Address—Chuck Hendricks
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Vestal, NY, March 3, 1990 Address to Christians by Brother Chuck Hendricks.
Vacuum 18.
Reading from verse 15.
Moreover, it's thy brother He'll trespass against the ego, and tell him his fault between thee and him alone, if he shall hear thee. Thou hast gained thy brother. But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established, And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church. But if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee, as in heathen man, and republican.
Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth, shall be bound in heaven.
And whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Again I say unto you, that if two of you shall agree on earth as touching anything that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven.
For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them. Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how OFT shall my brother sin against me?
And I forgive him till seven times. Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee until seven times, but until 70 * 7 Therefore is the Kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king, which would take account of his servants.
And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought unto him, which owed him 10,000 talents. But for as much as he had not to pay, his Lord commanded him to be sold.
And his wife and children, and all that he had, and payment to be made. The servants therefore fell down, and worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. Then the Lord of that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him.
The debt. But the same servant went out, and found one of his fellow servants, which owed him 100 pence. And he laid hands on him, and took him by the throat, saying, Pay me that thou owes. And his fellow servants fell down at his feet, and besought him, saying, Have patience with me, and I will pay thee off. And he would not but went and cast him into prison, so he should pay the debt. So when his fellow servants saw what was done, they were very sorry.
And came and told unto their Lord all that was done. Then his Lord, after that he had called him, said unto him, O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desirest me, Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellow servant, even as I had pity on thee? And his Lord was raw, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he could pay all that was due unto him.
So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not everyone his brother their trespasses.
We started last night with Matthew 16 and there we came across the Lord's first mention of the church.
And he speaks of it as a future thing. I will build my church. The gates of Haiti shall not prevail against it. And then we saw a number of principles that flow from the assembly being here in this world and our being a part of it. The Lord Jesus, first of all, in order for the establishment of the church here, had to die. He had to be rejected, He had to suffer. And so when he tells them that.
Peter rebukes him, and then the Lord rebukes Peter. Uh. Peter would have saved the Lord from going to the cross, but that was necessary. Path of suffering was necessary in order to the establishing of the assembly, the church. Let's go. Peter gets a severe rebuke. Getting behind me, Satan, thou art an offense unto me. You don't mind the things that fear of God, but those that fear of men.
And then he brings out the principle of self denial on our part if we're going to follow him, A rejected, A rejected savior. If any man will come after me, let him deny himself and take up His cross and follow me. To save our lives is to lose it. To lose our lives for Him is to find it.
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And then we saw.
The fixture that he gave of the coming Kingdom, suffering now the glory to come. This is the theme that we have repeated over and over again in the New Testament. So this is suffering time, this is not raining time. The things that current were reigning as kings, very prosperous assembly, a very affluent assembly came short and no gift and yet they were carnal.
They were walking as men and they were reigning as kings. They were making this scene to be the scene of their enjoyment. They were acting as though this scene is the the place where the Christian is to find his rest and enjoyment. The rain is being here, but it was very different. Let's just read that passage in First Corinthians chapter 4.
Because it's a very strong passage.
First aid.
Now you are full. Now you are rich, You have reigned as kings without us, and I look to God, You did reign, but we also might reign with you. But I think that God hath set forth us the apostles last, as it were appointed to death. For we are made a spectacle unto the world, and to angels and to men. We are fools for Christ sake, but ye are wise in Christ.
We are weak, but we are strong.
We are honorable, but we are despised. Even after this present hour. We both hunger and thirst, and are naked and our buffeted, and have no certain dwelling place and labor, working with our own hands. Being reviled, we blessed. Being persecuted, we suffer it. Being defamed, we intrigued. We are made as fulfilled of this world, and are the offspring of all things. Unto this day the Apostles were.
Treated in this despicable way by the world. But here these Saints at Corinth were reigning as kings. What a contrast and how he saves them in bringing this before them. Because I write out these things to save you, but it certainly did that because they were so unlikely. But as my beloved sons, I warn you, wasn't trying to tame them, but to warn them.
Although you have 10,000 instructors in Christ, yet have you not many fathers. For in Christ Jesus, I have begotten you through the gospel. Wherefore I beseech you be ye followers of me. Paul was one that followed in the footsteps of his rejected Lord, and he was rejected. None suffered as he suffered in the service of Christ. He says to follow it with me, that's the path. It's not a pleasant path for the flesh.
Someone who said it this way, to become a Christian costs us nothing.
To be a Christian costs us everything.
And so he says, take up your cross and follow me. But the glory is ahead. And so in chapter 17 the Lord is seen in configuration and they saw the Kingdom, uh, the preview of the Kingdom which will one day come. But it's been put it off in abeyance now, and uh, it won't come until the church is drafted to heaven.
Peter makes another mistake that we noticed, and that is that he suggests to build 3 tabernacles, one for him, the Lord, one for Moses, one for Elias, putting the Lord Jesus alongside of these greats of the Old Testament. The Father's voice sent immediately is heard. This is my beloved Son, hear you him. And they were afraid. And then they uh, they opened their eyes and they saw no man.
Say.
Jesus only. And so in our assemblies, where the Lord is there in the midst. When the Lord uh, began to build the skirt on the day of Pentecost, that building began, and it's been in building ever since. And and soon the last stone will be put in place and it will be complete and then He will come. But during that time He is preeminent. He is the one that must have always have the preeminence. How often when situations arise in our midst we uh.
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We look to great men, we look to gifted men, and we don't look to him as we should. He is there. He's not there for nothing. He is there to be counted upon. He is there to be looked to. He is there to be cast upon that we might find in him the all sufficiency that is in himself. For he is all sufficient for every problem that we will ever face, individually or collectively.
He tells them over again that he had to suffer, that he had to die.
And then we looked at this man that had his lunatic son. His disciples couldn't heal him, and the Lord healed him. And they asked him, Lord, why could we not cast him out? And he says, because of your unbelief.
We know the Lord is in our midst, but do we really believe it?
Sometimes you may hear a statement, well, there's nothing going on there. There's nothing, there's nothing there in your assembly to attract.
How could anyone say something like that? If you really believe the Lord Jesus was in the midst, how could anyone say something like that? Nothing there to attract Jesus. Thou art enough. The mind and heart to fill thy patient life to calm the soul. I love it. Fear itself. Is he not enough? Is he not everything?
It's all we're going to have in heaven, it seems to all it's have in heaven. He's everything. He's everything. Is he back to your heart? Is he back to my heart? Sometimes we betray ourselves as to where we are and what we're looking to. We want to have. We want to look for activity. We want to see things, uh, moving instead of quietly sitting in his presence and finding him, the all sufficient ones. So often you know you hear from Christians. Uh.
When you try to describe the morning meeting. Uh.
They they can hardly understand it. They've never experienced it. They what they call worship isn't worship at all. It's ministry. And the direction of ministry is from Christ to us through gifts. The direction of worship is the exercise of our priesthood from man to God, from man to Christ in adoration and praise. And, uh, you describe the morning meeting to come together to remember the Lord in his death. And sometimes you'll hear an expression well.
What's in it for me? What do I get out of it? We don't. We don't come to remember the Lord to receive. We come to to give him the praise, the worship, the adoration of our redeemed hearts to return to him. Remember, uh, the leopard that were healed in Luke 17. Whether or not ten clams or one return to give thanks to God, whether or not Ken cleans, where are the 9? Where are the 9 to return back to give him?
The praise and the glory.
He is worth everything. Sometimes we are in very bad company in the way we do things. When Judith uh, said of Mary, he and she had, he had poured that precious ointment upon the Blessed Lord. Why is this waste? This could have been sold to 300 tenths and given to the poor. This he said, not that he cared for the poor, but was a thief, and had the bag and bear what was put there in, but to read in another gospel they all said it.
They joined Judith in criticizing the devoted act of merit in calling upon the Blessed Lord, the worship of her heart, the adoration of her soul. Called it waste. Do we not sometimes, Are we not sometimes guilty of that? Then what's? What do you have? Uh, there's nothing in the meeting. I don't see Visa. They don't come with the right object before they're so. Are you guilty of that? Am I guilty of that? I think sometimes we're guilty of that.
And.
I can truly say that any time I may have been tempted because I was tired, or whatever had a headache or whatever, to stay home from meeting if I went, I was always abundantly blessed, abundantly rewarded. The Lord will never be our debtor. He will always give more than we give to Him. Always.
They saw no man save Jesus, only oh if we would just see him and lose sight of all else gathered to thy name. Lord Jesus losing sight of all but thee. O what joy thy presence gives us. Calling up our hearts to be loved with love with, knows no measures save the Father's love to Thee. Blessed Lord our hearts would treasure all the fathers thoughts of thee.
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That's an adoring Worship him.
Or to be occupied with him, to see him, to give him his place, to just sit in his presence and enjoy himself with our brethren. Wonderful.
Then there was this case that they couldn't cast out this poor lunatic boy. Why couldn't we cast him out? Because of our unbelief. The Lord says this time. Time cometh not forth, but by prayer and fasting.
Faith in his presence. Faith in his power. Faith in his resources. No matter what the difficulty. Faith in him because of our unbelief we are. We don't have that confidence in him. To speak to my own heart in this, Yeah, that we should have. That he will come in. There's no difficulty. That's too great for him. None. Uh. We might be mystified and baffled and not know how to deal with the enemy, but he does. He knows how.
And if we just cast upon you in prayer and fasting in Ephesians 6 we have the Christian's armor. The last part of the armor is praying always with all prayer and supplication in the spirit, and watching there on 2 with all thankfulness and all experiences, prayer, the last and most uh and and by no means the least weapon that we have in the warfare against the enemy.
Albeit this kind of not output by prayer and testing and then we have the the case of.
Uh, the end of the chapter, chapter 17. Umm, where Peter asked, the Lord asked Peter of whom do the kings of the earth take custom or tribute? Take customer tribute of their own children or strangers, and he says of strangers, and he says then are the children free? And so he's establishing the principle that he was free because he was the king and those that are.
Uh, in relationship with him. They're free, But he says notwithstanding, lest we should offend them, Go thou to the sea, cast and hook, and take up the face that first cometh up. And when thou hast opened his mouth, thou shalt find a piece of money that take and give unto them for me and thee not, insisting on our rights. One thing to have rights, another thing to exercise those rights in this time. You see, the Corinthians were making that mistake. They felt that because they were children of the king, they should reign now.
They should have that right to rain now, and they were all together wrong. One thing, to have a title terrain, is another thing to be exercising it. No, we're following a rejected law, and this isn't the reigning time, it's the suffering time. And then in Chapter 18 and those first verses that we were looking at yesterday, the answer to the question who is in the Who's the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven? He takes the little child, insignificant one that we might despise and make little of.
And he sets them, and he says, except you be converted and become a little sound, you can't enter the Kingdom of heaven. And then he answers the question, who is the greatest? He that humbles and humbles himself as this little child? The same is greatest in the Kingdom of heaven.
Let's turn back to.
Isaiah 57.
We were looking at this this morning. It is a tremendous verse.
It's one which I couldn't begin to sound the depths of.
Verse 15. Isaiah 57.
Verse 15 For thus sayeth the high and lofty one that inhabited eternity.
Whose name is holy. I dwell in the high and holy place.
Now let's stop there. Let's say it's a high and lossy one that inhabiteth eternity whose name is holy. I dwell in the high and la holy place.
And then the last part of the verse is so wonderful with him also, that is of a contrite and humble Spirit, to revive the Spirit of the Humble, and to revive the heart of the Contrite ones. With whom does He dwell, This High and Holy One, this lofty One, this one who inhabits eternity, this One who is the Eternal, the I am the Self Existent One who has no beginning and no ending.
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He who is and who was and who is to come? Jehovah the I am the I am that I am Who. The one who inhabits eternity. Time, uh, cannot contain him. He inhabits eternity. Who with whom does he dwell? Him that is lonely.
With him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit.
God resists the proud, and so who is greatest?
The Lord.
He's the greatest, went the lowest. Go as low you as low as you can. You can't go as low as he went. He went lower still turn to the 66 of Isaiah, chapter 66.
Thus saith the Lord, The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. Where is the house that you build unto me? And where is the place of my rest? For all those things have met my handmade, and all those things have been, saith the Lord again, We have it his glory.
His Majesty first and now but to this man will I look even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembling at my word, tremblant at my word. I believe these verses go so beautifully with the question, Who is the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven? With whom does he dwell, this high and lofty one that inhabits eternity with the contrite and lowly in spirit?
Those who tremble at His word, those who do not have an answer to answer back every time the Word of God is presented to them.
But who tremble at it, who bowed to it? Who submit to it, who show the obedience of faith?
In receiving what God says in his precious word. And that's what a little child's faith is like. Little child has implicit faith in the one that it trusts. Grab them by the hand. They take your hand and you walk them across the busiest intersection. They feel completely safe because Daddy is taking me or Mommy is taking me, and I know that in their hands, in his hand, in her hand, I'm safe. They have complete confidence. The faith of a little child.
A little child doesn't make anything of itself.
Another beautiful trait of a little child is that it is very forgiving and we get to that in the last part of the captive. Very forgiving. Children don't hold grudges. I remember the time when I was, uh, driving my children years ago now they were young and uh, they were fighting in the back seat of the car. Never had your children fight. I'm sure you had. Well, anyway, I pulled the car to the side, went out open the back door, put one of them out on the street corner.
And close the door and got into the car and drove around the block. And the children that had been swirling one second before, he wasn't going to leave them. You're not going to leave them. And I went around the block, came back and they were standing there crying. And I picked them up and said get in and no more problems, no more problems. That's that's that's the way a child is. One minute they can be like that and the next minute they're throwing their arms around one another.
That's the way the Lord says we should be. We come as little children. Don't hold grudges, don't hold ceilings. Just like a little child. Beautiful lessons. What lessons the Lord gives us in our assembly relationships with one another.
Verse 12.
Hell, thank you. If a man have 100 sheep, and one of them be gone astray, does he not leave the 90 and 9, and goeth into the mountains, and seeketh that which has gone astray? And if so be that he find it. Verily I say unto you, he rejoiceth more of that sheep than of the 90 and 9 which went not astray first. Even so, it is not the will of your Father which is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish. What's gonna happen to one of these little ones, one of these sheep that goes out into the mountains, that's gone astray? If no one goes after it, what's gonna happen?
It's going to perish. It will not find its way back.
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And what's the lesson that he's teaching us Here you have the activity of grades in going out to the spraying lump the airing 1. Not leaving them out there not saying well if they get in the right state of Seoul they'll find their way back. They won't I think. I think the the lesson that he's given us in sheet is that the characteristic of sheep that they have to be sought and uh in in Luke 15. I believe the thought of the strange sheep is a Sinner that's gone away from God.
And the Lord came down to to find us and to save us here. I believe it's a strange key. It's one that was one of His own. And sometimes I think our attitude towards those who are under discipline is so harsh and so severe and so on. Uh, I'm seeking, if I can put it that way, that they're just left out there. I come to a meeting sometimes and and I ask for different ones are and I said I didn't see so and so and whether they're not coming anymore.
So they left the meeting, they got discouraged and they left and and I always ask the next question, have you visited them? Have you sought them out?
Generally, sometimes they shouldn't say. Generally, sometimes the correct answer is no. Other times it's yes. Yes, we have, and that's the answer that's proper. We ought to seek them out. Now, I don't mean seeking them out that you sit down and have fellowship with them if they're in a bad state of soul, but how can you tell the progress that a soul has made if it's under discipline, if you don't get near enough to it to at least put your hand on it? Forehead. Find out the temperature. Do they still have a fever? How can you find out?
Where they are if you never visit them. I'm not saying fellowship, I'm not saying shaking hands, I'm not saying eating with them if they're under discipline. But I'm saying to show that you are concerned and love them. That's the way the Lord treated me. That's the way the Lord treated you. He has restored my soul times without number. He restoreth my soul and.
There's an escalation 6. Let's read that.
Escalation 6.
Brethren, verse one, if a man be overtaken in a fall, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness, considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted.
Oh, how how much that one verse contains?
Can be overtaken in a fault ye which are spiritual. You see, the legalists always the legalizer, and the legalist always fancies himself more spiritual than others who don't come up to his standards. And so he says, I'll give you a test for true spirituality. Restors restore some money, restore some money.
Legalism can repel, legalism can can repost someone, but only grace restores Only grace restores restore such in one in the spirit of meekness, considering by self, lest thou also be tempted in the consciousness. When we go to speak to one that has heard that we too can fall into the same stand, we're no better in ourselves, and so we have to consider ourselves, unless we also be tempted to stray at the air in one hand.
Well, I believe that that's what we have here in Matthew 18, going back to Matthew 18. Now we see that borne out again in this specific case of the assembly, verse 15. Moreover, if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone.
If he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother. The whole point of that verse is to gain.
The one that has, uh, trespassed against you.
To seek his recovery, not to go there, and to give him a tongue lashing, not to go there and to put him down, not to go there and reprove him sharply and severely, but to gain your brother.
But if you will not hear thee, if you've gone in that spirit, then take with the one or two more, no doubt one or two more, from the local assembly which you're a part of.
That in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established, but if that fails?
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If he shall neglect to hear them now, it's much more serious. He has refused your entreaties of grace, your overtures of grace. He's now refused the two or three others that you've brought with you. And then it says in verse 17. If he shall neglect to hear that, tell it unto the church.
But if you neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee is an heathen man and republican. There's no other.
Twice to appeal the case too, once the assembly has been informed and once the assembly has gone to the airing one and UH spoken to him or to her if that is refused.
Then what is the word to the individual that started to to the intreaty in the 1St place that was trespassed against? Let him be unto thee individual as in heathen, man and republican. Then the individual is entitled to treat that one just as though he wasn't even saved as an heathen man and a republican. So far there's nothing said about assembly action the assembly went.
To the airing one they refused the uh council of the assembly. And then he says, let him be unto thee as an heathen man and republican. But in verse 18 I believe there's the there's the implication of assembly action possibly following should the the state of the one thought.
Be manifested to be. Uh.
A state of rebellion and stubbornness and iniquity.
Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth, ye plural now shall bind on earth, she will be bound in heaven, and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. The ye is plural. It's the assembly here that is binding and losing. If you turn back to Matthew 16, verse 19, there you have a binding, and losing, which was committed to Peter, I will give unto be the keys of the Kingdom of heaven, and whatsoever thou shalt find on earth.
Shall be bound in heaven, and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Apostolic authority vested in Peter had this authority to bind and loose, and we talked about that last night. But now we have something else. We have assembly authority referred to in verse 17 of our verse, eighteen of our chapter. Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, An action taken.
By the Saints gathered to the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Is bound on earth and bound in heaven. It's of course assumed here that that action is under the leadership of the Holy Spirit and for the glory of the Lord Jesus.
That goes without saying. It's the assembly that has entreated the airing one, and the airing one has refused to listen. It may come to the point where discipline, UH, is necessary.
To bind this, to bind the sin upon the person in an administrative sense, so that that person is placed under in a state of of discipline, whatever the discipline might be.
To lose it is to remove it, to remove the discipline.
Then it's interesting. In verse 19 again I say unto you, that if two of you shall agree on earth at touching anything that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven.
Even 2 The least plural #2 shall agree on earth as touching anything that they shall ask, It shall be done for them of my Father, which is in heaven.
For where two or three are gathered together in, or, more correctly, I believe unto my name there in mind in the midst of them.
I want to dwell a little upon those two verses.
The binding and loosening of verse 18 is the administrative authority vested in the assembly by virtue of the presence of Christ, who dwells there, to whom they are gathered, who is in the midst.
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And you have in verse 19 the agreement on the part of the at least two in the assembly to ask. I don't believe the agreement means that I go to you as a brother and you come to me and we say, well, let's agree to pray about something. I don't believe that's the thought of the agreement. But without that exchange or interchange between us, we come together so burdened, commonly burdened about the problem that confronts us as an assembly.
That we fall down in our faces before God, and in a in a harmonious utterance to God, each one burdened about the same thing. There is there is an agreement there, not not a human sort of agreement, but it's an agreement produced by the Spirit of God over the need that presents itself to the assembly. And when that is there, the Lord says it shall be. How does he put it? It shall be done for them.
Of My Father, which is in heaven. What does James say? Let's turn to James 4.
James 4.
Verse 3.
He says he asked and received not because he asked amiss.
That you may consume it upon your lusts.
The Alchemist. But here in Matthew 1819, it's not asking the miss. It's asking in agreement, an agreement produced not by consultation with one another so much as a a common burden produced by the spirit of God in our souls over the problem that confronts us. And every assembly has these problems, and looking to him and crying to him for the help that we need, he says. I won't say to you when you do that.
For I'm there in the midst for where? Two or three.
I gathered together after my name. There am I in the midst of them.
Turn to 1St Corinthians 5.
Where we have the case of discipline.
It's a moral case.
Verse one says, it is reported commonly that there is fornication among you, and such fornication as is not so much as named among the Gentiles, that one should have his father's wife, and here puffed up, and have not rather mourned that he that hath done this deed might be taken away from among you.
Prevailing I, as absent in body yet, but present in spirit, have judged already as though I were present concerning him that hath so done this deed in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. When you are gathered together in my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, to deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the Spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus. Your glorying is not good. Know you not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump. They were indifferent.
They were. They were not. They didn't know how to handle this case. It's the case they've never been confronted with. They've been saved out of paganism. And uh, this kind of thing was quite common in the religion that they came out of. But now it happened. They were Christians and they were popped up. They hadn't mourned. They didn't grieve over the fence. They might, they could have at least prayed that the Lord would take the offender from their midst, but they didn't pray that at all. They weren't even concerned. And then the Lord, then Paul.
Says I have judged as present, so I'm not present. Just as though I were present to to deal with this evil, to deliver such in one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh. That's Apostolic authority. He had it. We don't have that. We can't deliver someone to Satan, but we can put someone away. And so the last verse of the chapter says, verse 13, them that are without God. Judges. Therefore put away from among yourselves that wicked person once, uh, once evil has been brought to light in an assembly, is responsible to judge it.
And uh, until that happens, it's not clear before God. Well.
What's Paul doing in this past? What's he doing in the whole epistle? Uh, to the Corinthians? He is addressing the various things that needed to be addressed, and he is correcting the wrongs that were there. Here he is showing them that their indifference was absolutely not of God. They should have mourned. They should have cried to God in prayer. They didn't know what to do with the the offender. They could have at least asked God to take him away himself.
Paul instructs them, put them, put them away, Put away from among yourselves that wicked person. Now going back to verse six, he says, Your glorying is not good. Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump? This was a moral evil. That same expression occurs in Galatians 5 about doctrinal evil. A little leaven leavens the whole lump.
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And then what did he say they had to do? Verse seven, he said, Purge out, therefore the old leaven, the evil, purge it out from your midst, that he may be a new lump.
Practically, bring your state up to your position even as you are unleavened. They were an unleavened glove positionally in Christ.
Now he says, purge out the old leaven practically to bring your state practically up to what you are standing before going. You are unleavened as to your state as to your position. Now bring your state up to that by purging out the evil. If we allow the evil to remain, we're saying that the assembly can go on in fellowship with evil and not be defiled. And and it it it's a denial of what we are before God. We're an unleavened lump.
Before God.
An unleavened lump. And if evil is there, we're 11, love practically. So he says, Bring your state up to your position. Put away from among yourselves that wicked person. Now this is the only case that we have in the New Testament where one is put away from the from from among the Saints, put away from uh, for moral evil, And in this in this same, the same.
Person.
Uh repented of his sin and was restored. So the the the only case that we have of one put away is a case where he's received back. Let's look at that in the second epistle. In the second epistle.
Chapter 2.
2nd Corinthians chapter 2.
Verse four, he says, For out of much affliction and anguish of heart, I wrote unto you with many tears. He's referring to his first epistle. When he wrote that first epistle, he was very faithful in writing it, and he wrote it with many tears. Not that you should be grieved, but that you might know the love which I have more abundantly unto you.
True love always seeks the blessing of its object. If evil is to be dealt with, love does not skirt around it. It deals with it deals with it. That's the character of love. Love always issues in holiness. Always Love always produces holiness. If it's divine love, think of God's divine love. What did it do? God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life. He gave his Son to remove all the evil, to take all the guilt away, to remove all the sins. But he might have us in His presence, wholly and without blame before him in love.
That's what love has done. Love has worked to remove the evil so that we might be holy and with in His presence for all eternity. And that's the way it works in the assembly. If it's true love. It doesn't brush the sin under the carpet, but it deals with it and puts it away. And so this is what happens, he says. Out of much affliction and anguish of heart, I wrote unto you with many tears, not that you should be grieved, but that you might know the love which I have more abundantly unto you. But if any have caused grief, he hath not grieved me.
But in part that I may not overcharge you all. Sufficient to such a man is this punishment. Now he's referring back to the man in First Corinthians 5 who was put away from their midst. He said, Sufficient to such a man is this punishment which was inflicted of many.
The many at current acted. They acted on Paul's word. They dealt with the evil.
Paul's ministry was to bring the Saints in their practical state up to what what they were before. God is an unleavened lump, and they couldn't have done that until they had purged out the the, uh, old leaven. So that contrary wise you ought rather to forgive him, and to comfort him less. Perhaps such an one should be swallowed up with over much sorrow. This man had evidently repented, repented of his awful sin. And so now the what was in order for the Saints was to forgive.
And to comfort, and to show love to wherefore I beseech you that you would confirm your love toward him.
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For to this end also did I write that I might know the proof of you whether ye be obedient in all things.
If we don't put out evil, we're not obedient in all things. To whom you forgive anything, I forgive also. Not only is it not only is it important to put the evil out, but also to restore the repentant one once he has repented of his sin, his state then is completely changed.
Until 1 repents of his sin. He's in the sin which he has committed. Once he's repented of it, he's no longer in that sin according to God before God. So he says to whom you forgive anything. I forgive also for if I forgave anything, to whom I forgave it for your sakes forgave I. Yet in the person of Christ bless Satan should get an advantage of us now that's where that appears right after he's exhorted them to forgive.
He said if you don't forgive.
If you don't bring back and restore that the whole theme of Matthew 18, Restoring Grace the shepherd, going after the straying sheep and bringing him back, the one in the assembly thinned against trespassed against going to the offender, Seeking to gain his brother, taking one or two more, seeking to gain his brother, take taking finally the whole church, seeking to gain his brother. If everything has failed, then the judicial part of the assembly's function may have to come into play.
And the sole be put away. But never with the thought of getting rid of him. Never. Never with the thought of he's gone and good riddance and we don't want him back. Never If that's the thought. We're in a very poor state of soul, always with a view to restoration, discipline. Whenever you discipline your child, send him away from the table. Say, go to your room. Uh, if if a fire would break out in the house, you would immediately rush up and rescue the one that was under discipline just as much as all the rest of your children.
Because they're yours, they're yours, and the the end result of discipline is always, always, always restoration. Now look look at the the 7th chapter of Second Corinthians while we're on the subject.
First, umm, verse eight, he says, for though I made you sorry he agreed the Saints by writing so faithfully to them with a letter. I do not repent, though I did repent. Just think of that Paul actually regretted he said. Oh, maybe I have.
Alienated them by my dealing so faithfully with them, and maybe I've lost them. You may have felt that way sometimes in dealing with an erring child. Uh, that you may have been overly severe. Paul had that sentiment passed through his soul.
He says, I do not repent, though I did repent regret it, For I perceive that the same epistle hath made you sorry, though it were but for a season. Now I rejoice not that you were made sorry, but that you sorrow to repentance, For you were made sorry after a godly manner, that you might receive damage by us to nothing. For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation, not to be repented of, but to sorrow.
The world work at death of the world is the sorrow that comes upon the soul that refuses to repent and submit to God's dealings with him. And then he falls into the snare of the enemy. Verse 11. For behold it self, same thing that you sorrowed after a godly sort. What carefulness it brought in you. Yeah, what clearing of yourselves. Yeah, what indignation. Yay, what fear, yay, what vehement desire. Yay, what zeal. Yay, what revenge?
In all things you have approved yourselves to be clear in this matter. So they had acted not only in the putting away, but also in the receiving back, and he exhorts them to that. And if they refailed in that receiving back, then they would have fallen into the the snare of Satan himself. Now going back to Matthew 18.
Verse 21.
Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Till seven times.
That word forgive. Uh. I'm not sure how it is in in this verse. I haven't checked it in the original, but many times the word forgive simply means to show grace too, for grace too. And here we have in this chapter the theme of showing grace to others, which is certainly in the way of forgiveness.
How does the Lord answer Peter?
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Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee until seven times, but until 70 * 7.
Therefore is the Kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king, which would take account of his servants, And that he had begun to reckon one was brought unto him, which owed him 10,000 talents. But for as much as he had not to pay, his Lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife and children, and all that he had in payment to be made. The servant therefore fell down, and worshiped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. And the Lord of that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt, that the same servant went out, and found one of his fellow servants, which owed him 100 pence.
And he laid hands on him, and took him by the throat, saying, Pay me that thou lowest. And his fellow servant fell down at his feet, and saw him saying, Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. And he would not but went and cast him into prison, till he should pay the debt. So when his fellow servants saw it was done, they were very sorry, and came and told unto their Lord all that was done. And his Lord after that he had called him, said unto him, O thou wicked servant.
To refuse forgiveness when he has forgiven us so much as to put ourselves in the position of a wicked servant.
Oh, that we could serve. And I was talking to his sister on this trip and she said, well, I I could forgive this person, uh, for this, but not for this. There's one thing that that I she said I can't forgive him for that. And I said, you mean.
I said it as gently as I could. I said, You mean, sister, that you can't forgive him until he repents of it and ask forgiveness. That's what you mean, isn't it? If he comes to you and says I repent.
You can't withhold forgiveness then, can you?
And she said no, I couldn't. Even that serious thing, there is nothing.
No matter how serious and grievous that can be done against us in this life that we can't forgive.
Because he's forgiven me an infinite amount. He's forgiven us each one an infinite amount. So we can never say if we're on Christian ground, I can't forgive him for that. Or I can't forgive her for that, because that places us as wicked servants, doesn't it? He has forgiven us 10,000 cats.
And whatever has been done against us, it's just a few palpitents.
Should it's not thou also had compassion on thy fellow servant, even as I have pity on thee? And his Lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him, So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you from your hearts.
Forgive not everyone, his brother, their trespasses. The sure way to wither up in your soul is to harbor an unforgiving spirit, because God will not be with you in that.
He resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the lowly. To this man will I look to him that is of a meek and a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word.
The high and lofty one, that inhabiteth eternity. Where does he dwell? With whom does he dwell? With the lowly, the contrite ones.
Those that know how to forgive.
When we enter into a marriage relationship.
The greatest stab there is for the relationship to go on in harmonies. Forgiveness, forgiveness, showing grace, showing grace, showing grace. And what you find in assembly that is characterized by grace, you find the crowning glory of God. There's no glory of God that's higher than the glory of his grace. You find that crowning, that assembly, and that's what we are here for, to be the exponents of the grace of God.
Just to back that up with a scripture, Ephesians 3.
Ephesians chapter 3.
Well before I read that, I'm going to read chapter one, verse 6, Ephesians one verse 6, To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath taken us into favor in the Beloved, made it the objects of grace in the Beloved, accepted us in the Beloved to the praise of the glory, not of His Majesty, not of his righteousness, not of His Holiness or truth, but the glory of his grace.
Highest glory that God has, Ephesians 3 And what is the assembly to be the last part of false prayer? Verse 20. Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask, or think according to the power that worketh in us. Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus, throughout all ages, world without end. Amen. Unto him the glory in the assembly, the assembly being the vactful of the display of glory. What glory? I think I like to think of it as the glory of His grace, for we're the trophies of His grace. We exist.
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By grace, by grace I be saved through faith and that not of yourselves. It is the gift of God. This is the dispensation of the what, The grace of God, dispensation of the mystery. And so the glory that will be emanating from the assembly throughout the ages of eternity will be glory of his grace.
Unto him be glory in the church, by Christ Jesus, throughout all ages, world without end. Amen. In Romans 9, we're called vessels with mercy and we are the trophies of His master's grace. Well, we've looked at some beautiful principles connected with the assembly. There was more I wanted to cover, but we trust that the Lord will bless these few remarks. Let's thing number one in the appendix.
Forgiveness for thy joyfulness.
When thou art worthless names.
Will own.
When we shall?
See the?
Art.
All right, we.
Are known.
Land and front end.
I'm gone. So free. Find out. Reader Home.
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Quizzes.
Christ. But the law cannot redeem one soul. The law is perfect, but sinners are the problem cannot be redeemed by the law. That's the nearest kinsman. All right, In verse 15, he gave her six measures of barley because she hadn't been able to glean, and it's an incomplete number. You know, there's one thing needful here. You know what she needed? Seven is the number of completeness. Scripturally, for heaven, what does she need?
Christ, she is Mary's portion. That's what she needed. All right, I'll just, umm, go to.