1 Corinthians Week 4 • 1 Corinthians 5

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Hey, good morning.

Thank you, Mike.

Next week, you're doing the greeting.

That's what we're doing, right?

Come on, Polly.

Please let him.

There you go.

Here's the good news, Mike.

Everybody at home that's live streaming heard you, and our microphones aren't working,

but they got it, right?

I got you.

Thank you, bud.

Hey, if you got your Bibles, open up to 1 Corinthians chapter 5.

1 Corinthians 5 · chapter mention

That's where we're going to be this morning.

As you turn there, I want to kind of fill you guys in or remind you of some things going on.

Now, I know tonight is the Super Bowl.

Just quick show of hands.

Is there anyone who is like, I'm a passionate Los Angeles Rams fan?

Anybody?

Anybody who's like, man, the Cincinnati Bengals, that's my team.

Fantastic.

We got church tonight from 4 to 6, all right?

All right.

There we go.

But also, and this is something new for you guys to hear, something we've got planned and going on.

I'm really excited about this.

Over the last several months ago, God just began to lay on my heart something that Aaron and I have had the opportunity to be a part of in our marriage.

And these weekends have been really monumental in us strengthening our marriage, working through some times and working through some difficulties together when God has given us the opportunity to participate in marriage conferences or marriage retreats.

And so I wanted to inform you guys that we feel like God is leading us and was able to meet with our staff and work through this.

And anyways, we're going to be doing a marriage conference here at Willow Church, Friday, March 25th, and Saturday, March 26th.

And so we're going to host it here on our campus.

We're going to use some of the resources that we have with Right Now Media.

And we want to let you know this ahead of time so that you can begin to prepare to make plans to be here with us that evening and then that morning.

The cost will be $20 per person.

And here's why I say $20 per person.

It's a marriage conference.

And so couples, to be able to be there.

But I know that some of you in the context of your marriage, of where you're at right now, maybe your spouse is like, no, I'm not coming.

But you know the desperation that you need to have to fight for your marriage.

I want to encourage you to be there.

If you're a couple who's dating, who's thinking, who's talking about marriage, if you're engaged, this is a wonderful opportunity for you to come and be a part of this weekend with us.

Friday night, we're going to have a catered dinner that's going to be brought in that we can have that.

And then Saturday morning, we'll have breakfast with some challenges for our couples to go out and to do that day.

And I'm really excited just to see what the Lord is going to do.

And so we're going to be selling tickets to that this morning.

Pastor Dave will be selling those.

We'll be in the back.

From where I am, the back left-hand corner of the auditorium, that he will be there.

And so please make plans.

If you've got kids, this gives you plenty of time to get your sitters lined up, to make grandparents aware,

so that maybe they could take them off your hands for Friday night and Saturday morning,

and just looking forward to this wonderful opportunity.

So if you feel like your marriage is healthy and good, so you don't need this, you're wrong, you do.

And if you feel like your marriage is desperate and at a point, then you need this.

I was talking to a couple, and I've used this illustration so many times in my own life, in my own marriage,

but also as I sit and work through some things with married couples.

If you think of your marriage like a home, and every marriage has complications,

every marriage has problems, every marriage has disagreements.

If you say you don't have those, then I would argue that you don't have a marriage.

Because that's what it's like when two people come together, even when they seek to glorify God in all that they do.

And I heard this illustration used, and I love it.

And the pastor that was using it, he said,

and what we do to maintain healthy marriages in the midst of the chaos is we treat problems like candles.

A candle gets lit, a problem that's there.

And we can make one of two choices.

We can either address the problem and snuff it out, or we can ignore it and walk away.

And he said, most couples don't address the problem, they ignore it.

And then the next day another candle's lit, the next day another candle's lit,

and then another candle, and another candle, and another candle.

And then eventually so many candles are lit that the house catches on fire.

And in that moment is when men and women say, now we need help for our marriage.

And just to be honest with you, when you get to that point, oftentimes it's too late.

And so maybe you're there, and you're like, well, there's no big deals that are going on.

Like, we're good.

We got some stuff, yeah, that we need to work through, but we're treading on.

Then come here during this weekend and join us as we identify some candles and try to knock some of these candles out.

Or maybe you're there, and you're like, man, the house is on fire.

Then what I would say to you is don't wait until March 25th, right?

Get with us and help us see what we can do to get some things under control

and watch how God's going to bless your marriage through it.

But I would just like to encourage you to be a part of this wonderful, wonderful weekend experience with us here at our church.

All right, so as we're getting into 1 Corinthians chapter 5 this morning,

1 Corinthians 5 · chapter mention

I want to kind of draw some illustrations for us.

Now, we know and we've used this that a church is a family.

You and I, we are family.

We are brothers and sisters in Christ, but we are a unique family.

And just as we are a family, we use the illustration that a church is a unique family.

So like my family and your family, we have a dad, we have a mom, we have kids,

and we have those similarities that are there.

But then amongst my family and your family, we find that there's some individual unique characteristics

that may ring true in my family, but that doesn't ring true in your family.

And the body of God, the church, is just like that, right?

Like if we were to leave here, we have unique both strengths and weaknesses at Willow Ridge Church.

And if we were to journey down the road to Red Bank Baptist,

we would find that they have their own unique set of circumstances there as well.

They have their own strengths and their own weaknesses.

And if we were to pack up and head down to Lexington Baptist in downtown,

we would find out that that rings true for them as well.

We are all family.

We are all body of Christ.

But that within there, we find our unique set of characteristics,

sometimes strengths, and sometimes weaknesses.

And as we go through and as we're journeying through this letter of 1 Corinthians,

it's so important for us to remember that this letter is written to a very unique family of Christ,

the church at Corinth.

And so as we go through this,

we're going to see some of their unique problems that they're facing

and that Paul's walking through with them

so that they can be the body that God's called them.

And what we saw, I think, week number two,

that God is equipping them to be.

This is Paul's longing.

This is Paul's desire for them.

This is God's desire for them.

And this is God's desire for us,

that we be the church, we be the family that God has called us to be.

Now, one problem that we've seen that's kind of woven through everything that we've looked at

is there's this problem that's happened within where there's been divisions in the church at Corinth

as they're arguing over who they follow.

Remember, some are like, well, I follow Paul.

Some are like, I follow Cephas.

Some, I follow Apollos.

And there's others that say, I follow Christ,

meaning like a higher sense of spirituality than others.

So that's what we've been looking at largely over the last four weeks.

Now, where we're going at over the next several weeks

is more of the can of worms is going to be opened.

And we're going to see that there's even more struggles

that are unique to the Corinthian church.

And the reason why it's so important that we keep drawing the line that says

these are unique to the Corinthian church

is Paul's not addressing society as a whole.

It's not what's wrong with Corinthian society.

It's what's broken in the lives of men and women

who claim to be followers of Jesus Christ.

And so for us, if we're not careful,

we can read week in and week out,

but we don't have that struggle.

I don't have that struggle.

Check the box and move on.

And so what we want to do is we want to draw from their struggles that they have.

What are the battles?

What are the issues that they're facing?

And while we may not face that particular issue as well,

what are the truths that we can draw from this

as we seek to be the family of God that God has called us to be, all right?

And so that's kind of the background of what we're going to see

over the next several weeks as we work through 1 Corinthians.

So let's look at this problem in 1 Corinthians 5, starting in verse 1.

Paul writes and says,

It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you

And a kind that is not tolerated even among pagans

For a man has his father's wife

And you are 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, all right?

So here in verse 1, we are hit with one of these unique problems

Of what is happening and what is taking place in the church of Corinth

Now, I've tried to fully wrap my brain around and understand this

And what I've come to understand in my study this week

Is there's lots of thoughts, there's lots of ideas

But there's very little consensus on what exactly the specific problem is

Now, Paul begins, we know that this is dealing with sexual immorality

And we could spend the next 10 weeks talking about sexual immorality

But then he goes in to describe this a little bit more

And what we see, basically what we can draw

What I believe is happening

Is that there is a son

Who is having a sexually immoral relationship

With his stepmom

Now, that's a problem, all right?

It's an uncomfortable moment in here for this, right?

And I'll be honest with you

It's a pretty difficult problem

For you and I to immediately draw and relate to

I'm just guessing that when you showed up this morning

With a list of struggles that you and I are facing

Like this isn't cracking the top five, you know?

But the main issue

Let's look at what Paul is talking about

Look back at verse 1

It is actually reported

That there is sexual immorality

Among you

Among you

Body of believers

And a kind that is not tolerated

Even among pagans

Now, something to understand about the culture of Corinth

The culture of Corinth

Was completely

More times than not

Tolerant

Of the sexual immoral behaviors

That the church

And that God's word

Would have been against

But even within this

He's like, it's a kind of behavior

That's not even tolerated

Amongst the pagans

So is the issue

That is at hand

That a man in the church

Is having a relationship like this

With his stepmom

Is this an issue?

Yes, absolutely

I put in my notes

With an exclamation point

This is wrong

This is sin

But what I would argue

For us here

In the context of where we are

The bigger issue

Is that the church

Is tolerating it

That the church

Is okay with it

That the church

Is the body

That's supposed to represent

The truth

Of Jesus Christ

Is like

No, no, no, no

We're just going to ignore this

For a second

And we're going to tolerate it

That the issue

Is that there's a man

Who is in blatant

Unrepented

Continual sin

And he sees nothing wrong

With it

And whether they're whispering

About him

Behind his back

There's not the biblical

Confrontation

That is happening

So that he can have

The opportunity

To be addressed

With his sin

And the church

In Paul's words

They tolerated

Look back at verse 2

Why would the church

Tolerate this?

We know it's wrong

We know it's ungodly

We know it's not

What God longs for

And desires

Why would we tolerate it?

Paul says

And you are arrogant

Ought you not

Rather to mourn?

Let him

Who has done this

Be removed

From among you

Paul says

Are you arrogant?

Your pride

Is preventing

You

From doing

What needs to be done

And which is

Mourning the sin

That is rampant

In the life

Of this man

Within your congregation

And what you need to do

Is remove him

Now that's really

Uncomfortable

In our culture

But it's biblical

And Paul says

When there's a man

Like this

Who claims

To be a believer

And is blatantly living

In this sinful

Sexual

Immorality

Lifestyle

That he has

You need to mourn over it

And you need to remove him

And we're going to talk about that

In just a minute

Of what this means

And why Paul

Would call for his

Removal from the church

But here's what I want

To understand

First

They're not even

Addressing it

And so why not?

Paul tells us right here

Pride

Prevents

Biblical

Confrontation

He says

And you

Are arrogant

It's all

What comes back

To their

Their lack of unity

Within the congregation

Of their church

And so

Here's something

That I've been wrestling

With this week

And just pouring over

Is how does pride

Prevent me

From addressing sin

In the life

Of a believer?

How does that prevent it?

Now

Now because sometimes

When we see

A lack

Of confrontation

Now

There are people

In this world

That are good

At confrontation

And there are people

In this world

Who are bad

At confrontation

Right?

I would classify

Myself

An area that God

Has growing me

And desperately needs

To continue

To grow me

Is I'm not great

At confrontation

Right?

I will not sleep

For weeks

When I know

That I've got to deal

With something like that

But God don't set me

Free from it

And so

It's been

It's been

An interesting journey

This week

To walk through this

And to ask the question

Right?

How does pride

Prevent me

How is pride

Preventing the church

At Corinth

From addressing sin

In the life

Of a believer?

And here's what

I want us to understand

About pride

Pride creates

Insecurity

Pride creates insecurity

I want you to think

About this

If you're a person

Who struggles with pride

What do you

Continually have to do?

You have to portray

A false narrative

Of who you are

So that others

Think you're better

Than you really are

Right?

That's what pride does

Well let me tell you

What I've done

Let me tell you

What I've accomplished

Let me tell you

Who that I am

And deep down

Within that person

That does that

There's this deep rooted

Insecurities

That are there

To try to make us

Feel like we've got to

Prove that we are

Something beyond this

And when we understand

That

We begin to see

The specific behaviors

In the life of people

That prevent them

From addressing sin

Because of pride

Here's four things

That I see

In my life

And in the lives

Of others

That when pride

Prevents us

From addressing sin

In the life of a believer

Number one

What prevents us

Is this

The question that comes

To us

Well what if they

Address my sin

Right?

You ever gone to

Call somebody out

On something

And then what do they do?

They turn it back on you

And what's our reaction?

No, no, no

This isn't about me

But no, no, no

But it is

Right?

That's not a good feeling

That's

If you're a person

Who struggles with pride

What do you not want?

You don't want

To be called out yourself

But if you go

And you know how

Confrontation plays out

So many times

What happens over

The course of this

Well I'm going to

Address this with you

Then you're going to

Address this with me

And pride prevents that

Number two

How does pride prevent

Addressing sin

In the life of a believer?

Number two

What if the relationship

Is broken?

Right?

What if the relationship

Is broken?

And I get that's hard

That's hard

I've got a friend

I've got a loved one

I've got someone

That I care about

But I see this

And if I sit down

And address this

If I draw the line

Of God's standard

To what's right

And what's wrong

If I call them out

On the behavior

If I point them

Toward the consequences

That will exist

What if the relationship

Is broken?

And that's pride

That's pride

And here's why

That's pride

It seems like humility

And it's not

Here's why it's pride

Alright?

And this is something

That's been big for me

This week

Here's why it's pride

Because I'm determining

That my relationship

With them

Is more valuable

Than their relationship

With the Lord

But what if they repent

What if they're broken

What if we see

As we're gonna see

Kind of sneaking

Into the next couple points

What if they see

As the result

Of your confrontation

With them

That the relationship

Is broken

And they're left

To wander

In the wilderness

Of their sin

And what happens

Is their salvation

Right?

Are we willing?

What if the relationship

Is broken?

Number three

How pride prevents us

What will others say?

What will others say?

Alright?

We can see how this

Narrative plays out

Can you believe

What so and so

Put their nose in

That's none of their business?

I don't want that person

In my life

Who are they

To think

That they

Can go to?

Right?

What will others say?

Again, pride

What will others

Think about me?

How will it affect

Others'

Expectations of me?

And then number four

And I think this is

Where it hit the hardest

How it affects pride

Is this

When we're unwilling

To address people

Because of their sin

We become the person

Who determines

Which sins do matter

And which sins

Don't matter

And let's just be honest

You and I

Were never given

The job description

By God to define sin

He says I got it covered

Right?

He says I got it covered

And he's going to

Give us some examples

Of some things

Later on in this passage

Where it's like

It's not just

The sexually immoral

That we need to address

But here's my standard

And if we decide

As the ones

That are supposed

To be submitted to him

Who are we

To be that person

And this is where

Paul finds

That the church

Is broken

Right?

Not only divided

In who they will follow

But unified

In the acceptance

Of sin

Right?

Here's the division

That we accept

And here's the unity

That we accept

And the unity

That we accept

Is not centered

Around Christ

But it's centered

Around the acceptance

Of sin

Let's keep reading

Verse 4

Paul says this

He says

When you are assembled

In the name

Of the Lord Jesus

And my spirit

Is present

With the power

Of our Lord Jesus

You are to deliver

This man

To Satan

For the destruction

Of the flesh

So that his spirit

May be saved

In the day

In the day

Of the Lord

That's complicated

A couple verses

Right there

And so to kind of

Spill over

From 3 to 4

Paul says

Look I'm going to come

I'm going to be here

And when I

When I get there

If you guys

Haven't dealt

With the issue

I'm going to deal

With it

And here's how

I'm going to deal

With it

Let's look back

At verse 5

Because we're

Going to focus

In on

You're delivered

This man

To Satan

For the destruction

Of the flesh

So that his spirit

May be saved

In the day

Of the Lord

So he says

To the church

He says

He's a believer

He says

He's a follower

Of Christ

But yet

In his life

Is not only

Blatant sin

But it's

Unrepented sin

It's important

Raise your hand

If you're perfect

Good right

All our hands

Are down

But the issue

Is not

Is there sin

The issue

Is is there

Blatant

Is there

Unrepented

Sin

In a life

Of a person

Who claims

To be a follower

Of Christ

Who understands

God's standard

For his life

If so

Break fellowship

With him

Paul says

Break it

Send him out

Now when he says

Deliver him

This man to Satan

Like this isn't

Like a fine Satan

Knock on the door

Like here he is

Do what you want to

With him

What he's talking

About right here

Is a break

In the fellowship

Of the body

He's saying

Those of you

Who are the church

And this man

Claims that he is

Then break that

Because here's

What he is going

To have to face

He's going to

Have to face

The consequences

Of his sin

And specifically

He's going to

Have to face

The consequences

Of sin

In the spiritual realm

Right

There is

A connection

In our walk

With the Lord

In our connection

In biblical community

Amongst

One another

There is

There's a closeness

That we can have

And the deeper

This is for a whole

Another message

At a whole

Another different time

But the deeper

We dive

Into community

Together

And seeking

To glorify the Lord

The closer

We are drawn

To him

It's a beauty

It's why God

Gave us

One another

And Paul says

Stop

Protecting him

You've got to

Break this

Because a break

From the body

Means he'll face

This world

Alone

Without the love

Without the support

Without the encouragement

From his church

It's time to break it

Because look where

He says he's going

He's going out

Into the world

That he doesn't

Even tolerate

What he does

Right

So he's got a group

That tolerates it

He's got a group

That accepts it

He's got a group

That just maybe

Probably whispers

Behind his back

Not addresses it

But even those

On the outside

Are like

Nah bro

That's your stepmom

Right

Releasing to it

Releasing to it

And watch

What's going

To happen

Paul says

Discipline

And remove him

So

But here's the reason

Why

We talked about this

I think last week

Right

The potential result

Of discipline

Right

If you weren't here

Last week

We talked a little bit

About this

That the goal

Of biblical discipline

Is not to punish

That's not the goal

It's not you did this

So here's what

We get to do to you

Right

The goal

Of church

Discipline

That the goal

Of biblical

Confrontation

Is not for

Punishment

But it's for

Correction

To bring back

To have them

In right standing

Before the Lord

And so what we

What Paul lays out

Are some potential

Results of this

Discipline

If you stop

Protecting him

If you'll stop

Being the parents

Who are ignoring

The destructive

Behaviors

Of their child

That's destroying

All of this around

Then here's

What God could do

Here's what

Would take place

If you stop

Protecting him

That yes

He will live

In the consequences

Of his sin

Full blown

The consequences

He faces

The choices

Of this life

Without having

The enabling

Behaviors

Of those who

Are close to him

When we protect

People from discipline

That's what we do

We enable

Their poor

Decisions

And then Paul

Says this

And when he's

Left of that

When he's left

For Satan

No longer

In protection

Of the body

But he could

Become broken

For his sin

Repent of his sin

And cry out

To Jesus

Paul says

When we release him

That this is what

Could take place

And the result

Of this church

Discipline

Could be

His salvation

Paul says

This is what

We're holding him

Back from this

Opportunity

Stop trying

To save him

From the consequences

Of his sinful

Actions

That he chooses

And that God

May use those

Consequences

To bring him

Back

To brokenness

The day that I got saved

The day that I got saved

My mother looked at me

And released me

Go

Go do what you're

Going to do

Go be who

You're going to be

It's not godly

It's not God's

Desire for you

But if that's

What you want to do

Go chase it

And find the consequences

That this world

Has for you

And I praise the Lord

That before the sun

Went down

Jesus brought me

To my knees

Right

Stop trying

Let the consequence

Be there

Let the brokenness

Be there

So that the hope

Might be

That God

Uses

All things

All things

All things

And so not

Disciplining him

Is hurting him

But it's also

Hurting the church

Look at verse 6

Your boasting

Is not good

Do you not know

That a little

Leaven

Leavens the whole

Lump

Cleanse out the

Old leaven

That you may be

A new lump

As you really

Are unleavened

For Christ

Our Passover lamb

Has been sacrificed

Let us therefore

Celebrate the festival

Not with the old

Leaven

The leaven

Of malice

And evil

But with the

Unleavened bread

Of sincerity

And truth

Not only in the life

Of the person

Does this need

To take place

But it needs

To happen

In the church

And here's

Why sin

Must be removed

Paul uses

An illustration

Here of

Leaven

Or yeast

In the bread

And this can go

All the way back

To the Passover

And the Passover meal

We don't have the time

To go into all that

Today

But the idea

Of leaven

Was used

To signify

Sin

Right

And Paul says

To them

But you are now

In Christ

You're unleavened

Meaning this

That when Christ

Saved you

He removed

Spiritually speaking

The leaven

From you

He removed

The sin

From you

He paid the price

For that

But if you

Allow

The leaven

To exist

In you

And amongst you

What happens

With yeast

It spreads

It grows

It infiltrates

And will infect

The entire

The entire

Batch

The entire

Church

And so when

This is allowed

What we think

What we can do

Is isolate it

And think to

Ourselves

Well this is

Such a rare

Case

This is only

Them

We're just here

To love them

Through this

But what happens

Is it begins

To spread

Maybe not

Through action

But through

Acceptance

Well if this

Form

Of sexual

Immorality

Is allowed

And accepted

And okay

Then my sexual

Immorality

May look

Different

Act different

Manifest itself

Differently

But if that's

Accepted

Then this

Is too

And if this

Has been accepted

Beyond god's

Standard

Then what about

This and what

About this

And what

About this

And what

About this

And what

About this

And eventually

What appeared

To be

A little

What appeared

To be

Manageable

Begins to

Grow

And grow

And grow

To allow

Unrepentant

Sin

To remain

Church

Is a gross

Misunderstanding

Of grace

Grace does not

Tolerate sin

Grace and truth

Are connected

In one

And it does not

Tolerate sin

But instead

Grace offers

Love and forgiveness

For the person

Who is repentant

Of their sin

Right

We're not looking

For perfection

But what we're

Looking for

Is the perfected

Savior in the

Life of the believer

Right

And Paul says

When we

Accept this

It begins to

Spread

And spread

And spread

And this goes out

With these last

Several verses

And it says

I wrote to you

In my letter

Now this was that

If you go all back

Remember week one

This is the first letter

That we don't have access to

That Paul had written

To them already

Not to associate

With sexually immoral people

So Paul's been

Dealing with this

Right

Look at verse 10

Now

Not at all meaning

The sexually immoral

Of this world

Or the greedy

And swindlers

And idolaters

Since then

You would need

To go out

Of the world

But now

I am writing you

Not to associate

With anyone

Who bears the name

Of brother

If he is guilty

Of sexual morality

Or greed

Or is an idolater

A reviler

A drunkard

Or swindler

Not even to eat

With such a one

For what have I

To do

With judging

Outsiders

It is not those

Inside the church

Whom you are

To judge

God judges

Those outside

Purge

The evil

Person

From among you

What I want us

To close in

Is in the context

Of this

Of what it means

To be living

In the world

What it means

To be living

In the world

The standard

That we hold

Ourselves to

Cannot be the standard

We hold the world to

In a sad

Narrative

Of the church

From Corinth

To today

Is let's be quick

To point the finger

Of judgment

Of those outside

While we ignore

The sinful behaviors

Of those inside

It's so much easier

To say

How they're wrong

How they're ungodly

But yet we won't deal

With what's happening

Amongst the body

And what we've seen

We know the narrative

Is that all too often

Unfortunately

Is the church

Is the reflection

Of the world

It finds itself in

Instead of being broken

Before the Lord

In the church

Paul says

The sexually immoral

The greedy

The idolater

The reviler

The drunkard

The swindler

Those who claim

Faith in Christ

But this is who they are

They're unrepentant

They don't care

They're living in anarchy

Before the Lord

And who are you

To bring them

We break from them

But those who are

In the world

Who are like this

You know

The groups of people

Jesus hung out with

We share

We proclaim

We befriend

In hopes

In hopes

In hopes

That we

Can share

The gospel

Of Jesus Christ

With them

So that they can have

The moment

That we had

To be broken

For who we are

In the desperate

Need of the Savior

Right

We got discipline

That we gotta do in here

Within our family

Within our individual families

And within ourselves

We need men

And women

Of bold faith

To be able

To look at one another

And say

It's not out of pride

That I think

That I've got this right

But it's in humility

That I come before you

And whether you call me out

Whether you walk away

From me

And no matter what

The consequences

That I might face

I'm desperately concerned

With who you are

And who you claim

To be in Christ

And then maybe

We need to set down

Our attitudes

Of judgment

To those

Who would identify

Themselves

As lost

And say

We bring you

Into

So that you can

Hear

So that you can

Respond

To the gospel

When we see

Brokenness

In the lives

Of the people

In the world

May we understand

That they are

The mission

Not the enemy

To go

And make disciples

To go

Into lostness

But through here

It says

Iron

Sharpens iron

Addressing

Calling out

Loving

For the hope

Of correction

Of repentance

And of unity

With God

It's been a tough

Week

It's been a tough

Journey

As we

Go through this

It's easy

To read

Verse 1

And say

Look at how

Terrible they are

It's a little

Bit harder

To read

2 through 13

And find out

How all the rest

Of those

Fingers

Point back

At me

Would you pray

With me

Lord I thank you

For the tough

Truth of your

Word

I thank you

For the conviction

That it brings

Lord I thank you

For the work

That it's done

In my life

And hopefully

In the lives

Of so many

More

Not because

Of my words

Not because

Of a small

Group conversation

Because that

Which we teach

That which we

Proclaim

Is your word

And the very

Word of God

Lord may

May all

That we do

May all

That we

Cling to

Be based in

And rooted

In love

May we

Understand

The connection

Of grace

And discipline

Lord may we

Die to our

Sin

May we die

To our

Pride

And to be

Willing

Not to

Not to

Simply call

Out to

Humiliate

To embarrass

Or to

Punish

Someone

Who claims

To be a

Brother and

Sister in

Christ

But Lord

In hopes

Of correction

In hopes

Of repentance

In hopes

Of seeing

Them long

To be

Broken

Before you

So that you

Would be

Glorified

In their

Life

Lord may we

Be the

Messengers

Of hope

Into this

World

Would we

Carry the

Gospel

To the

Least

Of these

To the

Outcast

To the

Ones

Living in

A behavior

That even

Our culture

Would say

That we

Don't even

Tolerate

This

But would

We carry

It

Not out

Of the

Hope

That they

Would see

That their

Behavior

Is wrong

And simply

Make a

Moral

And ethical

Decision

In

Themselves

But that

They would

Understand

That their

Sinner

And that

The penalty

Of sin

Is death

And judgment

Before you

And you

Alone

And that

Jesus

Is the

Only one

Lord

That Jesus

Is the

Only one

Who saves

Lord

I thank you

That this

Week

Was not

Easy

I thank you

That this

Week

Was complicated

Lord

I thank you

That this

Week was

Messy

All for the

Sake

Of growing

More

In your

Likeness

Of who

You've

Called

Us

To

Be

And it's

In Jesus

Name

We pray

Amen

Amen

We got

Prayer

Encouragers

On either

Side

Of this

Auditorium

And here's

What I think

A lot

Of us

Do

We try

To play

Hide

And seek

We try

To play

Hide

And seek

We'll

Take our

Sin

That we

Know is

Wrong

That we

Know is

Not what

The Lord

Desires

For us

And we

Justify it

To ourselves

And then

Try to

Follow it

Away

And try

To hide

The things

In darkness

That they

May not

Be drawn

Out the

Light

As we

Go into

Our time

Of response

This morning

Maybe you

Need to

Bring some

Things

Into the

Light

Whether

That's

Before you

And the

Lord

Or do you

Need someone

To pray

For you

With the

Struggles

That you're

Going through

And the

Battles

That you

Face

Or maybe

You're the

Person this

Morning

And you

Recognize

That this

Journey of

Life

That you've

Been on

Has been

A fraud

I was a

Fraud for

22 years

22 years

And the

Sweet goodness

Of the

Brokenness

Where you

Decide you're

Not going to

Be a fraud

Anymore

But you

Just want to

Be repentant

And broken

Before the

Lord

And the

Beauty

The beauty

Of his

Salvation

Just respond

To God

This morning

Thanks again

For listening

To the

Willow Ridge

Church

Weekly

Podcast

We hope

That you

Enjoyed

Listening to

This week's

Message

If you'd

Like to

Learn more

About who

We are

Or explore

Additional

Resources

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