Misunderstood • Week 6

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Well, good morning. If you have your Bibles, and I hope you do, I want to invite you to join us in

Matthew chapter 18 is where we will be. Specifically, when we look at the whole passage, we'll start

Matthew 18 · chapter mention

in verse 15. If you do not have a Bible, we have some free ones back here at this black table.

We'd love for you at the end of the service to come by and grab one of those. It's a gift from

us to you. We would love for you to be able to engage with us as we dive into God's Word each

week. So please make sure that you stop by and get one of those. A couple of things just kind of

going on. I found out this morning, was talking to Bobby David. Bobby is, his nephew is Daryl Cheeks,

our missionary in the Philippines. And Bobby was sharing with me that he had heard from Daryl in

the first quarter, as they count salvations, that 83 people had given their life to the Lord as a

result of that ministry. And so, yeah, absolutely. It's just fantastic and wonderful to see that all

that God is doing and how God allows us as a local church to be able to participate in different areas

all throughout the world with what he is doing. And we count that as a privilege and as an honor to do

that. Before we get into our passage this morning, it was neat. You know, sometimes when we're reading

through, and so if you're first time here, we're kind of looking at some of those commonly misunderstood

Bible verses that are found. But there's a Bible verse this weekend that's kind of landed

with just some newness and some freshness for me in my life this morning. I just want to share that

with y'all as we get going. And it's found in Genesis chapter 2, verse 18. It says,

Genesis 2:18

Aaron and Emma went out of town this weekend and left with, they went with Aaron's mom. They went off

to the beach for the weekend, kind of a long girls weekend, taking off, go down there, didn't get

invited, not bitter. We're moving on past that, right? And so I call Grayson on Friday and I'm like,

hey buddy, I'm going to stop by and pick up some food. What would you like? And he was like,

could you get cereal and Chinese food? So thank you Panda Express. Large meal for a family. Let's

share it with you. All right. $35 has fed me and Grayson three different meals. Four boxes of cereal

from Dollar General has fed us three different meals. It is not good that man shall be alone.

Right? Fellas, this is what it would have been like. I'm telling you, not a good situation.

She'll be back around one o'clock today. Praise the Lord. Well, so here's our Bible verse for this

morning. We're going to look at Matthew 18, 20. God's word says, for whether two or three are gathered

in my name, there I am among them. Would you go to the Lord with me in prayer? God, we thank you for

your word. We thank you for the authoritative word that you give us. Lord, your perfect word. God,

today as we study this particular verse in context to which Christ gave it to us, God, in the areas

where we have misused or misunderstand, Lord, we thank you and we praise you that there's grace.

God, may we wrestle with the difficult sometimes things through scripture to understand the beauty

and the fullness of who you are, Lord, and what you've called us to. And may these be your words and not

mine. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Amen. So let me read our focus verse one more time. One more time.

Matthew 18, 20. For whether two or three are gathered in my name, there I am among them.

It's interesting kind of going through and looking at these verses and different ones that we were

going to look at over the course of the summer. And when I landed on this verse, I would argue that of

all the verses that we have discussed, of all the verses that we will discuss, this verse has kind of

been probably the most misused. But honestly, I don't think misused in a manipulative way.

But I know that I have, and I know that you probably have misused it, or in a church context, you've

heard this verse discussed or used, and oftentimes it's actually misused. This verse came across to me as

one to kind of put out front for us to think through. Actually, this past January, I got an

email one Sunday morning actually from Daryl Cheeks, our missionary in the Philippines. And he's like,

hey man, can you help me understand this verse and use it in context? And so we talked through

email kind of working through this. So when this verse is typically misused, it's typically used in

a worship service, a Bible study, a prayer time with a group of people, right, like a community of

believers who are gathered together, right? So there's more than one of them, there's a handful,

there's several, and this verse is used as they maybe prepare to pray or prepare to open God's Word,

and it's used almost as like an invitation or an acknowledgement that because there is more than

one person there, that God is also there. So we gather together for prayer. We say things like,

God, we know as we gather together that your Word tells us we're two or three gathered in my name.

And here's the truth, this isn't a blatant lie, right? We know that whether there are two or more,

God is with them. We can see that and draw that out from Scripture, but there can also be confusing

parts of Scripture because if it's whether there are two or three are gathered, then you're there,

which is sometimes how it's understood, then does that mean where there is one that He is not?

Or where there is none that He is not? So I just want us to talk a little bit this morning about

what I'm talking about, just the presence of God, so that you and I can have a right doctrinal,

theological understanding about the presence of God, because Scripture does tell us that God is

omnipresent. God is omnipresent, and what that means is God in His entire being is present everywhere.

It's one of the many ways that He's different from you and I.

God is not limited by space, by time, or by circumstance.

That everywhere there is, there is God. That's why David writes in Psalm 139, verses 7 through 10,

Psalms 139:7–10

where shall I go from your spirit, or where shall I flee from your presence?

If I ascend to heaven, you are there. If I make my bed in Shiloh, you are there. If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me.

So where is God? He is everywhere. He is everywhere at all times, in all cases, and we can praise Him for that.

He's here now. He's with you when you leave.

We also see, and we see this in Scripture, and this is a little bit unique and special that we see when we talk about the presence of God, is that we see it in the incarnation of Christ.

John 1, verse 14,

John 1:14

And the word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we have seen His glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

And that what we know, Jesus, the Son of God, took on flesh. We see in Jesus, that fully God and fully man, that this is who He is.

In John 14, 9, Jesus says, when you've seen me, you've seen the Father.

So God is everywhere.

We see God in His presence in the person of Christ.

But then there's, and this is probably the way that you and I are most familiar with, of what we talk about, what we speak to in our Christian language, is in the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.

1 Corinthians 6, 19 through 20,

Or do you not know that your body, your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God?

You are not your own, for you were bought with a price, so glorify God with your body.

So God is everywhere.

God is Jesus.

And then God indwells us.

In Acts 1-8, it's the fulfillment of the promise that Jesus gives you, the coming of the Holy Spirit, that He will fall on us as believers.

As believers.

And then we see the fulfillment of this in Acts 2 of the early church,

And then it's the continual indwelling of the Holy Spirit in the lives of every man, woman, and child who puts their faith and hope in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.

It's the promise of what we have.

So this indwelling of the Holy Spirit, it's a permanent action taken by God to live in the body of believers.

This is how new birth happens, this is how we are confirmed within us that we belong to God, this is how we receive our spiritual gifts, this is how we understand Scripture, this is how we are convicted of our sins, right?

And the list goes on and on and on.

It's not because we're some great moral creatures who have come to enlightenment.

It's the very presence of God, the Holy Spirit who lives in us.

So let's look at this passage.

So if God is omnipresent everywhere,

if God is in the person of Christ, fully God, fully man,

and dwells in the body

of every believer,

this isn't trying to explain

a concept

that's not real.

This is a real tangible piece of who we are.

Then what do we do

with Matthew 18, 20?

What do we do with this?

These are the words of Jesus.

These are red letter words

in our gospel of Jesus

for where two or three

are gathered in my name,

there

I am

among them.

So what we want to do this morning

is understand these pieces

of God, but understand

the fullness of what

these words mean by asking

in ourself,

in what context,

in what setting,

for what purpose

did Jesus give this promise?

It's a promise that he gives

to his followers.

It's a promise that he gives to us

that we can cling to,

that we can hold to,

that we can use

so that we live in the confidence

of who we are

and who he's called us

to be.

When I was talking to someone

this morning

and they were,

we were talking about something

kind of sitting back in the office

and they asked about this

and so I was telling them,

I was like,

well,

here's the context of this verse.

It's a verse that we've mostly,

all of us have heard probably.

And I said the context

and then they go,

huh,

really?

So maybe you have that

with us this morning,

right?

Let's read Matthew 18

starting in verse 15.

If your brother sins against you,

go and tell him his fault

between you and him alone.

If he listens to you,

you have gained your brother.

But if he does not listen,

take one or two others

along with you

that every charge

may be established

by the evidence

of two or three witnesses.

If he refuses to listen to them,

tell it to the church.

And if he refuses to listen

even to the church,

let him be to you

as a Gentile

and a tax collector.

Truly I say to you,

whatever you bind on earth

shall be bound in heaven

and whatever you loose on earth

shall be loosed in heaven.

Again I say to you,

if two of you agree on earth

about anything,

they ask it,

it will be done for them

by my Father in heaven.

For where two or three

are gathered in my name,

there I am among them.

So let's look at this context.

The context for this verse

that Jesus gives

is church discipline.

It's church discipline.

Now, I'll be honest with you,

church discipline

is probably not the hot topic

that gets everybody excited, right?

Like, let's run some low attendance,

we're going to talk about

church discipline and tithing.

And everybody's like,

ah, I got somewhere I got to be.

You know what I mean?

Like, this is one of those

that's like, ah.

But I think it can be unfairly criticized

as harsh.

But I think what we'll see

in this passage of Scripture

is that the goal

is not an attack of the person,

but attack on sin.

And Jesus striving to hold us,

the church,

accountable to a standard

when it comes to sin.

Right before this,

Jesus is teaching.

Jesus is in one of those

teaching modes that he has.

And right before he goes

into church discipline,

Jesus talks about

the parable of the lost sheep

and the emphasis on that

of restoring someone,

of bringing someone back.

Like, praise the Lord,

hallelujah,

this is what happens.

The parable right after this

is Jesus sharing the parable

of the unforgiving servant,

of how to forgive someone.

These are two things

that you and I see

and we're drawn to.

These are those goosebump passages

that we get

as the Holy Spirit

is working in us

to draw us,

to convict us.

We're going to restore someone.

We're going to forgive someone.

We're going to see this happening.

But sandwich right there

in the middle.

Jesus talks about

this is what

church discipline looks like.

This is the necessity of it.

So let's look at what Jesus says

for us as we find this.

Here's the setting.

A brother or,

that's the term that is used

as brothers,

but this could be any believer.

A brother or sister in Christ

has committed a sin

and very specifically

committed a sin against you.

And I think this is something

that we can probably

all relate to, right?

I don't know about you,

but I know

that I have sinned

against others

and I've also,

unfortunately,

sat in the other seat

and felt that

sin against me.

And what Jesus walks through

is when this happens

and we acknowledge

and we acknowledge

that this will happen,

when this happens,

how do we handle

conflict?

How do we handle

conflict in light

of the gospel?

How do we handle

conflict in a way

that brings glory to God?

And how do we handle

conflict

in a way that

unifies the church

and not,

doesn't divide the church?

So he gives three steps.

Three steps that are

kind of build

in severity

of what this looks like.

Step number one,

he says,

go to them

in private.

Verse 15,

if your brother

sins against you,

go and tell him

his fault

between you

and him alone.

if he listens

to you,

you have

gained

your brother.

Hmm.

I lost count

in how many times

I've failed at this.

Our tendency

can be

when someone

does this

to not do

what Christ

has called us to,

but to ignore

or to gossip.

Can I tell you

what happened

to me?

Let me tell you

what someone's done.

Or,

I see their sin,

I'm going to ignore it.

I see their sin,

I'm going to dismiss it.

Both of these

is what Christ

points us to

are not

essential

when he's

calling us

to be committed

to maintaining

healthy,

gospel-centered

relationships

within

the body

of Christ.

Aaron and I

celebrated

21 years

of marriage

this past

June 19th.

I was thinking

about

the

difficulties

early on

in marriage.

I mean,

you're learning

how to live

with someone

that you've

never lived

with before.

You're learning

how to share

things like

finances.

You're learning

how to put

others' needs

ahead of your

own.

And these

aren't things

that we're

necessarily

great at.

One of the

things that I

found and

that I remember

back in mine

and Aaron's

relationship

early on

is someone

would do

something

against the

other one.

right?

And maybe

this wasn't

like a sinful

attack

but it was

something where

you felt

hurt.

You felt

bothered.

You felt

offended.

And then

we would just

kind of

swallow it

down and

suck it up

and think

we'll just

or I'll just

move on

past this.

and the

next thing

you know

three weeks

later one

of you

leaves the

empty carton

of milk

in the

refrigerator

and one

person blows

up at the

other.

Right?

It's what

happens.

Instead of

saying like

hey can we

talk about

this we

say hey

can we

ignore

this?

And then

it builds

and builds

and builds

and builds.

And so

Christ has

given us a

picture of

the church

as much as

something like

not putting

your dishes

in the dishwasher

or not

getting the

mail as

you come

in or

putting an

empty milk

carton back

into the

refrigerator.

While these

things are

small and

petty within

the context

of a

marriage

much more

so is the

sinfulness

of one

another

within the

body of

Christ

exceedingly

building and

building and

building and

that you and

I are called

not to commit

further sins

of gossip

but not to

commit further

sins of

ignoring.

That God

calls us

to engage

within this

and your

thought could

honestly be

a lot like

my thinking

sometimes with

this.

Well that's

just going to

create more

conflict.

That's just

going to

create more

drama.

That's just

going to

create unnecessary

conflict between

me and another

person and it

could destroy

the relationship.

But what's

more important

your relationship

or their soul.

And so

Jesus is

calling us

in this

first step

to a

personal

private

conversation

where the

goal

there's a

goal to

these

is not

let me get

something off

my chest

where the

goal isn't

well let me

call you out

on something

right.

This kind of

plays back

to a few

weeks ago

where we

talked about

judge not

lest you

be judged.

It's not

ignore.

It's the

heart in

which we

confront.

It's the

heart in

which we

sit down

with one

another and

so the

goal for

this of

what we

see in

Matthew 18

is forgiveness

restoration and

reconciliation.

That's the

goal.

It's not the

airing of

grievances.

It's not how

I'm right and

you're wrong.

It's not the

gotcha.

It's not let me

cut you with

my words because

you cut me

with yours.

It's

forgiveness.

It's

restoration.

It's

reconciliation.

And that's

always the

goal.

And the

beauty of

that is

what we

find is

that's the

path and

the plan

of the

gospel.

It's

forgiveness.

The release

of wrongdoing

that someone

has committed

against you.

Let me

share this

with you

as I

forgive you

and prepare

to release

this.

Well,

here's the

thing also

about forgiveness

even if they

reject that you

and I are still

called to

forgive.

But it's

forgiveness.

I'm going to

release.

I'm going to

let go.

I'm not going

to hold

this against

you.

But there's

also the

restoration.

Because of

what has

happened,

there is

something that

is broken.

There's a

brokenness in

the relationship

but there's

also a

brokenness

within you.

There's a

brokenness

within me.

And so

restoration invites

within to the

process

accountability

between one

another

so that we

can work

through what

God has

for us.

You see the

process that

begins to

happen.

So that

reconciliation

might be

possible which

is the

fullness of

the

restoration

of the

relationship

so that we

are not

brothers and

sisters in

Christ with

the divide

between us

that we're

a brother

and sister

in Christ.

unified

under the

authority of

God

living for

the gospel.

So this

would be

great if

Jesus says

hey here's

step one

this is the

only step

that's needed

because it's

going to happen

this way every

single time

but that's not

the case.

So he gives

us step two.

He says

take one or

two others

with you

if they

reject what

you say

to discuss

it more.

Verse 16

but if he

does not

listen

if he does

not listen

take one or

two others

along with

you

that every

charge

may be

established

by the

evidence

of two

or three

witnesses.

Here is why

other believers

need to be

invited into

the process

because hurt

people tend

to want

to lash

out and

hurt people.

Misunderstandings

could take

place.

What someone

thought was

intentional could

have been a

complete and

total accidents.

People see

things differently.

People understand

things differently

and so the

guidance of

God's word

is to invite

godly men

and women

of faith

into the

process for

accountability

for both

sides.

It's not

rallying the

troops on

your side.

It is getting

fellow brothers

and sisters

in Christ

to come

alongside

who understand

the important

part of this

that we will

emphasize and

repeat over

and over

again

what is

the goal.

Forgiveness,

restoration,

reconciliation.

That's what

we're moving

toward.

That's what

we're pursuing.

He does not

listen, take

one or two

others along

with you that

every charge

may be

established by

the evidence

of two

or three

witnesses.

Then there's

another step.

And this

third step

is not

a step

that you

take lightly.

It's not

a step

that a

church

considers

on a whim.

it's not

a step

that as

a pastor

that you

don't struggle

with a great

burden

for what

God's Word

says.

Let's look

back at

verse 17.

If he

refuses

to listen

to them

tell it

to the

church.

If he

refuses

to listen

even to

the church

let him

be to

you

as a

Gentile

and a

tax

collector.

These

are big

powerful

words

by Jesus.

Jesus

commands

that when

the problem

of sin

of

unrepentant

sin

refuses

to be

dealt

with.

That you

bring it

before

the

church.

That the

church

processes

the weight

of the

condition

of the

unrepentant

sin

with the

individual.

And then

in culturally

speaking

Jesus

says

treat

them

like a

Gentile

or a

tax

collector.

Those

who at

the time

would be

labeled

as

those

who

were the

most

resistant

and

against

the work

of God

in their

life.

about

15

years

ago

before

I

came

here

to be

the

senior

pastor

of

this

church.

We

had to

walk

through

this

situation

with an

individual

at the

church

that I

was

serving

at.

unwilling

unrepentant

to see

the sin

the blatant

the horrific

sin

that was

in their

life.

Unwilling

to repent

before God

and in

the hardest

decision

but in

a unified

decision

we made

the choice

to play

out

what

Jesus

had

commanded

us

to.

It's

hard

but it's

essential.

Why?

Why?

We all

sin.

We all

sin.

There's not

a person

here today

me included

that hasn't

sinned

over and

over again

already

today.

we all

sin

but the

unwillingness

to acknowledge

that you're

a sinner

the unwillingness

to repent

of the sin

that's the

issue

while sin

yes is a

heart issue

unrepentant

sin

is a

darker

deeper

issue

of the

heart

that begins

to consume

and destroy

the life

of the

person.

Here's

what's

crazy

about

step

three.

Step

three

has the

same

goal.

Wait a

minute.

We're

talking

about

removal.

We're

talking

about

a level

of

discipline.

We're

talking

about

treating

someone

as a

Gentile

or a

tax

collector.

It's

just going

to create

bitterness

and anger

and strife.

It's going

to divide

but it's

the same

goal.

It's

the same

goal.

Forgiveness,

restoration,

and

reconciliation.

The most,

well, a lot

of the churches

in the Bible

were dysfunctional

in a lot

of the things

that are

happening.

But the

church at

Corinth had

a lot of

problems.

I want to

read, if you

want to turn

there with

me, I

apologize.

It's not on

the screen.

I decided to

add this.

this morning.

But if you

want to turn

to 1 Corinthians

1 Corinthians 5 · chapter mention

chapter 5

in your

Bible, I

want to

read the

first five

verses.

As the

apostle Paul

deals

specifically

with a

matter

within the

church

of taking

how do

you apply

these hard

difficult

truths

of Jesus

to a

very specific

situation.

1 Corinthians

5

starting

in

verse

1.

It is

actually

reported

that there

is sexual

immorality

among you

and of a

kind that

is not

tolerated

even among

pagans

for a man

has his

father's

wife.

and you

were

arrogant

ought

you

not

rather

to

mourn?

Let

him

who has

done

this

be

removed

from

among

you.

For

though

absent

in

body

I

am

present

in

spirit

and

as

if

present

I

have

already

pronounced

judgment

on the

one

who

did

such

a

thing.

When

you

are

assembled

in

the

name

of

the

Lord

Jesus

and

my

spirit

is

present

with

the

power

of

our

Lord

Jesus.

Verse

five

this

is

tough.

You

are

to

deliver

this

man

to

Satan

for

the

destruction

of

the

flesh

so

that

his

spirit

may

be

saved

in

the

day

of

the

Lord.

So

Paul

says

there's

this

despicable

grotesque

level

of

sexual

immorality

that

has

been

allowed

to

infiltrate

the

church.

Paul

says

it's

so

bad

that

it's

not

tolerated

amongst

pagans

who

have

temples

for

prostitutes.

And

he said

and you

are being

silent

about it.

You're

not

dealing

with

this.

And

this

sin

infects

and it

spreads

and it's

unrepentant

sin

by someone

who claims

to be a

believer.

So what

you've got

to do

treat them

like that

pagan

like that

tax collector

and let

them go.

Well

Bo

well Paul

but we

want them

to come

to know

Jesus.

Yes.

yes

the goal

for Paul

is still

forgiveness

restoration

and

reconciliation

but here's

what's got to

happen

it's their

flesh.

You see

for I have

been crucified

with Christ

it is no longer

I who live

but he who

lives in me.

It's

crucifying

of the flesh

it's a

destruction

of the sin

it's knowing

that I do

it

and I do

it often

and it is

offensive

to a holy

God.

So turn

him over.

Turn

him over

so that

in the

consequences

of his

actions

maybe the

destruction

of his

flesh

would happen

in a

phrase that

you and I

refer to

let him

hit

rock

bottom.

for most

of my

unsaved

life

for most

of my

unsaved

life

those

around

me

try to

ignore

and

dismiss

the

sinfulness

of my

flesh.

They

talked

about it

everybody

knew

about it

but they

wanted to

ignore it

when it

came in

the

conversations

with me.

They

want to

dismiss it

when it

came in

the

conversations

with me

and I'll

never forget

this.

I'll never

forget the

day after

my 22nd

birthday

sitting at

my dinner

table

with my

mom eating

breakfast that

morning

and her

coming to

me and

saying listen

I've

watched your

destruction

I've

watched

your

pain

I've

watched

the

sin

of your

life

and no

more

no more

not for

me

not for

your dad

not for

your sister

we're

releasing

you

and she

let me

hit

rock bottom

the most

loving

action

my mom

ever gave

me

was get

out

was get

out

so that

my spirit

might be

saved

you were

to deliver

this man

to Satan

for the

destruction

of his

flesh

so that

his spirit

might be

saved

in the

day of

the Lord

two days

later

two days

later

rock

bottom

literally

and

spiritually

reeking

of the

smell

of my

sin

knowing

that

there's

no

step

that I

can figure

out

there's

no

manipulation

that I

can

create

there's

no

lie

that I

can

share

to get

me

out

of the

hole

that I'm

in

when I

heard

the

soft

powerful

voice

of God

of God

and

in that

moment

what I

knew

that I

was a

sinner

who

desperately

needed

Jesus

and

nothing

and no

one else

could

fix

where I

found

myself

and on

that

day

God

saved

me

and on

that day

not only

did I

experience

forgiveness

and

restoration

and

reconciliation

from a

holy

God

but I

experienced

forgiveness

restoration

and

reconciliation

from a

godly

mother

praise

the

Lord

for that

day

here

is

why

Matthew

18

matters

I

know

I've

sat

in the

seat

I've

had the

conversation

I've

had the

conversation

back toward

me

when it

comes

to this

level

of

discipline

when it

comes

to this

level

of what

God has

called us

to

what is

needed

amongst

the church

is unity

and not

division

what is

needed

amongst

brothers

and sisters

in Christ

is clarity

of where

God is

going

and clarity

of what

God is

doing

and so

Jesus

says

this is

what I'm

calling you

to do

and if

this is

the point

that it

gets to

treat

him like

a

Gentile

treat

him like

a tax

collector

and in

the unity

I've

commanded

you to

what

you do

holds

what you

ask

for

shall

be

done

because

for

where

the

two

or

three

are

gathered

in

my

name

and

let me

add

this

not

because

Christ's

words

are

insufficient

but

because

we

need

understanding

in

the

work

in

unity

and

movement

of

the

gospel

there

I

am

among

them

the

goal

what's

the

goal

of

kids

camp

what's

the

goal

of

mission

trips

what's

the

goal

of

small

groups

they've

all

got

different

aspects

of

things

that

they

play

out

and

things

that

they

do

but

what

is

it

overarching

it's

forgiveness

forgiveness

from

God

because

of

the

condition

of

our

heart

of

restoration

to

take

that

which

was

broken

and

mend

it

to

be

used

to

bring

glory

to

reconcile

to

take

that

which

was

separated

and

bring

back

together

again

because

church

we

serve

a

God

of

reconciliation

it's

the point

of the

cross

it's

the hope

that we

have

that all

of us

the Bible

says

are sinners

and deserve

death

but

through

the

work

of

Christ

we've

been

forgiven

we've

been

made

new

and

we've

been

brought

into

a

relationship

with

all

we

got

I

hope

this

wasn't

a

hard

passage

message

to

listen

to

it

was

a

hard

passage

to

preach

it's

a

hard

passage

to

work

through

if

you're

here

right

now

and

what

settles

in

your

heart

is

this

seems

unloving

I

would

challenge

you

to

think

through

what

love

is

to

see

and to

understand

and to

know

the heart

of God

not a

God who

enables

but a

God who

forgives

who

restores

and

reconciles

and

this

is

the

ministry

that

he's

called

us

to

would

you

pray

with

me

God

I

come

to

you

this