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Complete Sermon Notes
Why – it deeply affects the church: “Don’t you know that a little yeast works through the whole batch of dough?” 1 Corinthians 5:6
Why is it so important to address this from the pulpit?
We’ve become very good at avoiding conviction
What – Matthew 18 – Dealing with a Sinning Brother
15 “Moreover if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he hears you, you have gained your brother. 16 But if he will not hear, take with you one or two more, that ‘by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.’ 17 And if he refuses to hear them, tell it to the church. But if he refuses even to hear the church, let him be to you like a heathen and a tax collector.
The Balancing Act:
Taking Sin too Lightly –
Judging too Quickly – A. W. Tower said that a religious hypocrite “is hard on others and easy on himself, but a spiritual man is easy on others and hard on himself.”
Prideful, judgmental people can always find supposed Scriptural support for their actions, while ignoring the clear-cut teachings on grace and forgiveness.
We must get our own heart right before confronting.
When – An UNREPENTANT heart embraces a consistent pattern of sin.
We don’t have a ‘one size fits all’ approach – too many variables.
1ST STEP: 15 “Moreover if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he hears you, you have gained your brother. HOW TO IN PART 2
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The initiator is the person sinned against.
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Sins are to be dealt with; whereas most offenses are to be released.
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We shouldn’t move too quickly when confronting (there are exceptions as seen in Matthew 5:23-24 NIV – “Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift.”).
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Patiently wait on the Lord, pray about the situation, examine motives (remove the plank). Jesus encourages us to err on the side of grace, not judgment. It takes humble, broken people to admit that they need to remove things from their own lives before critiquing and instructing others.
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Go when there is confidence and peace, and the timing is right.
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This is a wonderful time for ministry – the person is probably already hurting.
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There are times when you can send a delegate [cf. Jacob and Barnabas]
Confrontation must come from a true desire to help, not from self-righteousness. I rarely hear, “I moved too slowly” when confronting, but I do hear, “I moved too quickly.”
Many issues work themselves out when taken to prayer & fasting.
SIDENOTE: How YOU handle confrontation reflects YOUR level of maturity
The Bait of Satan, “Many people go from church to church, ministry to ministry…they leave blaming the leadership. They are blind to any of their own character flaws and they do not realize that God wanted to refine and mature them through the pressure they were under.”
Closing – communion
1 Cor. 11:27 Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. 28 But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup.29 For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body. 30 For this reason many are weak and sick among you, and many sleep. 31 For if we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged.
The power is in the heart being broken before God [worthy manner vs. unworthy manner]: “not deserving of respect.”
The body and blood freed us, but we remain in bondage.
His sacrifice was sufficient but we mock it when we continue in sin. We should be the most thankful people on the planet, but often, it’s just the opposite.
Analogy of a man on death row who is set free but begins to steal, lie, cheat, and seduce the warden’s wife soon after his release.
Ezekiel 23:39 NIV – “On the very day they sacrificed their children to their idols, they entered my sanctuary and desecrated it. That is what they did in my house.”
KEY – 29 For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning [perceptive, wise] the Lord’s body. 30 For this reason many are weak and sick among you, and many sleep. 31 For if we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged.
WEAK: “Lacking physical strength and energy; breaking under pressure” – Unstable
SICKNESS and DEATH can be a judgment
I’ve seen a lot of sickness in homes where dishonesty is taking place.
I’ve seen a lot of chaos and confusion and people breaking under pressure because of rebellious attitudes.
I’ve seen a lot of disease and destruction in the lives of those addicted.
I’ve seen a lot of “mysterious illnesses” in the lives of those who don’t do what they know God wants them to do.
Examine our hearts before moving forward – the only way we can come before God in a worthy manner is through Jesus and a “right” heart.
“The scourging was a method of interrogation by the Roman government, and those who were to be crucified were usually scourged before their crucifixion…The idea in interrogation was that the prisoner would then call out a crime that he had committed. And every time they would lay a stripe on his back, if he would cry out a crime, they would lay it a little softer and a little softer.” Chuck Smith
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