the
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one that has offended someone? What is your response?
54:55
Are you the one or two that they will carry to
54:58
go and reconcile? Because some of you, when someone
55:01
comes and tells you that, see, Pastor Chidi,
55:03
what Pastor Victor did to me, then you completely
55:07
become on my own side. I win you over. Me telling
55:13
you so that you will be sympathetic towards my
55:16
cause. So even when we go to Pastor Victor, we
55:19
are going with full force of three people. To
55:23
do what? To win the argument. That is not how
55:27
you go to the consul, people. So either if you
55:29
are the offender, the offendee, or the offender,
55:32
or the two or three that is going to the consul,
55:36
there is a way. Bible teaches us how to do it
55:39
and we shall see it. Hallelujah. Off your mind
55:41
and bless God and bless God and thank God. Bless
55:46
God for your family, for your supernatural family.
55:53
And if there be anyone in your heart right now
55:56
that God is bringing to your notice by the Spirit,
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someone that you've offended or someone that
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has offended you, by the leading of God's Spirit,
56:11
You have to reconcile. Some of us, the people
56:14
that are not even here, they might even be your
56:16
family, in your country, in your school, in this
56:22
church, in this family. We appreciate you being
56:29
here today. We hope you carry this word with
56:31
you throughout your week. Don't forget to check
56:34
the show notes for additional insights. Stay
56:37
connected with us through our website. or follow
56:39
us on social media. If you are encouraged, share
56:43
this message with someone you care about. Until
56:46
next time, stay blessed.