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The Family affair pt. 2 · 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. I pray that God will continue to help
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us to live in the reality of these songs. For
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the first one, he says, one of the hymns, the
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song, Hark the herald angels sing. Glory to the
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newborn king. Peace on earth and mercy mild.
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God and sinners reconciled. Hallelujah. And that
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is the theme of Christmas. That is the essence
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of Christmas. That is the essence of God coming
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in the form of a man, that there will be peace
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on earth and mercy will be made available and
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then God and sinners will be reconciled together.
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Hallelujah. Now, without this reality, there
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wouldn't be need for Jesus or for God becoming
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Jesus and coming on earth for us. So his humanity
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is anchored on what he will do in order to redeem
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a man, to redeem you, to redeem me unto himself.
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That man will be reconciled to God. So it is
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in the light of this that we are brought into
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a family. We are brought into a family. And on
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Sunday we discussed, we started, discussing a
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very fundamental principle that guides our relationship
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as a family. And we talked on the idea that love
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is a governing principle of the family that we
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belong to. Now, quickly turn with me. Let's have
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a few recap before we move forward. Matthew 18,
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verse 18. Matthew 18 from verse 18 to 20. I surely,
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I say to you, Matthew 18 verse 18 to 20. 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 loosed in heaven. Again, I say to you that
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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 wherever two or three are
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gathered together in my name, I am there. I'm
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in the midst of them. I'm there in the midst
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of them. Hallelujah. And we summarily said that
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Jesus here was teaching about what? Was teaching
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about forgiveness and what? And reconciliation,
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okay? Of a family. Jesus was speaking in a light
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of forgiveness and reconciliation in the family.
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Now, this family, we agree that it is a supernatural
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family, right? It is a family that is spiritual.
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Not necessarily your biological family. And I
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said on Sunday that your biological family can
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be part of that spiritual family, conditioned
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on the fact that they are believers. Okay? So
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no matter how much you love your dad, you love
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your mom, no matter how much you love your siblings
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or you love your wife or your children or your
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husband, if that person is not in Christ, if
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that person has not received salvation in Christ,
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such an individual is not your brother or sister
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in Christ. Such an individual does not belong
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to this supernatural family. You might be family
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biologically, but you are not family spiritually
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because you must be born of God. You must all
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be born of the Spirit in order to participate
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in this spiritual family. And it doesn't matter
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how good they are. It doesn't matter how sincere
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they are. It doesn't matter how loving they are
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to you. If they have not believed in Jesus Christ
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and have received the Spirit of God, you don't
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belong to this eternal family with them. And
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the danger of not belonging to this eternal family
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is that there is the possibility of eternal separation
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from them. So the reason why you preach the gospel
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is because you love them. First of all, not only
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there is an instruction from God, but because
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God loves them and you love them as well. So
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what do you do? You present the message to them.
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You pray for them and you present the message
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to them with the hope that they will receive
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the message, believe in the message, receive
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the Spirit of God, thereby participating in this
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supernatural family. Hallelujah. So pastor told
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us last week that this gathering is a gathering
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of supernatural beings. And all of us here are
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gathered because we are supernatural. And God
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is here with us. Way too often you are gathered,
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God is in their midst. God is here with us. So
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this is a family meeting. Hallelujah. This is
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a family meeting of God's family, supernatural
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family. And what we are doing is that we are
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feasting. on the fruit of the Spirit. All we're
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doing is that we're dining, we're eating. This
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is our food. The Word of God is our food. So
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what we're doing now is that we are participating
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in the fellowship. We are sharing in our meal.
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And this meal is a supernatural meal. It is the
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Word of God. Hallelujah. So, this family is also
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what we call the Kingdom of God. is a church
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of God. As members of the family of God, the
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Bible teaches us that in the course of our relationship,
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in the course of our interaction, because we
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are humans and we are not perfect in the physical,
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even though our spirit man is perfect, we are
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perfectly loved by a perfect God, we've been
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brought into the perfection of God through Christ,
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in our conduct, there could be limitations in
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our conduct. There could be challenges in our
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conduct because we are still in the flesh. So
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it is not impossible for us to have conflict.
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What I'm saying is that it is possible for us
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to have conflict in the course of our relationships.
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Hallelujah. So offenses will come as the Bible
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has rightly reminded us in Luke chapter 17. That
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offenses will come, Luke 17. In the course of
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our relationship as a family, offenses can rise,
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Luke 17, from verse 1. Then he said to them,
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to the disciples, It is impossible that no offenses
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should come, but word to him through whom they
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come. It would be better for him if a mild song
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were hung around his neck. and he were thrown
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into the sea, then he should offend one of these
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little ones. Take it to yourselves. If your brother
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sins against you, if your brother sins against
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you, seven times in a day, and seven times in
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a day returns to you saying, I repent, what should
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happen? I'm reading verse 4, right? If he turns
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to you and says, I repent, you shall forgive
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him. Hallelujah. Now, forgiveness and reconciliation,
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we said, are a vital part of our nature. Amen?
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Because this is an instruction from God. Because
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we are obliged to what? To forgive. Hallelujah.
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We are obliged to forgive. At all costs, we must
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what? We must forgive. Ephesians 4 verse 32.
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Ephesians 4, 32. Ephesians 4, 32. He says, be
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kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving
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one another, even as God in Christ has done what?
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He has forgiven us, all right? So our action
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is a result of what God himself has acted towards
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us. Colossians 3, verse 13. Colossians 3, verse
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13. Colossians 3, verse 13. Bearing, let me read
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from verse 12. Therefore, as elect of God, holy
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and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness,
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humility, meekness, longsuffering. Verse 13.
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Bearing with one another and forgiving one another.
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If anyone has a complaint against another, even
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as Christ would forgive, so you also must do.
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You also do. You also must do. Hallelujah. So
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God has stated a standard and a procedure for
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forgiveness and reconciliation for his children.
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And if we have received the forgiveness of God,
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it is important that we obey the words of God.
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By what? By forgiving and reconciling one another.
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Hallelujah. And let's go back from verse 15 of
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Matthew 18. Matthew 18, verse 15 to 17. Moreover,
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if your brother sins against you, if your brother
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sins against you, go and do what? And tell him
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his fault between you and him alone. If he hears
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you, you have gained your brother. Verse 16.
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But if he will not hear, take with you one or
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two more, that by a mouth of two or three witnesses,
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every word may be established. And if he refuses
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to hear them, tell it to the church. But if he
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refuses even to hear the church, Let him be to
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you like a hidden and a tax collector. And look
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at verse 15 carefully. Verse 15 says, verse 15
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or other, it says, sins, if your brother sins
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against you, Noah King James uses the word trespass
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against you. If your brother sins against you
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or trespasses against you, Right? And not against
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God. So the sin is against who? It's against
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you, the believer. It's not against God. So the
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conversation here is dealing with relationship
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between who? Between men, between us. Right?
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In our relationship, if a brother sins against
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you, not against God. So this conversation is
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dealing with A relationship between men. This
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affirms, it affirms, the text affirms the possibility
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that your brother or your sister or your supernatural
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family members will do what? They will sing against
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you. Alright? It means that they can trespass
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against you. They can trespass against you. Now,
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trespass or sing in the Greek word as used in
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that text. is the word hamartano, H -A -M -A
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-R, H -A -M -A -R -T -A -N -O, N -O, hamartano,
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which in this context means to miss the mark,
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all right? If your brother miss the mark towards
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you, it also means to err. It also means to offend.
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So it means if your brother missed the mark towards
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you, if your brother hurt your relationship towards
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you, if your brother offends you, it means that
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standards are not met in the course of our relationship.
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There are standards that are expected in the
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course of our relationship. And these standards
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are established from scriptures. And what are
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the standards? The standard is that we operate
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in love towards one another. That is a standard
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from Scripture. So if your brother or your brother
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misses the mark, misses the standard in the standard
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of our relationship towards one another. So standards
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can be missed. Standards are not made in the
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relationship between you and your brother. The
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brother failed in the expected standard of living
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between you and him. He misses the mark, your
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own mark, and not God's mark. All right? In the
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course of our relationship, he misses the mark
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towards you and not towards God. What do we do?
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We go. And when we go, what do we do? We tell
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the brother. We tell him his fault. Alright?
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He calls us to say verse 15. Go and tell him
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his fault. How? Between you and him alone. If
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he hates you, you have gained your brother. It
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says go. Okay? When there is a fault between
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you and a sister, what is the instruction? Go.
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A brother offends you, what do you do? You pray
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about it? You gather people around and tell them
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how the brother offended you? What do you do?
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You go to the brother. You go to the sister.
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Okay? Go out and speak. Tell him his fault. That's
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what the scripture says. You and him alone. So
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who will go? Who will do the going? Huh? Who
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will do the going? You that has been offended.
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Right? Not the person that offended you. But
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you that has been offended, the scripture says,
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what do you do? You initiate forgiveness and
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reconciliation. You and him alone. The brother
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is at 40 years, no doubt. It's not that about
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the faults. It's evidence. In fact, there is
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nobody that will look at the context of the offense
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and not know that you are the one that has been
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offended. The brother could be wrong, agreed.
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The sister could be wrong. Nevertheless, you
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are responsible for initiating forgiveness and
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reconciliation. Hallelujah. Now some of us will
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be saying, but this is not fair now. This is
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not fair. He's the one that offended me and he
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knows what he did. He did it intentionally and
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this is the first time he has done this. In fact,
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this is his character. This is what he loves
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doing. He just likes offending me. She likes
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offending me. The Bible says, do what? Go. Alright?
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You go. Sometimes the brother may not even know.
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Sometimes it is intentional. Nevertheless, the
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knowledge of the brother or the sister has no
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consequence to the instruction given to you.
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You must take the first step. You must take the
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first step towards what? Reconciliation, towards
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forgiveness and reconciliation. You must go.
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You know, offenses are built on lack of communication,
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right? Oftentimes, when issues are not communicated,
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it can pile up to bigger issues. Sometimes, you
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know, a brother and a sister in church, we are
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just all together, and then you just say something
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that is even a joke you make, and the person
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pick offense. And it blows up out of proportion.
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And most of the times that there's already a
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compilation of offenses that have not been communicated,
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all resolved offenses will lead to, you know,
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the destabilization of our relationship. Our
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relationship will not flow effectively. It becomes
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impossible for you to even minister to the person
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spiritually or be ministered to by the person
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spiritually because of offenses. So, offenses
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are built in the absence. Therefore, we must
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make ourselves, you know, available to discuss,
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to converse, and to relate, and to communicate
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them. So, if your brother sins against you, what
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should you do? Huh? What should we do? We do
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what? I want to hear the word go. What should
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we do? Do you understand the word go? Do we need
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to explain the Greek meaning of the word go?
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G -O, go. That's what it means. You go, right?
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In the Greek, it means to lead under. You take
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the leadership. You are the one to initiate what?
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We'll see why it's important. We'll see why this
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is very, very necessary. It means you have to
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take the lead in this reconciliation. So where
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do you go? What do you do? You tell him his fault.
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But how? Are you to just pour out your mind because
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the person has offended you? Telling him his
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fault is not fault finding. is not to go and
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make him know that he has committed a sin. That
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is not the goal of going to tell your brother.
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Going to tell your sister is not to prove a point
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that you've been offended. That is not the goal.
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Going is not to prove yourself to be right and
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the other person is in the wrong. That is not
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the goal of going. It's not to find fault. Or
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to negatively rebuke by telling the peace of
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your mind. I just want to go there and I'll tell
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that peace of my mind and then I'm gone. And
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that is how some of us, the moment we just pour
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out our mind, then we feel, we now feel relaxed.
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We feel at peace. No, that is not the peace of
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God. Amen. It is actually telling the person
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to expose the wrong done to you. Right? It's
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actually to expose the mistake or the offense
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in order to restore the relationship. That is
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the goal of going. In order to what? To restore
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the relationship. The relationship is more important
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than the offense. The relationship is a target.
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Of you going and not the offense itself. The
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relationship is more valuable than the offense.
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You must tell the person when offended because
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there is no room to keep quiet in God's family.
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We don't keep quiet with offenses. We don't keep
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quiet with offenses. There's no room for that.
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I said earlier on, I said pointing out the wrong
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is not equal to fault finding when you speak.
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You are not finding fault when you speak. All
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right? You're not looking for fault. But rather,
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your goal is to expose the wrong towards reconciliation
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of that relationship. And whenever a brother
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says he's sorry, you have no right. Okay? You
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have no right whatsoever to withhold forgiveness.
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You have no right as a believer to withhold forgiveness.
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They don't have to gather the entire village.
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They gather the village chief, the police, the
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district head, and everybody in your clan to
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go and ask you for forgiveness. Until they do
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some sacrifices and they not appease you. You
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have conditions. Until the person did all these
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things. I had a story of a guy that someone embarrassed
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him in the public. After many years, about 20
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years, they went to the brother and said, this
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person has realized how wrong he is. The person
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said, I don't have a problem. In fact, I don't
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have a problem forgiving this person. But if
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the person can gather everybody that is there
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that day. 20 years ago. Where would they even
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get the contact of everybody that was there?
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Then the person can now tell them in the front
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of everybody. Then I will now be satisfied and
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forgive. Who are you? What kind of a condition
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is that? So as believers, we must be quick to
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initiate forgiveness, to initiate reconciliation
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because that is God's instruction to us. Hallelujah.
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Verse 15 goes on to say, if he hears you, you
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have what? You have gained your brother. So the
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ultimate goal is to gain your brother and not
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to win the argument. All right? The ultimate
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goal is what? Is a relationship I've set for
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you to gain your brother and not win an argument
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or to show that you have been offended or to
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gather sympathy because some of us, what we do
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is that when we are offended, the quickest thing
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for us, what satisfies us is that we enjoy people
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sympathizing with us. It's not to gather sympathy
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and to prove that the person is wrong and you
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are right. But the goal is that you gain your
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brother. And the brother will be gained. The
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word gain there is a direct opposite of the word
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loss or perish. It's a direct opposite of the
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word perish or to lose. So if you don't go to
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him, you don't discuss the fault, there's a possibility
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that you will lose that brother. Or that relationship
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will perish? Relationship will perish? Now, the
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context says, when Jesus says, you've gained
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your brother, he's not speaking of an unselfish
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person. Okay? He's not speaking of an unselfish
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person. Jesus is speaking in the context of a
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relationship that relationship is restored. Alright?
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So the conclusion for us is that if you are offended,
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the moment you feel that you are offended, that
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moment that you feel that you are offended is
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the moment that you begin to initiate forgiveness
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and what? And reconciliation. It is your duty
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to seek for forgiveness and reconciliation. You
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don't have to wait for your brother to come to
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you, but you must go to him. You don't just forgive
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in your heart because that's what some of us
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do. I've forgiven her in my heart. I've forgiven
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her. I don't have any problem with him, but you
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see, we don't talk. Deep in my heart, I've forgiven
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her, but I have in this life, I will never do
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anything with her. I will never do anything with
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him. You make promises. You make promises. And
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you swear oaths never to do again with a brother
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in the Lord. But the instruction for us is to
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seek after forgiveness. You don't just forgive
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in your heart, but you must go and do what? And
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reconcile. It is an action we must take. We don't
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just forgive in our hearts. We go out there and
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what do we do? We reconcile. Jesus did not just
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forgive you in his heart. God did not just thought
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of the sin that you committed as an individual.
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God did not just, in the heavenlies, just think
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of our offense, of our separation with him, and
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then he just left it that way. He took an action,
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and the action is to reconcile us to himself.
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So that is the foundation by which we act. The
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essence of forgiveness is to restore the relationship.
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The essence of forgiveness is what? Is the restoration
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of that relationship. So forgiveness without
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reconciliation is not Christianity. It is not
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Christianity. We don't forgive and not relate
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with people. We don't forgive, then stop talking
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with people. We don't forgive and not reconcile
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with people. We must forgive and reconcile and
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keep relating. Hallelujah. I know for sure that
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there is a part where the other individual is
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not willing to relate, is not willing to reconcile.
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All right? We'll talk about that later and subsequently.
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You know, the Bible asks us to treat him as what?
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Treat him like a heathen, like a tax collector.
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Well, look at what that means subsequently. So
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sometimes this seems hard, okay? It seems very
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hard. How can this person with this level of
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offense, oh, pastor, you don't understand what
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this brother has done. You don't understand the
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magnitude of this crime. You don't understand
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the magnitude of this offense. You don't understand
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the degree. of what this brother did to me. You
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don't understand the degree to which this offense
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is to me. You don't know how many years I've
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been under the infliction of this offense. You
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don't know what this has cost me. You don't know
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how this has affected my entire career. You don't
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know how this has affected my entire relationship
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with others. How can you just say I should forgive?
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You don't know how many times he has wronged
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me. You don't know how many times. And let's
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say Jesus' reply to the disciples. Because when
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he was teaching them this, it was counterculture
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for them. It was something so hard and it was
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something hard to chew. Luke chapter 17. Let's
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start from Luke 17. Luke 17 from verse 1. Jesus
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said, verse 3, Jesus says, take heed to yourself.
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If your brother sins against you, rebuke him.
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Now, this rebuke, right, is not to shout and
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scream at him. All right? It's not negative incognition.
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All right? It's the same thing as we saw in Matthew
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18. Go to him and reason concerning the wrong.
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Okay? So, Take it to yourself. If your brother
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sins against you, rebuke him. And if he repents,
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forgive him. And if he sins against you seven
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times in a day, and seven times in a day retires
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to you, saying, I repent, you shall what? You
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shall forgive him. And the disciples, understanding
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what Jesus said, they asked him in the next verse.
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And the apostles said to him, Lord, increase
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our faith. In a way, Lord, help my heart. In
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a way, help me to do this because I don't believe
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I can do it. Alright? Now look at what Jesus
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said in verse 6. So the Lord said, if you have
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faith as a mustard seed, you can say to this
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mulberry tree. Now, in the context, now what
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is the context? Because some of us have also
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misquoted this passage to say, oh, If you have
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faith, you can tell this mountain to move. You
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don't know the mountain or the tree that is speaking.
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He's talking about forgiveness as a context.
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Amen? That is to say, with your faith in your
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heart, you can forgive. How big that thing is,
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you can forgive. No matter how big and thick
33:48
and how long the offense is, you can forgive.
33:53
So if you have faith as a mustard seed, You can
33:57
say to this mulberry tree, be pulled up by the
34:00
roots and be planted in the sea and it will obey
34:04
you. And look at this parable he gave, this story
34:08
he gave. And which of you, having a servant plowing
34:12
or tending sheep, will say to him when he has
34:15
come in from the field, come at once and sit
34:19
down to eat. But will he not rather say to him,
34:26
Right? Prepare something for my supper and guard
34:30
yourself and serve me that I have eaten and drunk
34:33
and afterwards you will eat and drink. It's a
34:36
question Jesus was asking. That is to say, of
34:38
whom of you, having a servant, having a slave,
34:41
who came from the field, you call that slave
34:46
and say, come and sit with me on the table. Will
34:49
you not tell that servant to go and make the
34:51
foods? And when you've eaten, you are satisfied,
34:53
then what will happen? You can say, oh yeah,
34:56
I'll go and do what you want to do. Is that not
34:59
what you do? Speaking in human's terms, in human's
35:04
relationship. All right? Verse 8. But would he
35:07
not rather say to him, prepare something for
35:09
my supper, and guard yourself, and serve me till
35:12
I have eaten and drunk, and afterward you will
35:14
eat and drink? Verse 9. Does he thank the servant
35:19
because he did the things that were commanded
35:22
him? I think not. After the servant have cooked
35:27
for you, have cleaned your house, have prepared
35:29
the table and have eaten with you, do you tell
35:31
the servant thank you? Is it not his job? Is
35:37
it not what you bought him for? Is that not what
35:39
he's supposed to do? Jesus says, I think not.
35:43
You don't thank him. All right? So likewise,
35:48
you, when you have done all those things which
35:52
you were commanded, say, We are unprofitable
35:56
servants. We have done what was our duty to do.
36:01
All right? So Jesus is comparing the conduct
36:07
of the servant. Now, the servant is not expecting
36:11
the master to thank him for doing all those things
36:14
because he's a slave. And that is his duty. The
36:17
instructions from the master is the responsibility
36:21
of the servant. So Jesus will say, We have done
36:25
what was our duty to do. We are unprofitable
36:30
servants. We have done what was our duty to do.
36:34
Now this is in context to the instruction and
36:37
the commandment to forgive. That is to say, you
36:43
are obligated to obey the commandment regardless
36:46
of how you feel. Regardless of how you feel because
36:51
it is an instruction from God. An instruction
36:53
from God. You are a servant of God. You what?
36:58
You forgive. You have to what? You have to forgive.
37:07
We must forgive because it is a command. You
37:11
were an unworthy servant. Unworthy of forgiveness.
37:16
But God forgave you. But God forgave you. And
37:23
we can see how perplexed they were and they were
37:24
asking Jesus to increase their faith. And he's
37:27
telling them, you, when your faith is like a
37:30
mustard seed, we are not saying that it's a faith
37:32
size of a mustard seed. No. It's not faith that
37:37
is as a mustard seed. But the moment you believe
37:41
in Jesus Christ as your Savior, you have the
37:44
ability to allow the Spirit to walk through you
37:47
to forgive others. So building you, is the ability
37:52
to do what? To forgive sins. So forgiveness and
37:57
reconciliation actually is the Christmas message.
38:02
Hallelujah. That is the Christmas message. Forgiveness
38:07
and what? And reconciliation. Now the birth of
38:12
Jesus Christ marks the moment that God initiated
38:17
to grant mercy unto us. As Scripture states,
38:24
God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself.
38:31
What was he not doing? He was not counting people's
38:34
sin against him. 2 Corinthians 5. 2 Corinthians
38:40
5 .17 Now, I want you to look at this clearly.
38:46
Right? God will never give you an instruction
38:51
to do something that He Himself has not done.
38:55
Hallelujah. So, He is a leader. He leads us into
39:01
doing what He instructs us to do. If you say
39:04
you must forgive, it's because He Himself has
39:07
taken the lead in forgiving. Hallelujah. So,
39:13
verse 17 says, If anyone in Christ, he is what?
39:19
He is a new creation. All things have what? Passed
39:23
away. Behold, all things have become new. How?
39:29
Now all things are of God who has what? What
39:32
has he done? Look up. What has he done? Is it
39:37
that he is reconciling us or he has reconciled
39:39
us? He has reconciled us to who? To himself.
39:46
Through Jesus Christ. And has given to us the
39:50
what? The ministry of what? Of reconciliation.
39:55
So reconciliation is a message that we have received
39:58
to preach. Alright? Remember when we were talking
40:03
about binding and losing? Alright? And we said
40:07
that the context of that binding and losing is
40:09
that we preach forgiveness and reconciliation
40:11
to men. Also, in this context, we are speaking
40:15
about binding and losing. In Matthew 18, is that
40:19
we bind and lose ourselves within ourselves,
40:22
the relationship within us in the context of
40:24
our living together. That we are able to do what
40:27
we forgive and reconcile within ourselves. So,
40:30
reconciliation, forgiveness and reconciliation
40:33
is both a message and a lifestyle for the believer.
40:39
That we don't only go out to preach that Jesus
40:42
As forgiving sins, we don't want to go out to
40:45
preach that God in Christ has reconciled us and
40:49
is reconciling the world to himself, but that
40:51
we in our conduct towards one another, we do
40:54
what? We forgive one another and we reconcile
40:58
with one another. Our conduct towards one another
41:01
becomes the message we preach. How will they
41:05
know that you are my children? Is it not in that
41:08
you forgive one? To another that you love one
41:11
another and that is forgiveness within you? Or
41:14
more yourself? Forgiveness and reconciliation
41:20
is a Christian message. Now this divine initiative
41:24
teaches us that God has set an example for us
41:27
in forgiveness and reconciliation. God is not
41:31
just commanding that we forgive and reconcile
41:33
with one another, but he has first demonstrated
41:37
that for us. Then he commanded us, who have received
41:42
forgiveness that he has given, who have been
41:46
reconciled to him. Then he commanded us, do likewise
41:50
as I have done to you. Do likewise as I have
41:54
done for you. I have reconciled you to myself.
41:56
I have brought you into union with me. Because
42:02
we ourselves have missed the mark towards God.
42:05
By the standard of God's perfection, All men
42:08
have trespassed. We have what? We have all transgressed.
42:14
Romans 3, verse 9. Give me Romans 3, verse 9.
42:20
Romans 3. 9. What then? Are we better than they?
42:37
Not at all. For we have previously charged both
42:43
Jews and Greeks that they are all under sin.
42:47
Now, God's perfect standard is his law. All right?
42:50
God's law is a standard by which we are judged.
42:54
As it is written, there's no righteous, no not
42:58
one. There's no who understands. There's no who
43:02
seek after God. They have all torn aside. to
43:07
gain have become unprofitable. There is none
43:10
who does good, not one. Their throat is an open
43:14
tomb. With their tongues they have practiced
43:16
deceit. The poison of abs is under their lips,
43:20
whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness.
43:23
Their feet are swift to shed blood. Destruction
43:26
and misery are in their ways, and the way of
43:29
peace they have not known. There is no fear of
43:32
God before their eyes. Now, We know that whatever
43:35
the law says, it says those who are under the
43:39
law, that every mouth may be stopped and all
43:43
the world may become guilty before God. So by
43:47
the law, all of us are guilty before God. By
43:50
the law, all of us. By the law, by the standard
43:55
of the law, all of us are guilty before God.
44:04
Therefore, by the deeds of the law, no flesh
44:07
will be justified in his sight. For by the law
44:10
is the knowledge of sin. But now the righteousness
44:14
of God, apart from the law, is revealed, been
44:18
witnessed by the law and the prophets. Now the
44:21
law and the prophets. In the righteousness of
44:25
God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and
44:29
on all who would, who believe. For there's no
44:33
difference. For all have seen and fall short
44:38
of the glory of God, being justified freely by
44:41
his grace through the redemption that is in Christ
44:44
Jesus, whom God set forth as a propitiation by
44:48
his blood, through faith to demonstrate his righteousness,
44:52
because in his forbearance God had passed over
44:56
the sins that were previously committed. So God
45:00
in his forbearance has passed over your sin.
45:03
He has passed over my sins. He has passed over
45:08
my offense, our offenses towards God. God in
45:13
Christ has dealt with it. Verse 26. To demonstrate
45:19
at the present time his righteousness, that he
45:23
might be just and a justifier of the one who
45:27
has said in Jesus Christ. Hallelujah. So, By
45:32
the standard of God's perfection, all men have
45:35
trespassed. We have transgressed against God.
45:39
But in Jesus Christ, what we see is that he has
45:44
dealt with our sins. He has forgiven our sins
45:47
unconditionally, once and for all and forever.
45:55
Never to remember our offenses. By the standard
46:00
of God's perfection, All men are worthy of condemnation.
46:05
All of us, by virtue of God's standards, we are
46:11
worthy of condemnation. Ezekiel 18 verse 4. Ezekiel
46:16
18 verse 4. Ezekiel 18 verse 4. It will say that
46:33
the soul that sin, right? The consequences of
46:38
sin is what? Is death. Behold, all souls are
46:43
mine. The souls of the father as well as the
46:48
soul of the son is mine. The soul who sins shall
46:52
what? Shall die. That is the Lord's judgment.
46:57
I will see it emphasized in Romans 6 .23. When
47:01
Paul was discussing law and grace in Romans 6,
47:04
verse 23, Romans 6, verse 23, it says, For the
47:17
wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is
47:22
eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. The penalty
47:27
of sin that we've done, To us, God is death.
47:32
But we see in Christ, He has given us life. He
47:40
has forgiven us. He has reconciled us to Himself.
47:44
He has given us eternal life. Not just forgiveness
47:47
for the meantime, but forgiveness forever. Hallelujah.
47:53
So, when we offended God, what did God do? When
47:56
we sinned against God, what did He do? What did
48:00
he do? Huh? Who can tell us what God did when
48:05
we sin against him? He came to us. Isn't it?
48:14
Hallelujah. God carried to us. Hmm? When we sin,
48:22
what did God do? When man, okay, let me use the
48:25
word man. When man sin, what did God do? theme
48:30
to man. Is that not the Christmas message? Hmm?
48:36
Is that not the Christmas message? What happened?
48:39
Jesus was born. Why was he born? So that we can
48:44
have Christmas today? So that we can have sweet
48:47
hymns to be singing? He came because we messed
48:52
up. He came because we are not worthy. He came
48:55
because we have missed the mark. He came because
48:59
There is a trespass because we are separated
49:02
from him. That was why he came. He didn't come
49:06
to give us the religion. He came because there
49:09
was a separation. Matthew chapter 1 verse 18.
49:19
Yes. Matthew chapter 1 verse 18. Now the birth
49:28
of Jesus Christ was as follows. After his mother
49:32
Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came
49:36
together, there was a scandal. There was a scandal.
49:42
Mary was pregnant and Joseph was not responsible.
49:48
Hallelujah. She was found with a child of who?
49:52
Of the Holy Spirit. Then Joseph, her husband,
49:57
being kind of a kind man, not wanting to disgrace
50:02
her in the public, he didn't want to post it
50:07
on his Facebook status, on social media to make
50:10
everybody see that Mary has messed up. He planned
50:13
to quietly serve her breakfast. To secretly what?
50:23
Put her away, right? But while he thought about
50:26
these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared
50:28
to him in a dream, saying, Joseph, son of David,
50:31
do not be afraid to take to you Mary, your wife,
50:35
for that which is conceived in her is of the
50:41
Holy Spirit. And she will bring forth a son,
50:46
and you shall call his name Jesus. For he will
50:52
do what? will save his people from their sins.
50:58
So what brought him into the world is the salvation
51:02
of men from their sins. So all this was done
51:05
that it might be fulfilled because it was prophesied
51:09
by God, which was spoken by the prophet through
51:12
the prophet saying, Behold, the virgin shall
51:14
be with a child, and bear a son, and they shall
51:18
call his name Emmanuel, which is translated,
51:21
God has come to men. Hallelujah. We sinned and
51:28
God came to us. Amen. We sinned, right? Man sinned
51:35
and God came. God came to man. Do you see why
51:40
I was emphasizing you must go, you must go, you
51:42
must go, you must go? Because God has come. Jesus
51:45
has come. So you must go. God came to man. 1
51:54
Timothy 1 verse 15. 1 Timothy 1 verse 15. This
52:07
is a faithful saying that is unworthy of all
52:11
acceptance. That Christ Jesus did what? Came
52:16
into the world. To do what? To save sinners.
52:20
Christ did what? He came. into the world, which
52:26
means that he existed before the world. He only
52:29
came into the world to save sinners of whom Paul
52:33
says, I am chief of Galatians 4. Christ came
52:37
into the world. Christ came to us. He came into
52:41
humanity because of sin. Galatians 4. Galatians
52:51
4. The Christmas message is about forgiveness
52:59
and it's about reconciliation. But when the fullness
53:03
of time had come, what did God do? God sent forth
53:07
his son, born of a woman. Is this Christmas?
53:13
Born under the law. Right? To do what? To redeem
53:19
those who were under the law that we might receive.
53:24
The adoptions as sons, to be reconciled and be
53:28
brought into union with him, to become family
53:30
with him. That is why we have Christmas. God
53:41
came and died for us. Even when we were in sin,
53:47
which means that we were... We didn't merit God
53:53
coming to die for us. We were not good before
53:55
he came. Hallelujah. Which means that if your
54:00
brother sins against you, he doesn't have to
54:03
have, he doesn't have to deserve your forgiveness
54:05
before you forgive. Which means that even your
54:12
dad that has abused and misused and abused you,
54:16
He doesn't have to deserve your forgiveness because
54:18
you yourself, while you are yet in sin. Romans
54:22
5 verse 8. Romans 5 verse 8. Romans 5 verse 8.
54:31
It says, but God, what did he do? He demonstrates
54:34
his own love towards us in that while we were
54:40
still sinners. Christ. He did die in heaven.
54:47
Where did he die? On the earth. Which means he
54:50
came to us. He died to fix the issue of our relationship
54:53
with God. Even while we were still in rebellion.
54:57
Even when we didn't even know that there is an
54:59
offense. Even when we were in ignorance. I wanted
55:05
to use the word ignoramus. We were undeserving
55:11
of his love. Nevertheless. Who initiated the
55:15
coming? Did you pray before God came and died
55:18
for our sins? Did anybody pray that God will
55:21
understand the condition of man before Jesus
55:23
came? The birth of Jesus, was it a prayer who
55:27
brought it about? Were they sort of prophets
55:31
that were praying to enforce, to make the hand
55:34
of God to move, to come and save humanity? It
55:38
is God all by himself initiating the forgiveness.
55:44
It is God all by himself initiating our reconciliation
55:48
to him. So John chapter 3 verse 16 will say,
55:52
God loves what? Everybody. God loves the entire
55:57
world, including sinners. The love of God is
56:03
all that is compassionate to even those who are
56:05
not deserving of his love. You are not deserving
56:09
of his love, yet he died for you. Hallelujah.
56:16
So collectively, we are partakers of the unconditional
56:20
love of God. We are partakers of the forgiveness
56:23
and the reconciliation of God. Therefore, it
56:27
becomes an instruction. It becomes a command
56:31
that you, when your brother sees against you,
56:34
what do you do? You go to him. And what do you
56:41
do? You reconcile the matter. Because the goal
56:46
of God was to gain us. Alright? So, if you look
56:52
at it, he didn't think of his godliness, as the
56:56
scripture would say. He didn't think of his status
57:00
as something so precious for him. He didn't think
57:03
of his purity and holiness as something to withhold
57:08
to himself. But he came down in the form of a
57:12
man like us, live, in this body like we have,
57:16
limited in space and even knowledge because he
57:21
has to learn the scriptures. He has to eat and
57:24
sleep and do the things we do. He came at our
57:27
level, interacted with us that he may die a very
57:34
shameful death for the redemption of men. So
57:43
what level can you go in order to reconcile with
57:46
your brother or with your sister? To what extent
57:49
have God not gone for us? To what extent can
57:55
you go that will surpass what Christ has done
57:59
for us? Hallelujah. So reconciliation is a must.
58:06
Forgiving and reconciling is a must. And how
58:11
often should we brothers sin against us? That's
58:13
what we're going to look at it from next, from
58:14
on Sunday. I will see Jesus begin to give a parable.
58:20
All right? Jesus gave a parable. Then Peter came
58:23
to him and said, Lord, how often shall my brother
58:27
sin against me and I forgive him? Up to seven
58:29
times. Jesus said to him, I do not say to you
58:33
up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.
58:37
Therefore, the kingdom of heaven. The family
58:41
that we belong to, right, is as this. A certain
58:50
king who wanted to settle accounts with his servant,
58:52
and when he had begun to settle accounts, once
58:55
one was brought to him who owed him 10 ,000 talents,
58:59
but as he who was not able to pay, his master
59:02
commanded that he be sold with his wife and his
59:05
children and all. that he had and the payment
59:08
he made. Then the servant fell before him and
59:10
said, Master, have patience with me and I will
59:13
pray you all. Then the master of that servant
59:16
was knowing with compassion, release him. This
59:20
releasing is losing. It's what is called the
59:24
binding and the losing. The master released him
59:26
and forgave him his debt. And that is what God
59:30
has done for us. And he expects that we, similarly,
59:36
should be able to do or demonstrate such virtue
59:40
one to another. Especially, especially, specifically,
59:45
those of the household of faith. Now, as we think
59:50
of Christmas, our mind should be set on what
59:54
God has done for us in Christ. And what our conduct
59:57
should be. What our response should be. First
1:00:00
of all, Force one another. Until next time, stay
1:00:25
blessed.