Church Functions - Week 3: Unification

Because we are talking about church functions. We're continuing our

series this morning. This is week number three of church functions,

and that's a church function right there, listen. Not the

method is that we have people come up on the

stage and we pray, and we lay hands and we

do the rose and the Bible. But the function is

the church takes care of families. The church dedicates children

to help them on their way to be who God

has called.

Them to be.

Is a very powerful thing that we do. Everything that

we come together and do in that way is huge

because it's part of who we are. And so I

can't think of a better way for us to begin

this morning talking about church functions by doing that. You know,

in the first two weeks we spend a lot of

times talking about identity, about what the church is and

what it's based on, and how we are are born

out of Christ's true identity, the son of the Living God,

established his church and builds his church. We talked about

last week our primary function holding the keys of the kingdom.

If you weren't here, that's okay, we're catching up right now.

Keys of the Kingdom, how we have an immense authority

and responsibility as the church. And we cannot overstate this.

I think that we could preach those sermons over and

over and over and never fully be able to get

it all the way through our heads. How big of

a deal it is that we hold the keys of

the kingdom, that we are God's plan to reach the world.

If the Lord was going to do it without us,

he would already have done it. He called us to

this time and builds us for this purpose. And if

the church doesn't do this, we are forsaking the reason

we exist. And like I said last week, I don't

want that on my ledger. I don't want that on

our ledger. I don't want us to forsake the reason

we exist because the truth is. A church that doesn't

share the gospel is not a church.

I came to preach this morning. I don't know. I

don't know about you, but I came to hear the

word of the Lord.

Disciples that don't reproduce are not disciples. They often turn

into zealots, radicals, people who don't actually spread the truth.

Disciples that reproduce and make more disciples are for real.

But while we function that way primarily as the church,

we don't function that way exclusively. We do things like

we did today, helping families in these big moments, center

it on the Lord, praying for them, supporting them. There

are these supporting functions that help the church maintain her integrity.

They maintain her adaptability. Because the world changes. We've got

to adapt, not on the truth, not away from the truth,

but adapt in our method, and.

We got to make sure we stay healthy.

We refer to and scripture refers to the Body of Christ.

We are the body of Christ, and a body has

to do the work. The body has to work to

get the job done. We have to do that primary function,

reconciliation to the world, allowing them in by giving them

the truth of the Son of the Living God, that

they might be saved and enter the kingdom.

We got to do that job.

But the body can't ignore eating, you can't ignore its resting,

you can't ignore exercising, so on and so forth, just

like our physical body. That example is really perfect because

while we're built to do the job, we cannot do

the job unless we stay healthy. So let's look at

a passage this morning that makes this really clear. It's

not too far from where we began. Turn with me

to Matthew chapter eighteen. If you've been here the last

two weeks, so if you've listened online with the last

two weeks, we spend all our time in Matthew chapter sixteen,

which is where Jesus first uses that word church for

the very first time, and for one of only two

times that he uses it in all of the Gospels.

The second place he uses it is here in Matthew

chapter eighteen. We're going to start in verse sixteen. It

says this the words of Jesus. Now, if your brother sins,

go and show him his fault in private. If he

listens to you, you have gained your brother. But if he

does not listen to you, take one or two more

with you, so that on the testimony of two or

three witnesses every matter may be confirmed. And if he

refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church.

And if he refuses to listen even to the Church,

he is to be to you as a gentile and

a tax collector. Truly, I say to you this should

sound familiar. Tickle your ears. Whatever you bind on earth

shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose

on earth shall have been loosed in heaven, Verse nineteen. Again,

I say to you that if two of you agree

on earth about anything that they may ask, it shall

be done for them by my Father, who is in heaven.

For where two or three have got together in my name,

I am there in their midst. Let's pray Father. I

thank you for your word. Lord, I thank you for

speaking to us in read words, read letters directly powerfully.

I pray Lord that you help us to understand what

you've said here in this passage today in a way

that we've never understood it before. Not some new theology,

not some new doctrine, but Lord, that we truly understand

what you intended by this, that we might function and

live as the church you are calling us to.

Be, that you are building us to be.

Speak to us, Lord, help us to receive it and

apply it in Jesus' name, Amen and amen. On this

first reading of this scripture, there's some things we should

immediately notice.

As we're in week three of the series.

We spend all that time over in chapter sixteen, and

what happens after chapter sixteen in each of those gospels,

the same order of events goes by the transfiguration, probably.

The greatest display of God's power and glory.

To that point, we see that they go and they

come down the mountain and they can't cast out the demon.

So Jesus cast the demon out a miracle, a deliverance,

and then him and Peter have another conversation about paying taxes.

So I just want to point this out because I

think that it's really interesting the way Scripture ties these

huge events that are like one time and to be

remembered and thought of as this great event forever, and

then also right next to it, Jesus talks about paying taxes.

If that doesn't tell you that the God of the

universe is in your business, down to the small all

this detail, I don't know what does he cares for you.

He cares about these things.

So Jesus, just in the way he lives, in the

way he acts the events that go by, he is

showing us how he's God with us.

Different sermon, I guess, But we see this at this point.

Now after these miracles, he's teaching the disciples once again,

but the context.

Of the conversation is different.

In chapter sixteen, it was outward ministry of reconciliation. Outward,

you hold the keys of the kingdom, you go and

do it and let them in. But here in chapter eighteen,

the context is inward. It's toward one another. That's why

I call that the primary function. This would be a

secondary function, not an importance necessarily, but in order. The

whole of Matthew eighteen up to this point has been

Jesus responding to a question.

In sixteen he asked the questions.

In eighteen, he responds to a question the disciples, having

witnessed all those miracles since chapter sixteen, they ask him

who is the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven. They

ask him this question that when we read it, we think, well,

how could they possibly be thinking of that? He just

told them that they would hold the keys of the kingdom,

And yet they ask, but who's the greatest?

Who's the best? Now?

If that maybe that doesn't hurt you the way it

hurts me, because when I hear that question asked, I

hear myself. You see, they're more concerned with status than

they are the mission. They seem to care more about

being perceived rather than perceiving. And I want to tell

you this morning, this is one of those moments where

we make the mistake of reading scripture and we go,

can you believe that?

Look at those disciples. A few of.

Them just witnessed the transfiguration of Jesus. Okay, they heard

the Father speak on the mountain, they saw him be

changed clothed in light. How could they ask who's the great?

Why are they're concerned about themselves? They're so ridiculous. They

just don't get it. Many times we approach scripture and

we fail to acknowledge that God reveals the mistakes and

messes of people, not so we can look down on them,

but so we can see ourselves. You see, God doesn't

reveal these mistakes in scripture for us to feel better

because we're in the future. He actually reveals them as

a mirror that we might see what we do. So often,

those who mess up in scripture, they're not lesser, They're

a reflection. That's a different sermon too, but that's for

free at any rate. Here Jesus is correcting them. And

when we say them, we need to hear us with

the instruction to become like children. They ask who's the

greatest in the kingdom, and he says, he brings a

kid as an illustration, He.

Says, he says you got to become like this.

He's not telling them that they need a reduction in maturity,

but rather a reduction in the restrictive beliefs, the biases,

the boneheadedness that most adult human beings have developed.

And hold on to.

Oh, I know that's not fun, that's not hooting and

holler and preaching. But I'm telling you it's for real.

Did you know that being set in your ways is

not a badge of honor? That's probably a different sermon too.

One day we'll go there.

But the undertones of this teaching are not about individuality.

They're about taking care of each other.

Unity is the concept that comes to mind when you

read Matthew chapter eighteen. You start to see this concept

of unity being together. Jesus acknowledges that the Father desires

for those in the fold to remain in the fold.

So why he tells that parable the lost sheep, And

we all think of it and know it, and we

talk about it deeply concerned with the one that goes

astray to come back in.

See church function.

It's not about just coming together, it's about staying together.

And staying together is not a passive issue. It's not

something that happens automatically. So right out of this parable

the lost Sheep, Jesus speaks what we just read this passage,

we have and focused, and he confirms right here lest

there was any doubt that there will be problems in

the church, so let's take that off our shoulders, off

the plate completely. There is no perfection expected. In fact,

problems are confirmed to happen, and so Jesus gives us

a process to handle them. And I don't mean problems

like disputes about carpet color or music volume. Probably a

different sermon, maybe not even worth it. The problems that

he's talking about here are matters of sin that lead

to disunity, that lead to splintering. Notice that Jesus says,

if your brother sins, this is about somebody who's in

the fold. This is somebody who's part of the family.

This is somebody who is in the kingdom. If your

brother sins, Remember this is not about preferences. It's not

about the things that we perceive to be right and wrong.

It's based on what's in scripture. The baseline for what

sin is is according to God's word, and it should

be understood a boy God's church because we have the

authority to call it out and make it right. So

that outward ministry of reconciliation that we talked about last

week describes here in Matthew eighteen, Jesus is describing it

actually within the church, that now this is not just

reconciliation beyond, it's reconciliation within.

That it has to happen in both places.

Each person, though belonging to the greater body, still maintains

a level of personal responsibility. Remember we talked about authority

and responsibility, and they always go together. There's no way

to separate those things. If you want authority, you must

accept responsibility. That's true corporately as the Body of Christ,

as the Church, that's true of Cornerstone as a church,

and that's true of you as a disciple. If you

want to walk in authority, you must shoulder the responsibility.

Jesus says that we have this responsibility to one another

to reconcile, that if things get messed up, we gotta

make it right.

Go show him his fault in private.

Jesus says that should let you know right from the

get go from the junk. Jesus wastes no time in

this passage why I love it so much.

He wastes no time. There's no dancing around it.

From the beginning, he says, standard practice is to avoid

shame and humiliation.

Guys, there are whole churches.

And denominations, entire groups of people that should be holding

the keys of the kingdom who have splintered because they

think church discipline is about shame and humiliation.

It's not.

Right here, Jesus says, go in private, one on one.

The point is not to make sure the sinning brother

feels as bad as possible about the sin. It's not

to gain the moral high ground. Hey, brother, you're in

sin and I'm not. And I'm coming to you privately,

and guess what If you don't accept what I'm telling

you privately, I'm going to tell two other people and

guess what, you don't listen to them. We're giggling, but

it's happening. So it's certainly not to splinter the church.

Because again, all this teaching up to now is about unity.

So what is Jesus saying, Well, he tells us very clearly.

If he listens to you, you have gained your brother.

The point is not shame humiliation. The point is not

to make them feel so bad that they repent. The

point is to gain them back, and Jesus thankfully acknowledges.

But this doesn't always go according to plan.

Don't you love it when Jesus just he's just so real,

He's like, hey, guess what.

Sometimes that's not gonna work at all.

And there are times that God speaks to us that

way in scripture, and then he doesn't give us a

next step, but Jesus gives us a next step right here,

playing his day, taking one or two more. It gives

further credibility to the correction, because the goal is to

gain the brother back. It's not to give credibility to

the person calling it out. Is to give credibility to

the correction of the sin. You see, it's not about building.

That person up.

It's about maintaining unity and reconciliation within the church.

And we got to take a moment. Let's quick quick

time out.

Okay, we're gonna get right back to our scheduled programming here,

but I gotta I gotta just stay right here for

just a moment, because again, this has destroyed so many

communities because this process is misunderstood. So time out, you

cannot do this because I know there's some people here,

maybe hopefully not but maybe online.

Maybe you're thinking, you know what, I've.

Been meaning to talk to so and so about that,

And actually the last time I talked to him we

were one on one. I think I probably should go

get a few more people. Maybe we just make that

right today, this afternoon.

Time out.

You can't do this with people you don't do real

life with. If the relationship is not there, you are

going to find yourself in a church fight and not

a church function. Again, your brother is not about blood,

and it's not about gender. It's about the depth of relationship.

That's what he means. If your brother somebody you're in

this thing with, to speak and meet with somebody privately,

that takes a level of trust. You can't just go

and just try to get anybody in the room with

you to talk.

There's a.

We don't even have time to explain how many different

ways that can go badly.

Okay.

Trust in those interpersonal relationships is also not automatic. Trust

is established over time. It means you have to live

life together in order for this to work. To go

and take one or two others to revisit the same

situation after that one on one has failed.

It means there has to be trust in all of

those parties.

You can't call it out and go get a couple

yes men to come up. That's like being jumped by

a gang. When's the last time being jumped by a

gang led to reconciliation? Far as I can see, tragically,

it only leads to more bloodshed.

And so.

Perhaps that's not the proper order of action within the church.

Not to shed the blood's already been shed. We don't

need to shed each others. Jesus gave these instructions with

that earlier teaching in mind about unity, about being childlike.

You are not to do this internal function of reconciliation

without knowing your place, and you've got to operate from

that place. Potentially a different sermon time in.

Here we go. If the second effort fails, so we

get the people we trust in the room.

It's not working out. There's still no repentance here. It's

not going the way it should. Jesus directs the process

to go beyond individuals to the institution. Why because the

church was given the keys. The church holds the authority,

so they have the responsibility it's not so the gathered

believers can stone the siner. Thankfully we left that behind,

or I probably would not be standing here before you.

Not so the center will come and be humiliated and

turned out and then end up church hurt.

I don't know if y'all want this or not what

I'm telling you. I'm telling you the.

Last step is the church, because this authority and responsibility

that Christ has given us matters. The Church functions according

to His design on that foundation of His identity. And

then we have the ability to help bring clarity to

the fault, clarity to the sin, clarity to the problem,

so that it leads to restoration and reconciliation.

Remember the keys.

Well, what if that doesn't work, The Lord Jesus is

gracious enough to keep speaking. He tells us the truth,

and we would do really well. Church, to keep this

in mind always. If you get nothing else from today,

I want you just to start living your life with

Christ with this in mind, that the Church, in all

of her authority and all of her responsibility, is an

unstoppable force that breaks the gates of hell. You can

clap because the second part is coming. That's amazing. Yes, yes,

it's an unstoppable force.

But we are not an institution of force.

You cannot force somebody to love, You cannot force someone

to repent. If you're like, well you ain't seen me, tripastor,

I don't need to, because even the almighty God of

Ages could have and chose not to. If he was

going to force it, it would be done.

What is that to him?

But he chose not to because it's not real love

and it's not real repentance unless it is chosen.

So what does this look like practically? Okay, you tell me,

Pastor Clay.

So we got to handle these problems when they arise, right,

and there's a proper way to do it, and we

got to do life together. Yeah, I'm on board. Well,

what does this look like when it gets to the

church step? Do we just parade all the sinning brothers

up to the front and let the congregation judge like

a jury.

No, not at cornerstone.

At least maybe some places that's happening, But that's not

the way we do it.

Now.

I believe this is actually one of those areas in

scripture where we have to make another distinction. We have

to look between function and method. What that means is.

This is a church function. These things do have to

be handled, and if it gets to the point where

the church has to be involved, we must. But the

method can be different. There are places where a large

meeting with everybody in the church to hammer these things

out and make it right. It works. They're a place

where that works. That's the method. The church must be involved.

The way the church involved, that's what looks That's how

it looks different.

For other churches.

Maybe it's meeting with the pastor or a group of pastors,

or a small group or other church leadership to give

that insight in wisdom and direction. Maybe it comes up

in groups, maybe it comes up on your team.

Gee, I don't know.

Maybe we're not giving God the opportunity to let these

things work out because we haven't taken the step to

get involved enough.

First two sermons real fun. This one hurts, huh.

But we can't get caught up in the method here

because Jesus doesn't either. You'd think he's been so forthcoming

in this passage. You would think at this point he

probably would say, Okay, so here's how you do that,

here's the details.

But he doesn't. He keeps going.

What he does tell us is how to respond if

this step also fails, he is to be to you

as a gentile and a tax collector. So all that

we've been through, all the steps, it doesn't work, senning

brother remains or sister remains, unrepentant gentile tax collector. It's

a it's a very specific archetype of person. Consider.

Let's step back there, put our put our.

Disciples shoes on, okay, and imagine what this would have

sounded like to the Jewish.

Disciples of Christ.

If this doesn't work, guys, treat him like a gentile

and a tax collector.

To us, that made me one thing.

To the Jewish disciples of Christ in the first century,

that would have been like yikes. A gentile was an outsider,

someone who was not part of the people of God,

who did not understand or order their life according to

the law. A first century tax collector. Do you actually

know when we read tax collector in the scripture in

the New Testament, what they're referring to. Most often it

was a Jewish man who worked for the Roman Empire

to take taxes from his neighbors for the invading empire,

not a person that had a good reputation a crook,

many thought, a trader. So an outsider and a trader.

That's how you treat this person who is unrepentant. And

yet neither of those things are beyond saving. Jesus called

a tax collector to be one of the twelve. You

know his name, Matthew. Jesus appeared to Paul and made

him the apostle to the gentiles.

And it worked out.

Because I'm standing before you a gentile. The enduring Church

of Jesus Christ born through that. So essentially Jesus instructs

Us to treat the unrepentant brother as though he were

just that unrepentant and therefore lost. What is the father

concerned with? In the parable right before this, what happened

to the sheep?

It was lost. So what Jesus is.

Saying is not, okay, you try to talk to him.

You've got several other people. Everybody trust each other. You

worked it out, didn't work, took it to the church.

They didn't respond to the authority and responsibility of the church.

So now give up on them.

No, he says, treat them the way you treat the lost,

which is to say they can be found, which is

to say that you hold the keys of the kingdom.

Do everything you can to maintain the unity. But if

it doesn't work, do your job. That's why we exist.

The bank can get ready. As we close today. I

want to focus in on these last three verses because

it's right here. After he says, treat him as a gentile,

as a tax collector, one who is lost, one who

needs me, one who needs the truth and the way

back to life, he repeats that famous binding and loosing

scripture that we spent so much time with last week.

And the truth is this, it is up to the

Church to permit and to forbid. You have the keys,

whether people gain access to the Kingdom of heaven, it

is dependent upon our willingness to be the church, upon

our willingness to function.

In every way properly. That's a heavy burden.

And Jesus repeats that same language binding, loosing, permitting, forbidding.

He repeats it the same way here as he did

in chapter sixteen, to remind us that this function of unity,

maintaining unity, is tied to the primary function. It's tied

to the ministry of reconciliation to the world beyond. Just

like before, this function can't be carried out without the

authority that Jesus has given us. And I find it

kind of interesting that here in chapter eighteen he adds

to that.

We would think, right, the.

Ministry of reconciliation to the world, you got to go

out into the world and be my disciples and make disciples.

That's a huge, big picture, right.

You would think that would get more detail, But Church

Jesus adds more detail when he's talking about us dealing

with each other.

I think that should tell us something.

Yeah, our responsibility is tied to the authority that comes

with the keys. We gotta go win souls, reach the lost.

But you know, there's a lot of people that do that.

But can't do this. And I don't mean preaching. I'm

saying they can't do the interpersonal. This is the part

he adds detailed to because this is actually more difficult.

It's easy for me to tell somebody the Lord died

for you, the one who knew no sin, became sin

and then was raised to life, that you might have

life and have it more abundantly, that you might live

with purpose, and that you might go and be with

Him in eternity.

But when there's fault in my brother.

When there's trouble inside the house, it's almost like we

lose the words for it.

That's harder to deal with. So Jesus gives us more

praise God.

After explaining how to deal with each other, he explains

that when we are together, not just physically, although physically

is important. I have one more week in this series.

We're going there. But when we are together in one accord,

bound in heart and in mission and in focus. When

we do that, we ask the Father and it will

be given.

It's a promise. But if I can turn it on

its head just a minute, because I know we start.

Thinking, well, okay, well I asked for that, and I'm

doing all that, pastor, and I didn't get what I

asked for.

The unity within the body of Christ.

It doesn't just give you unlimited wishes to the Father.

While I'm in unity with my brothers and sisters.

I got.

I got wish upon wish upon wish upon wish, and

it's granted. No, what the unity actually does when we

are the church that Christ is building, the unity actually

informs what we ask for.

It makes the Father's desires our desires. That's why it's guaranteed.

And it's a promise because you start asking for the

right things and they come to pass because the Father

already desires them. He was just waiting on you to

get involved. So this is not a stumbling block. I

want it to be clear. When we ask for what

the Father desires, it will come to pass. And here's

a hint. It's about reconciliation. It's what he desires for you,

for the world between each other. It's all reconciliation. It's

when we are gathered under the banner of who Jesus is.

And that's what he means by his name. By the way, it's.

Not just oh, we're gathered today in the name of Jesus.

You can say that anywhere at any time, right, But

there are many places we could gather and say that,

and it really wouldn't be true. Gathering in his name

means we are gathered under the banner of who He

is for the purposes that he has built us for.

So when we gather in that way, we can be

confident that He is with us.

That's the promise.

That's where our authority is established, that's where our responsibility

is understood. That is where our functions can be carried

out if you'd stay with me all over the house.

We're gonna worship here in just a second. But perhaps

you're thinking, Paster Clay, I hear you. But that's a

whole life for me to handle. I don't even know

how to begin doing these things you're talking about. It

was enough you said we had to go and do

the work of reconciliation and carry the word to the world.

But now you're asking me to get things right. Perhaps

I'm the sinning brother and I need to be helped

to get right.

This is all too much for me. I want to

encourage you.

This is not going to sound encouraging, but I want

to encourage you. If it sounds like it's too much,

it is. Here's why that's encouraging, because Jesus knew that too.

And next week we're.

Going to talk about the help that we need to

do this, and that's where we're going to land the

plane and wrap it up and all those other phrases

that we say when things are finished.

But today I want us.

To pray that we'd be able to operate in this

inward function gaining our brother. I want us to be

able to operate in that so that we're healthy, so

that we don't lose our minds when we try to

go and carry the word of reconciliation beyond. I want

us to operate in a manner that's worthy of the

way Christ gave it to us, in a way so

that we see those promises come to pass, that He

is there with us, that we get what we ask.

For because we're asking for the right things.

So as our alter team comes and we'll prepare themselves,

I want to just if you want to pray about that,

you want to find somebody to pray with, I'd love.

For you to do that. I'd love to pray for

you if you'd like me to. But like we did

last week, I just want to pray and an overarching

prayer for us.

And we're gonna sing together, and then we're gonna baptize

and we're gona do some more church functions. But I

really want us to get this part right church, because

this is the fuel. This is the thing that keeps

us flexible and adaptable and strong and healthy, and it's

tied to our primary function.

So Father, we come to you.

Humbly, Lord, knowing that we may not understand all of

the ins and outs, knowing that perhaps maybe some of

us are at fault. Others of us have tried to

care others faults in the wrong manner. Some of us

have forgotten that unity and reconciliation are your heart. Lord,

some of us were completely unaware that this was part

of our responsibility and authority at all. And so Lord,

I pray that no matter where we find ourselves today,

no matter what we're thinking, no matter where we fall

in the understanding, that you would do a work in

us that would inspire us. Lord, inspire us to do

the ministry of reconciliation outside and inside as your body,

that you'd help us to grow closer together, and that

as we do that you knit us together.

Supernaturally. Lord, that we are.

Found in unity with one another, with you, as you

are with the Father, so that we can accomplish what you're.

Calling us to do.

Help us to make things right, Lord, because you've given

us the authority to do so. In the mighty and

matchless name of Jesus, we pray, Amen, and Amen, if

you want to pray with somebody, and feel free to

come forward. At this time, we're going to sing together

and worship the Lord let's do it.