(Disclaimer: This transcript is auto-generated and may contain mistakes.)

So we're on part two of Matthew chapter 18, we're going to be looking from verse 15. Last week we did verses 1 to 14 and we saw the disciples debating who was greatest among them, didn't we? And we talked about that and how sadly that is a way that many Christians can be and get competitive and here they're just brazenly open with it, but we saw, I think we compared with Luke's Gospel, it is about who's greatest among themselves. And then what happened was Jesus set this little child in the middle of them and said, except ye be converted and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. And we looked briefly at how children aren't held responsible for sin until they have an understanding between good and evil and obviously we preached that a bit recently, so we didn't go into too much depth with that, I think that's quite a clear truth in the Bible. And also how when we're saved we become spiritual babies, so with salvation we basically become little children, don't we, spiritually, and we looked at that as well. And then we looked at the value of the humility of children and the humility itself is a great thing to have and children, young children especially, all seem to have that and just how what high regard God has for them and it's a good thing to remember sometimes, isn't it? And then also we talked about how they are able to give the Gospel and we don't want to be pressuring that or pushing that, some will be quicker than others with that depending on the personality types, but however children are able to give the Gospel. And then we looked at how God esteems them highly and then the warning to those offending or casting stumbling blocks before them and there was a big warning there, wasn't it, quite a graphic warning about that millstone cast about the neck. We then talked about guardian angels and we went into depth with that, I think, and just talked about how, look, the more you do for God the more you're going to probably have maybe more like a spiritual army of guardian angels and for others, like I said, maybe there's one angel per like a hundred and probably not doing very much. And then we looked at the value of one soul and specifically that of little children, yeah, and look, God's not willing that any of these children should perish, is he? And when you go, oh, isn't he not willing that anyone should perish? Well, he's not, but there is a point that people get to where then they give, you know, they reject God and they're rejected, but at a young child age that ain't happening, is it, little children, hence that clear point about not wanting any of those little children to perish. Verse 13 then said, and if so be that he find it, talk about that one, that one sheep, verily I say unto you, rejoice of more of that sheep than of the ninety and nine which went not astray, even so it is not the will of your father which is in heaven, that one of these little ones should perish. That's a nice thing to hear, isn't it, and it just shows the value of them. Verse 15 then says, moreover, if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone, if he shall hear thee, thou has gained thy brother. I'd like to pray before we continue, Father, thank you for this chapter of the Bible, please help me to preach it accurately now, Lord, please help me to preach it clearly and boldly and just fill me with your spirit please, Lord, help everyone to have attentive ears here, help me to just preach those topics that you've put in my heart and prepare them for this just accurately and clearly for everyone to listen to and hopefully be edified by as well, in Jesus' name we pray all of this, Amen. Okay, so this is a new paragraph here and I believe he's kind of going on to a new subject here. There are a few things to note here because this passage is misused by all sorts of people and I know we went through this in our series of sins that get you kicked out of church, so I'm not going to spend a long time on this but we'll just look into it again because it is an important passage because it is how to deal with a lot of issues that come up in church life. He said, if thy brother, okay, so first point, this is a fellow believer, okay, a brother in Christ, someone who's saved and obviously applies to a sister too, okay, Jesus, Jesus, you know, when he says he sings, when the Bible says he sings, I don't have to keep going, oh sister, oh sister, look, that's pretty obvious, isn't it, okay, because some will try to, you know, misuse this passage to teach that that's how we should deal with false prophets, for example, you know, or really anyone we criticise, so I'll go, you know, guy stands behind a pulpit, preach on false prophet, did he ring him up personally, you know, talk to him alone, have you ever seen this sort of stuff come out, yeah, I've seen these sort of comments on social media and people try and come out with this, you know, well why didn't you take it to your brother between him and me alone, well first he's not a brother, yeah, a brother in Christ is someone that's saved, yeah, and secondly look when you're preaching as well because it's not just about false prophets, when you're preaching about clear sin and other things like that, you don't have to take it to him alone, I mean, you know, Jesus Christ didn't take it alone to Herod when he called him a fox, did he, okay, now I'm not saying Herod's a brother in Christ but sometimes things need cooling out, don't they, okay, that's not what it's talking about here, so first thing is that yes, this person is a brother, okay, this isn't talking about just random people that need cooling out from the pulpit, that's something we're told to do to shine the light on the darkness and obviously with false prophets they need preaching about, okay, now he also said trespass and a trespass is an umbrella term for some sort of offence, injury, wrongdoing, some sort of annoyance, yeah, this isn't talking about serious crime, okay, this isn't talking about, oh well that, you know, that person just kind of beat you to a pulp, he nearly killed you, you know, in the toilets in church because he had the hump with you, have you gone and spoken to him alone about it, no, I mean, that's a serious thing isn't it, or that person, you know, you can think of a hundred different crimes, yeah, and things which are, you know, serious big deals, no, this isn't what it's talking about, a trespass against you, here we're talking about something that's not worthy of going to the law really because you're brothers in Christ, and look, this is something that you need to explain to him, it said tell him his fault, okay, to tell him his fault, okay, that's not something that's just blatantly obvious, okay, so it's not, oh well, you know, this is, you know, like I said, something like some horrendous crime or something else like that, this is something you need to go to them and tell them their fault and say I don't know if you realise but this made me feel like this or this was like this or you owe me for this or something along those sorts of lines, yeah, Jesus also said if thy brother shall trespass against thee, against thee, this is a personal issue, okay, this isn't, you know, the brothers preaching heresy, oh well, did you take it to your brother alone, you know, the guys like in the back corner whispering about, you know, you know, you got to repent of your sins actually and everything else, why didn't he take it to his brother alone, no, you need to come and tell me that, yeah, okay, this isn't talking about church kicking out offences, I was driving down the road and I saw brother so and so stumbling out of the pub, you know, staggering down the street, hurling abuse at people and vomiting, did you take it to the brother alone, no, take it to the church leadership, they're a drunkard and they're knee kicking out, yeah, okay, so that's not what it's talking about, it's talking about trespassing against him, so it's something that's a personal grievance, a personal issue, okay, not some sort of grievous sin that would have you kicked out of church and obviously we've looked at that at length over the last few months, so I'm not going to go into all of those different sins again, if you're unaware of those and look back at our Sunday evening series on sins that get you kicked out of church, so we're talking about a sort of personal grievance, okay, why, why is this something that's discussed here by Jesus, because these things can become big issues, can't they, like, you know, so often in life, something that's really very small can become a massive issue because it's not dealt with, because people, look, can easily start to get more and more offended and then suddenly you've got a rift and then you've got some issue where someone doesn't want to talk to someone else or someone who's kind of clearly got agreements with someone else and then we've got disharmony in the church, we don't want disharmony in our church, do we, and look, these things are going to happen, okay, and the longer this church goes on and the bigger it grows, that's going to happen, you're going to get issues, you're going to get problems, but here we're given a way of dealing with it, so an example would be, you know, and again, there are a hundred, probably a thousand different examples you could give of what would this, the sort of situation this is talking about, but say, I don't know, brother Andre lends brother David £20 to get home on the train, okay, brother David came out without his wallet, he said, oh no, I've just realised I can't afford to get home, you know, I don't have a ticket because of the strike action, he was telling me when they have the strike action, they don't let them use their tickets or something like that along those lines, so, because he works for them, if anyone's not aware, he works for like one of the networks, one of these strikers, get him, no, I'm joking, okay, so brother Andre lends him some money, okay, he lends him £20 to get home and David just completely forgets, yeah, he says, oh yeah, I'll give it to you next time I'm in, comes in next week, doesn't give it to him, okay, now, look, you could see how that could happen, right, those sorts of things, you could think it doesn't even have to be money, it could be a number of things, you lend someone something, they just completely forget about it, yeah, but Andre's just thinking, David's just ripped me off, yeah, I'll lend him that money out of the goodness of my heart, I actually needed that as well and he's just, he's just, hasn't paid me back, he said he'd pay me back next week, so he starts getting wound up about it but you could see how that could have been, that would just be easy solved, so he could go away and just start getting, maybe whispering to other people going, you know, David's one of those, you know, you be careful you don't lend that David money because he won't pay you back and Andre's kind of at home, he's, you know, he's got a picture of David on the dartboard and he's, you know, and all this sort of thing, however, what should he have done was just gone up to David and David would have gone up, I completely forgot, I'm so sorry, Andre, I completely forgot, if I don't have it with me, I'm going to bring it in next time and I definitely will, please remind me if I haven't, I'll put a note on my phone or something else, yeah, that would be the normal way to deal with it, wouldn't it, but you could see how if he didn't go to David or if he came to me, David would have been, what's he doing, I would have paid you, you know, something else, so it's just like a minor thing, isn't it, and you can think of a hundred different minor things, yeah, I don't think I have to go through like a hundred different examples, just something which isn't a grievous sin, it's not a church kicking out thing, it's just, it can be a misunderstanding and the way of learning that is to go to them and the thing is, in life, a lot of the time, a lot of the time we get worked up by things because we don't deal with them, don't we, so often it's because it's just so awkward, isn't it, going up and going, what happened to my 20 quid, David, you know, and you feel, oh, he's going to think I'm a bit of a cheatskate or, you know, he thinks it's all I can think about or whatever else, it's a bit uncomfortable, people don't do it and then they start working themselves up, don't they, and then they start getting wound up and probably part of that annoyance is with yourself because you haven't just gone and dealt with it, but instead you kind of project it onto that person and then it becomes an issue in the church which we don't want, right. Now, if it gets solved then great, brilliant, and he said here that you've gained your brother because it's easy to have lost him over something minor because it can happen, can't it, suddenly the relationship gets a bit more strained, he's a bit funny, every time Andre's sorting out the soul-winning on a Sunday he's just like, David, you know, we'll just put him with someone who's, you know, going to be like, not get out very quickly or anything, you know, it starts to become an issue, he starts to have this kind of dark cloud over that person, but it could have just easily have been solved, right. Okay, great, but because it does, it feels better just to deal with things, doesn't it, sometimes, you know, sometimes you have something hanging over you and then you go and deal with that person and it kind of, it just clears the air straight away, even if they don't respond how you want them to necessarily, it's just nice to have dealt with it because so often part of the issue is that you're not dealing with it, yeah, and that you just know it's hanging over you, it's going to be an awkward conversation just hoping something's going to be solved, yeah. Verse 16 says, but if he would not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established. So, basically, this, for example, saying now exactly the same situation, but David says, you didn't let me 20 quid, what are you talking about? He says, oh, I paid that back, I paid that back to you, you're wrong, Andre, yeah, no, I don't still owe you that, and again, it could be something else, it could be, you know, no, I didn't say that, that you're claiming that I did that really offended you, or, you know, and again, we can think of a hundred things, no, I didn't crash into your car in the car park, what are you talking about? That stripe down there of your car colour was actually from a month before when I crashed into my neighbour's car, you know, or something, you know, and again, a hundred different examples, yeah. Now, obviously, you want to avoid this next stage now, because this next stage is starting to ramp it up a bit, now you're starting to involve other people from the church, okay, but the witnesses here are meant to be independent people, right, okay, so the idea here is that you go, it's not like, right, let's find my two best friends in the church, people that are definitely on my side, maybe, you know, people that I've noticed have got a bit of a problem with David, or maybe he doesn't, you know, they're not as friendly together, then I've definitely got this one, that's not the idea, okay, and the other idea with the witnesses is that they should be able to judge the situation, they should just be people that you just consider to be fairly honest, good, you know, normal people that are just able to just judge a situation, okay, that's what you want, because then it's going to stand you in more stead if you get to stage three, now you're thinking, yeah, but when would I really have to get a witness, look, in a situation where someone's basically not repentant about the issue that you feel justified that you have, now, if you feel that, look, it's not even an issue, I don't even care, and you can forgive them, just move on, yeah, don't have to, it's like, right, got to go to this stage next, if you can move on, great, but what you don't want is to have, is to be harbouring ill feeling for people when it should and can be sorted, right, okay, so, like I said, it could be one of many issues, yeah, now, the witnesses are for dealing with it, okay, not, they're not someone to gossip to, okay, so it's not like, guys, I might need a witness, yeah, might need a witness, because this is what happened, blah, blah, blah, blah, this side, do you really need a witness, well, no, I'm not going to do anything, but I thought I might, so I thought I better explain it to you, but I might need a couple more, actually, so then you start kind of, okay, the witnesses, it's not like a kind of a, someone that you can gossip to, but, okay, what if that still doesn't solve it, then, so, you've gone to the witnesses, the idea is that, so, Andre has gone, look, I definitely lent him this money, he's claimed he didn't, I can't just let this lie, because I know he's, David's pulling a fast one here, yeah, so, he says, I'm, I'm, I'm going to have to involve the two witnesses, so he gets, he gets the two John's involved, yeah, so, John A and John C here, okay, John B's over on the computer, just love going on about the John A, B and C's, okay, so we got, we got John A and John C's, like, okay, I've got a couple of impartial witnesses here, and they come along, and they listen to the situation, now, this could be very useful in many situations, right, witnesses are great, because then, you know, for example, Andre can't turn around and go, well, David told me to do one when he didn't, or David can't turn around and say, and I'm not saying that these guys would, but people can remember things a bit different sometimes, or people, you know, in the heat of it, in the annoyance, they start to imagine that someone maybe kind of said something maybe they didn't, or, you know, or maybe someone is being dishonest, because there can be dishonest people that come into churches as well, and maybe they're just trying to cause trouble, and it's much better to have witnesses, ideally impartial witnesses as well, right, now, they've listened, now, the witnesses are to make a judgement, so they would maybe say, look, having heard it, it does sound right to be honest, David, you know, it does sound like Andre did lend you that, you know, you can't quite remember when it was you paid him back, it's not obvious, you know, Andre is saying that definitely I know that's the only cash I had in my wallet, I haven't had that, blah, blah, blah, then hopefully David would be like, well, fair enough, you know, and these guys are probably sitting and going, look, of course, I'll just sort that out anyway, okay, but whatever situation it is, they should be able to just sort it, it hasn't gone to church leadership, it hasn't become like this big issue, it's easy, but what if they're too stubborn to hear, because some people, they just get really stubborn, don't they, they're like, no, I'm not having it, no, I'm not having that, and it might not be about 20 quid, maybe it's about 100 quid, maybe it's about a job that someone's done who's a tradesman or something and they're refusing to pay him, and they're like, what are you talking about, I did a, you know, I did this, they're saying they're not paying me, I did a really good job, or something else, and, you know, whatever it is, it could be more serious than, you know, the sort of 20 pound lending thing, it could be many, many issues, you know, the way they spoke to my child or something else, I'm not having it, I'm not talking to them again until they apologise, and they're saying, look, it wasn't really rude, all I did was say, run along little one, you know, and whatever else, okay, so what happens then? Well, it says, verse 17, if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church, but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto the is an heathen man and a publican. Right, time to tell everyone in the church, is that what it's saying? Right, they haven't heard them, right, get an announcement, we need to, right, brother Ian, can you step aside for a minute, I need to announce it to the church, is that what it's talking about? Oh, he's talking about the church leadership, so turn to Deuteronomy chapter 19, which talks of a similar situation, okay, we're going to look at Deuteronomy chapter 19, obviously keep a finger on Matthew 18, we'll be coming back there, Deuteronomy 19 and verse 15. And the reason I say that is because, look, there are churches and many churches, I was just talking to someone recently from one and they're talking about churches voting on this, that's not biblical, none of that's biblical, okay, bring it, look, the whole church has to list and make a decision, that's not biblical, that's not how it works, okay, and we see an example of this in Deuteronomy chapter 19 and verse 15 where it says, one witness shall not rise, and obviously this is a huge church at this point, this is just getting ready to go into the promise now, one witness shall not rise up against a man for any iniquity or for any sin in any sin that he sinneth, at the mouth of two witnesses or at the mouth of three witnesses shall the matter be established. If a false witness rise up against any man to testify against him, that which is wrong, that happens, doesn't it, we've had experience of that obviously in this church, people can be false witnesses, because that could be a new issue, can't it, maybe we've got an issue and it's a different issue, maybe Andre's got a big gang of mates in a church and his two witnesses are two of his best mates and they're all the problem, they're really here to try and poison and destroy our church and suddenly the two witnesses are wicked as well and they're just lying because they just want to cause trouble and get someone kicked out of the church, you know, and someone who maybe for whatever reason they want out, yeah, so again, look, you've got to be careful for that or maybe one of those people's a false witness, maybe David's just making this complete lie up and going no, complete Nazi lying about me, that's a false witness, right, so there are many ways that you can have this as well. Then both the men between whom the controversy is shall stand before the Lord, before the priests and the judges, which shall be in those days. So it wasn't before the whole congregation, was it? Was it right, we need to get all the children of Israel together and they'll stand up for, it got, oh, we need to stand up at least in front of this tribe or in front of at least this group together, in front of this percentage of it. No, they stand before the Lord, before the priests and before the judges. Now the priests and the judges really are representing the Lord, that's what he's saying here, before the Lord, before the priests and the judges, okay, and like I said, loads of churches just, they just do crazy stuff with like all this church voting. I mean, I spoke to a church that those people that, you know, that contacted me about some of the people we kicked out from our church and asked me about the situation, explained the situation to him and he said, well, I'll have to take it to the church membership and then they can decide. What are you talking about? You're the pastor. And that's how they do it. And then, now you can see where that can be a problem then because the church members should have no idea half the time. Well, just because you're a member of a church, yeah, does that mean that suddenly you know how to judge the situation and everything? It's a mess, isn't it? Absolute mess. And then, obviously, you could have, like, we would have had another. Imagine bringing something towards our church members a few months back. I mean, half the church was a bunch of rodents. Suddenly, you've got like a, you've got a right situation then with voting and all this sort of stuff and that happens in churches, doesn't it? You can have a real core of people that are real problem people and then they're trying to influence other people who want to kind of agree with them because they're such strong characters that people just want to agree with them because they're so holy and, you know, they get 20 salvations when they go out and all this sort of stuff and suddenly you've got this strong influence and people are, that's nuts, isn't it? That's not what it's about. Here, it's between the priests and the judges. So, what people try and do is they try and merge the world's so-called democracy, which as we know is a sham anyway, yeah, and try and merge it with God's word. But it doesn't work like that, does it? Anyone tell me when they, you know, someone give me some examples in the Bible where all the people who just go to some version, whether it's the church in the wilderness or something else, all just have a vote on church discipline issues. I mean, it's nuts, yeah. So, okay, so the biblical way is proper leadership and obviously it's a mega church here. I mean, this is a proper mega church, right? Okay, they've got a lot of people. So, what do you do with a mega church? Well, you have multiple assistants in the leadership, yeah, deacons, assistant, pastor, whatever you want to call them, which is, if you remember what Moses instigated back in Exodus 18. If you're quick, you can go there, but we are going to be coming back to Deuteronomy 18 because Exodus chapter 18 and verse 21 says, I'm only going to read a couple of verses. If you remember, you know, Jethro comes over to Moses and he's saying to him, Jethro is his father-in-law, and he's like, what are you doing? He's judging all of these sorts of situations, all himself, and he's got, I don't know, at this point, like the best part of a million people or something to judge between, he says, moreover thou shalt provide out of all the people able men such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness, and place such over them to be rulers of thousands and rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties and rulers of tens, and let them judge the people at all seasons, and it shall be that every great matter they shall bring unto thee, but every small matter they shall judge, so shall it be easier for thyself and they shall bear the burden with thee. So that's what we're seeing in Deuteronomy 18, a continuation of the judges. That's what I see here. These judges that were kind of started back in soon after, you know, the Exodus, and he said here about before the priests and the judges in verse 17 of Deuteronomy 19, and it says here then, and the judges shall make diligent inquisition. Okay, so these, look, it's not, oh, well, right, now you've got these judges here, they just do what they want. No, they're meant to make diligent inquisition. Okay, these are people, men of truth, that hate covetousness. Okay, these are people that want to get to the bottom of things, want to get things right. They're not going to take a little bribe or think, you know, that person just keeps bringing me nice, you know, gifts and everything else. I better go like, sway on their side. That one has me over for sleepover barbecues every other week. You know, I better choose to agree with them. No, they make diligent inquisition. And behold, if the witness be a false witness and testify falsely against his brother, okay, so it's not just some kangaroo court, is it? Okay, they're making diligent inquisition. Then shall ye deal unto him as he had thought to have done unto his brother, so shalt thou put the evil away from among you. And to those which remain shall hear and fear and shall henceforth commit no more any such evil among you. And I shall not pity, but life shall go for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot. Okay, so fast forward then to a New Testament church and look, matters are sometimes brought to me and our pastor, right? But some things are small enough to be dealt with without, aren't they? Okay, many things should just be small enough to be dealt with between two people. Just be able to go up to them and go, look, I had a bit of a problem here, yeah? Or maybe, look, if they can't deal with that, maybe go to a second witness, okay? Okay, now back in Matthew 18, if you go back there, if it gets to the point of that person still not accepting fault, then it becomes serious, okay? This is now serious now. It says in verse 17, and if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church, but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican. Okay, so what does that mean? Well, a heathen is an unbeliever, so an outsider really, yeah? Publicans were tax collectors and therefore avoided, weren't they? Kind of good reason, right? So for me, it just means that they're to be put outside and avoided, yeah? To be put outside and avoided. Now, notice how it's unto thee, unto thee, the person who's had the issue. So does that mean that they just avoid them at church, refuse to speak to them? Can you imagine how that would end up? Oh, okay, well, I've had a problem and got to this point, I just won't talk to him. Imagine, like, just, again, sorry guys, because I know, like, this isn't in your characters at all, but if it was, actually if Brother Dave is like, right, Andre is a heathen and a publican to me now, so what happens with Soulding on a Sunday? He's like, well, I'm not having Andre tell me, I'm not even going to talk to him, I'm not even going to look at him, what a mess you can imagine, what a mess that would be. So obviously that's not what it's saying, is it? So I believe it's just basically saying that if they're not hearing the church, they're out. It's kind of almost taking that for granted, isn't it? They're not hearing the church, they're getting kicked out. They're a heathen and a publican to you as well. It's not like, oh, well, they've been kicked out, I'll still kind of hang around, they're done, okay? They're out, and obviously we'd hope that maybe they get right in the future, but, and we talked about this when I preached on this particular kind of refusing church judgement, I believe I called it, because, like, you've got to be pretty hard-hearted to get to this point, and now it's proven, because this is, look, the judges have made diligent inquisition, yeah? The two witnesses have already done that, yeah? And you've got to this point, and it's like, what is wrong with you? Or you've taken it to this point, and you were in the wrong the whole time, and you've somehow scammed your two witnesses to hear, and then the judges have gone, no, what are you talking about? Look, that's someone who's a problem in a church, yeah? Now, look, I'm not saying, oh, they must be a reprobate, but they're someone who clearly is going to be a problem for the harmony of a church, yeah? And they need to be disciplined out of there, and hopefully maybe they get right in the future if they are, you know, someone who can be got right, okay? So, you know, you could sit there, you could listen to all this and go, what, so you could get kicked out of the church for forgetting to pay back £20? Yeah, that would be kind of like the simplified, you know, you could get kicked out of a church for basically refusing to repent when you're in the wrong, okay? That's the point, even when it then gets to the church leadership, and you're still just going, no, not having it, and stubborn people like that are a problem in a church, okay? And we want, look, the whole lump is more important than the singular, okay? That's the truth. The whole lump is, look, no, we don't want to be just kicking people out willy-nilly, okay? And we'll never do that at this church for no good reason. However, look, a little leaven leavens the whole lump, and that could become a big problem, someone like that, okay? So, okay, so, because here's the thing as well, this is going to, things like this will crop up with time, so it's something to try and remember, right, how do I deal with the situation? I'm going to go to that person and talk to them and go, look, that was out of order, okay? And then when it, when it, from there, then, you know, if it carries on, maybe I'm going to have to get the couple of witnesses involved. Again, if it's just something minor, not if it's someone who's clearly, someone's like whispering about me or trying to, you know, things like that, then look, that may be a bit more serious, someone like trying to discredit leadership, stuff like that, that's not a problem between him and thee alone, yeah? Okay? And not just me, like, whatever, whether it's our past or whether it's clearly something where they're kind of, it's more of a problem, it's something a bit more sinister or has a look at that, then that might, maybe needs to be escalated a bit quicker. But when it's some issue, some little grievance between yourselves, look, go to them alone, because, look, the excitement will and probably is already wearing off, okay? Yeah, great, we've got an NIV church, first one in Europe, in the UK, and slowly that starts to wane, and as that starts to wane, the little grievances and petty squabbles and annoyances with people starts to increase, doesn't it? And no more is it, oh, another brother, sister, how amazing, we're just all like-minded, soul-winning, and suddenly it's like, they looked at me like, what? You know, they said what, and that starts, stuff starts to rise, we want to be able to deal with it, and the best thing you can do in all those situations, if it's something you can't deal with, and ideally you should be able to deal with it, if you can't deal with it, you can't move on, you can't be like, oh, maybe they're just a bit funny, a bit socially awkward, maybe I just didn't quite get it, maybe, whatever it is, is to just go to them alone, and just go, look, did you realise that you said that? And they might from that learn and go, okay, well, maybe they're a bit sensitive to that, or maybe I do come across like that, and that's the best thing, but I know it's awkward, isn't it? But it's better than getting to the point where we've got rifts and strife. Okay, so, verse 18 said, verily I sound to you, on the back of that, verily I sound to you, whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Now, this is an interesting statement that Jesus also made back in chapter 16, so if you flick back to chapter 16, Matthew 16 and verse 16, says this, And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona, for flesh and blood have not revealed it unto thee but my Father which is in heaven. But I say also unto thee that thou art Peter, and upon this rock, we're talking about Jesus Christ, I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. The rock, the gates of hell being Jesus Christ, the gates of hell not prevailing against him, he conquered death. Okay, it's not about the church and gates of hell like flying at them or something. And then it's a resurrection and it provides the keys for the kingdom of heaven. And verse 19 says, And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Now for me, this verse is about the responsibility of the gospel. Okay, the keys to heaven being the gospel, right? Okay. That was given to Peter with the first church. No, he wasn't a pope, but he did seem to be, for me, the leader of that first church, and then onward through subsequent churches and soul winners. Yeah. And look, because it all really does come from church. Yeah, well, I was soul winning without a church. Yeah, but you were really getting sent out by church probably in the US. Let's be honest, it was preaching from the US for most, or for many people here, that got them soul winning in the first place. It's the churches which are sending out the soul winners. Let's be honest, without any of them, no one really is going to be out soul winning. Oh, I've read my Bible, it did say go preach unto every queen. No, it's when someone's thundering it from a pulpit, preach the gospel, preach the gospel, that it makes you go, yeah, I need to preach the gospel. That kind of hell, it makes you go, yeah, I need to preach the gospel. Okay. And that's where it all comes from, doesn't it, really? And it comes from churches. That's why churches are so important. One of the many reasons they're so important. Okay, so Peter was given that responsibility, okay. Now, he said, basically it says here, it says, whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. So those that are bound are saved for me, those that are loosed are basically removed from the book of life, aren't they? Yeah. Now, when we looked at this a few weeks ago, I was looking at this, and then afterwards, I kind of forgot, because I remember thinking, shall I preach this verse? And we were talking about church discipline, and I forgot that it's like two chapters later. So I was thinking, ah, yeah, it's really just talking about going, you know, whether or not you go to heaven or not. And it didn't affect that sermon, but I was thinking about it just afterwards. I remember preaching this about our church discipline. But then obviously, then we'd just seen it in this chapter, and really it's just on the back of basically people becoming a heathen man or a publican, yeah? Because here it says, let him be unto thee as a heathen man and a publican, and then he said in verse 18, and this is in Matthew 18 now, verily I say unto you, whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. So obviously in the context of church discipline. And the point being here is that, look, it's like both are true. So on one hand, yeah, it's when you're getting people saved and everything else, but also with church discipline, you know, it's a big deal, isn't it? It really is a big deal. And look, God gives that responsibility to leadership of a church. That's why, you know, in the last couple of years and, you know, like I've said many times, seeing like a lot of wickedness going on and just and, you know, and it's not, oh, just so clever. You just you're in a position where you can and God reveals things because he's trying to, for me, I have no doubt that he's revealing things to preach because you're kind of squashing down the latest little subtle attack, the latest little sin being promoted, push it, preach it, preach it, preach it. God's kind of opening your eyes to these things. And in my mind, it's like, you know what? Shouldn't I just be kicking them out for? And it's not really big enough things because it's a big deal because obviously if you kick them out for something that's not big enough, then or not clear enough, then you got then a problem because they're going to be pulling out half the church and they've been getting their hooks and claws into. Yeah. But church discipline is a big thing. And when you have something very clear and it's, you know, and they're getting kicked out, that's a big deal, isn't it? Because it's it's bound up in heaven. You know, and look, God God for me, because what happens when you kick someone out? You're kicking them out. What is First Corinthians five says? You're delivering them unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh. OK, when you get kicked out of a church, you're being delivered unto Satan. So that's a big call to make, isn't it? OK. Oh, well, I don't really like that person. I'm just going to kick him out. Now, look, you can sit in someone's heart in leadership because you can see sometimes you like this person's a problem. I can see all the little subtle like devil attacks coming from and so on. So but you've got to be 100 percent, don't you? Because you don't want to do it. It's not something to be taken lightly because you're binding that in heaven. They're basically, for me, I just see it that kind of like protection gets removed a bit and they're just given over for the destruction of the flesh. And that's why it's not like, oh, well, no one knows what I'm up to behind closed doors. Look, God's going to eventually kick you out of the church. If you were in a church disqualifying sin, it will come to life. And that's a big deal. OK, that's a big deal. It's, oh, well, as long as brother Ian doesn't know, you know, and everything. Look, it's a big deal. OK, you just need to get right, because once you're once you're kicked out, the destruction of the flesh is something like it's serious, isn't it? And then obviously whatsoever is loose. So on the same hand, you could kick someone out and they are genuinely repentant and they're genuinely a brother or sister in Christ who does want to get right. And you can loose that then, can't you? And you can welcome them back after for me, you know, at least a reasonable time out. Yeah, because there is meant to be some form of chastisement, isn't there as well? And look, verse 19 says, well, before we go to verse 19, because we have had that. OK, we had that here. We had we had someone who I, you know, after we kicked out those other people, we had someone else that basically admitted some wickedness. And I wanted to you know, they seemed they claimed to be repentant. So we we went to we were I gave them a bit of time. I said, oh, I'll speak to you again. I want to see that it was genuine, genuine repentance from that wanted to restore them. And then obviously they then just started studying social media. So they were kicked out, you know, properly from that. The point being that, you know, there is a chance to lose that. And if someone really is and we feel that, look, you know, there they can be brought back. We want to bring people back. However, it's a big deal. It's a massive deal. And and it's not the way it's not where you want to be, do you? And that is a big responsibility given to leadership of church. That's what he's saying to Peter here. He's saying, whatsoever you shall bind on earth shall be bound on heaven. Whatsoever you shall loose on earth shall be loose in heaven. OK. He then says again, I sound to you that if two of you shall agree on earth as touching anything that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my father, which is in heaven, for where two or three are gathered together in my name. There am I in the midst of them. So this is a great reminder of why tonight is a prayer night as well, isn't it? A great reminder, isn't it? Because it's more than one prayer. Even better. Yeah. OK. We want lots of people praying for things. That's why there's no shame in asking for prayers for things and getting more than one person praying. And obviously there are other caveats here. He said, if if two of you shall agree on earth as touching anything that they shall ask, it should be done of them, which is in my which is done for them of my father, which is in heaven. But, you know, there are obvious caveats. If myself and brother John A, you know, both decide that brother Dan needs a brand new Ferrari, you know, and pray for it, that's not going to happen. OK, because there are other caveats such as it being God's will. Yeah. And other such things like that. Yeah. And praying in faith as well, because let's be honest, both of us are probably not going to be praying there going, I know he's going to get that brand new Ferrari. He really needs it, et cetera. So there are other caveats. However, there is power to collective prayer, isn't there? OK, there is a power to collective prayer. That's why we have a prayer night. That's why when I'm here and I'm reading those prayers, I hope everyone is just basically praying in their head for those things. Sometimes I'll like almost sometimes reword it just to keep me like in tune and praying for those things, just rewording prayers in my head when someone's praying and I'm kind of following along. That's something I do. But just making sure you're in tune, you're praying for those things. You're not just planning next week and everything else, because there is such an effect to multiple people praying for something and in faith, in faith that God's going to answer those prayers. But verse 20 is probably a favourite of the organic sort of home church Bible study movement types, isn't it? For where two or three are gathered together. They're mine and me. See, you don't have to turn up to a church building, do you? I mean, who needs to go out on a cold night? Who needs to actually make an effort to go anywhere? You know, me and my wife, two people, God's in the midst. It's a church, isn't it? We're a congregation. You know, if we can get some more people over as well and really make ourselves feel important, call it a Bible study, then we can really act like, you know, Jesus in the midst of us. But you could argue that when they're rejecting genuine biblical churches, genuine biblical church planting, a church begetting another church, ordained leadership, you know, ordaining elders in every city, you know, that's all that annoying stuff in the Bible, which kind of, you know, they probably don't like to read about. Things being done decently and in order, you know, all that sort of stuff, yeah. You know, are they really gathering together in His name? Is that what they're doing? I don't think they are. Obviously, there are places and there are areas with none of those things. There's no real church and, you know, I can understand in those places people getting together and stuff and you're trying to get the word out, trying to encourage others to come and do some soul winning and stuff like that. But let's be honest, so many of these people, what are they really doing? It's really they're rejecting church. They don't want to have to go and submit to some leadership. They don't want to have to, they're going to have stuff they disagree with. Yeah, everyone is. No one agrees with everything I say for me. I don't want to deal with that. I'll just do my own thing at home. That ain't church. And I don't think Jesus is in the midst of you when you do that. OK, because really the context here is what? It's gathering together to pray, isn't it? That's what the context is in the name of Jesus, according to his will. Yeah, according to his will. It's as if he was asking the father. That's what he's basically saying here. It's as if he was asking the father. There's he in the midst. OK, then verse 21 says, Then came Peter to him and said, Lord, how off shall my brother sin against me? And I forgive him till seven times. Now, I don't know, whatever I read this, I always like kind of in my mind, do it with a bit of a voice, like till seven times. I kind of feel like Peter's trying to be all holy. And maybe he's not. Maybe he's just being genuine. He's going, you know, I'm up for forgiving my brother seven times. I always just kind of see him as being a bit like, you know, because you do see this sort of stuff sometimes with Peter. You know, I will never forsake you and all this sort of stuff. And he's like till seven times. See, but that's what I think. Because you do get those sorts of people, don't you? And we've obviously had people like that here before. I remember one, you know, he's just always telling everyone how he doesn't have a TV. Come on, man. Lots of people don't have a TV that don't just go, I have to announce it to everyone all the time. By the way, by the way, everyone, we don't have a TV at home. You know, it's so ridiculous. Yeah. And then, yeah, and sure enough, I don't have a TV at home. Yeah, I'm just this wicked covetous scumbag. He's trying to, you know, tear down churches. It's just ridiculous. But I don't think Peter's out. I think Peter's just impossibly trying to sound a bit holy. And the thing is, when you do that and you try and sound holy, you just kind of automatically ruined it, haven't you? Because those are a bit wiser, just thinking, OK, not really that holy, because you need to be boasting about your holiness all the time. But I don't know, maybe I've got that wrong there. But if he is, Jesus squashes it, does he, straight away. Because it says in verse 22, Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee until seven times, but until seventy times seven. So if he was, he was probably made to feel a bit small now, yeah. That's 490 times, yeah. That's a lot of forgiveness, isn't it? A lot of forgiveness. And I know some spouses might be sitting here going, well, we're up to 480, I reckon, by now. But the point is, it's a limitless number, OK, in case you're thinking, wait a second, I better do a double count here, because I must be getting up there. No, it's just saying, look, it's just continuing, continuing. If you are counting and you're up to like the 400, well, you're wicked for counting, all right. OK, so it should be limitless. And Jesus, look, what is Jesus saying? Is he saying that we should just forgive anything done to us? Is that the point of this? That even if it was the same person with various offences up to 500 times, is that what he's saying? Just forgive anything done. Well, a couple of things to notice from here. Firstly, that it's a brother. It's a brother. It's a fellow believer. It's not false brethren, but real brethren, OK, just to remind you of that as well. And turn to Luke 17, because this is on the back of Jesus saying to go to your brother if he trespasses against you in verse 15. You turn to Luke 17. In verse 15, here in Matthew 18, he said, he said, if he shall hear thee, thou has gained thy brother. OK, so he's saying to go there. He's saying to go there. He said, if he shall hear thee. OK, so the point being is that he hears you, right? OK? And if he doesn't hear you, you're meant to be going to two witnesses. So it's like, oh, yeah, just forgive it all, forgive it all, forgive it all. And again, this is one of, this sort of passage that we're about to go to now is one of those that they love, OK? That the false Christian sort of, I'm going to set up this, prop up this image of this just kind of, I would forgive anything anyone done to me or my family type. Well, look, you know, you should forgive your brother 70 times, seven times. No matter what's done to you, you should be, and you get these people that come out with this sort of, and what it does, it sets up this false standard that then people constantly feel insecure about because they think I'm just not forgiving enough because I wouldn't forgive someone if they, like, did this to me, my children, whatever it is, you know, you can imagine all sorts of, like, terrible scenarios, and people try and act as if I just forgave, I just forgave that serial killer because I'm a Christian and Christ would have forgiven him. No, he wouldn't, OK? We're going to see that in a minute. So this was based, obviously, where we were on the brother acknowledging the fault and we see that again in Luke 17 where verse 3 says, Take heed to yourselves. If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him, and if he repent, forgive him. Notice the if there. So two things to do there. First was rebuke him. Oh, well, he's trespass against me, I'd just better forgive him 490 times for it. No, first rebuke him. Then if, if he repent, that's the second thing, OK, he's turning, changing his mind about the trespass. If he repent, forgive him. OK, and again, like, you know, and the reason I say this is because many people will use this as a stick to beat Christians with, you know, and try and, you know, holier than thou people laugh and act like, how dare you not to forgive, you know, some non-Christian who's done something completely wicked. It's talking about a brother in Christ repenting as well and where we, oh, well, he didn't say that in Matthew 18. Yeah, but it's on the back of him just saying to go and talk to them alone and if the doc won't hear you go to two witnesses they'll take it to the church leadership. OK, and then it says, And if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, I repent, thou shalt forgive him. Now, forget 490 total. How about seven times in a day? I mean, that's pretty extreme, isn't it? Seven times in a day he's trespass against you. But it's if he repent, OK? Don't forget the first verse we saw there was if he repent in verse 3 because there's a lot of fake repentance, isn't there? There's a lot of people that claim to repent but don't. If he repent, OK? Not if he kind of claims to and everything else. If he repent. Look, people lie all the time and pretend, like the false brethren thing, like there are people that like bounce in and out of churches and they get kicked out like ten times. Oh, I repent again. Sorry, repent again. Repent for the fornication, repent for the boozing, repent for the railing, repent for this, repent for that and it's like, oh, got to let them back in. Well, no, it's if they actually do repent. Well, how do you test if someone repents? Well, he did say verse 4 says turn again to thee saying I repent. OK, for me that's kind of turning away from the previous mindset towards you, isn't it? OK, it's not like turn again. Oh, he was turning the other way. He didn't mean if he turns away. No, he's like turn again to thee. So it's kind of back to like that position of before he did whatever it was, you know. It's kind of turning back to you. Look, there's an action there, isn't there? There's some sort of action, turn again to thee. There's some sort of display of repentance, isn't there? He's turning again to you. For example, the example I gave earlier of the lady that, you know, and we were just going to keep, you know, we didn't have to announce it or anything else. She said that, you know, I'm really sorry. I've been in this sin and that sin and everything else. And we wanted to see genuine repentance, you know. So I said, OK, I'll speak to you again in a week. Let's see how you get on. Oh, right, you've told me now. Back you come. You know, it's like you've just announced this to me. You haven't been here for a while. However, now it's the church discipline. Let's talk to you again in a week's time. Was there genuine repentance? No. Because a week later, she's basically slandering the church on Facebook. That's not genuine repentance, is it? Now, she said she was sorry. So we could, oh, well, she's just announced that she's been boozing fornica. She said she's sorry. Bring her straight back. Well, no, let's see. Let's see how you, you know, let's see if you still feel like that in a week's time when you may be sober or I don't know. Because there were some weird, like, middle of the night messages and everything else. And then suddenly it's, oh, you know, slag yourself on Facebook. Well, OK, you're, you know, you're clearly not repentant, are you? OK. And then it's kind of gone to a new thing. Now you're division causing and, you know, and bulky against doctrines taught by the church and everything else. OK, so this, so, is specifically, what's it specifically talking about? Personal grievances between two brothers in Christ. This is, again, back to the original point. If you'd go to that person in that what we talked about earlier and you go to them and go, look, this happened or I felt like this happened, etc. And they turn to you and say, yeah, I'm sorry about that. You should forgive them. OK. That's what, that's what we're being taught there. Forgive them. Yeah. If they repent, forgive them. If they hear you, forgive them. That's what we're talking about here. If they turn again to you and repent, forgive them. OK. It's not talking about vile reprobates and all sorts of wicked people. Otherwise, how do you explain all the imprecatory prayers? All the imprecatory psalms? How do you explain any of that? Anyway. Verse 23 then says this. Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king which would take account of his servants. And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought unto him which owed him ten thousand talents. But for as much as he had not to pay, his Lord commanded him to be sold and his wife and children and all that he had and payment to be made. The servant, therefore, fell down and worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me and I will pay thee all. Then the Lord of that servant was moved with compassion and loosed him and forgave him the debt. But the same servant went out and found one of his fellow servants which owed him a hundred pence and he laid hands on him and took him by the throat, saying, Pay me that thou owest. And his fellow servant fell down at his feet and besought him, saying, Have patience with me and I will pay thee all. And he would not, but went and cast him into prison till he should pay the debt. When his fellow servant saw what was done, they were very sorry and came and told unto their Lord all that was done. Then his Lord, after that he had called him, said unto him, O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desirest me. Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellow servant, even as I had pity on thee? And his Lord was wroth and delivered him to the tormentors till he should pay all that was due unto him. So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses. That's a long old passage there, isn't it? And there are a few things to mention in this story for me. So verse 23 where we started said this, Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king which would take account of his servants. Now the king takes account of his servants. And don't forget that we're here to serve, okay? It's something to remember. Sometimes we're here to be kind of showered gifts, you know, on by God, or we're here to, you know, to what can we get out of this church? You don't want to see you want to be edified by a church, but ultimately we're here to serve God, aren't we? Okay, that's our job. And that's something that if you get that in your head, it probably helps you a lot with the Christian life when you just understand your job is to serve, okay? It's not like just this feel-good time all the time. No, your job is to serve, right? Praise God that we also get some pleasure and some joy and everything else whilst doing that, yeah? Okay, verse 24 says, And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought unto him which owed him 10,000 talents. Now this is a huge amount, okay? One talent being about 750 ounces of silver, okay? This is like a humongous amount that he owes. Now, many will have preached this, and I have heard this preached, that it's a picture of salvation, okay? And look, there's nothing necessarily wrong with that if you just want to see it as just a kind of likeness, okay? But I personally don't believe that because he's already a servant, isn't he? Okay, he's already a servant because he says, like and unto certain kin which take out of his servants, and when he had begun to reckon, one was brought unto him. Talking about servants, yeah? And it would be impossible to pay that debt as a servant in verse 34, which then says, And his lord was rotten and delivered him to the tormentors till he should pay all the debt that was due unto him, yeah? So that wouldn't really work, would it? I believe it pictures a believer, okay? A servant, a god that's done some bad stuff, is about to get some heavy chastisement. Now some could argue, oh yeah, but, you know, look, it's a picture of salvation, that massive debt we owe, and look, if you want to believe that, that's cool, you know? I don't believe that, okay? Because otherwise you've kind of got to discard certain parts, certain parts don't really make sense and everything else. So, verse 25 says, Now, this is something they used to do to someone if they couldn't pay a debt, okay? And there's a point that you can make from here as well. You know, men out there, when you're married, and if you're not married and you get married, like, your behaviour affects your whole family, doesn't it? Okay, your behaviour affects it. Oh, poor wife of kids, it was the dad the husband's fault. Well, yeah, that's what happens, okay? You're a leader, you run the house, you're the leader of the family. What you do, your behaviour, how you behave towards God, affects your whole family. It's a big responsibility, okay? And it's something that we obviously need to appreciate. And wives, you've got to understand that as well, that that's a big responsibility that your husbands have, okay? And they have a responsibility to make decisions. It's not, oh, it's all right for you, you get to make decisions. No, that's a big responsibility. And sometimes, you know, that could be a tough responsibility for men, and they obviously need a bit of appreciation for that. They're trying to make decisions. If you're balking at their decisions, you're basically saying, well, tough, I'm not letting you do that, okay? So there's one point there, and then the second point you can make from that is that women choosing your husband's a big deal. Now, if you've already chosen a husband, women, well, you know, forget this, yeah? And probably, I think, every woman in here has. But women watching online, yeah, if you are, or girls as you grow up here, choosing a husband is a big deal, okay? That's, look, because the choices they make in life, affects you and your kids. That's the truth. In fact, oh, well, God will just give us a bye, because, you know, well, we love the Lord. Well, you shouldn't have chosen that husband if he's going to mess up and if he's going to, look, it's a big deal, okay? It's a big deal. Marriage is a massive decision. We should all, look, women need a husband, okay? They need a leader, and, you know, their poor dads don't want to do it until they're old spinsters, okay? But you need to make a wise decision with it. So here he said he commanded him to be sold and his wife and children and all that he had in payment to be made, okay? It affected them all. The servant, therefore, fell down and worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me and I will pay thee all. Now, this guy is accepting of his debt, isn't he? He seems repentant, doesn't he? Now, 1 John 1.9, the reason I believe this is about a believer, it says of believers, if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. That's talking about a believer. Now, let's talk about that daily confession of sins that we do, that we commit, that we do on a daily basis, and we should be confessing them to our Lord, shouldn't we? And he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins. Look, every one of us here could have a tally up here of things that we should be getting worked for, that we should be getting chastised for, the debts that we owe after the Sabbath. I'm not talking about eternal punishment here, but I'm talking about chastisement in life and things that our loving Heavenly Father should and could be punishing us for. Because if you think that you're getting worked for everything you've done, you're having a laugh. Then verse 27 says, Then the Lord of that servant was moved with compassion, loosed him and forgave him the debt. And like I said, if we were getting punished for everything, it would be not so. God does forgive us when we're confessing our sins, we're repentant about them, you're saying, Lord, I know I messed up, I'm sorry I did that, I'm sorry for that foolish thought, I'm sorry for this, I'm sorry for that, whatever it is. God does. He's faithful and just to forgive us. Otherwise, what's 1 John 1-9 talking about? If we confess our sins. Because confessing your sins has got nothing to do with salvation. It's not that you're confessing all these different sins. Salvation, he's calling on the name of the Lord for salvation. If we confess our sins, he's faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Then verse 28 says, But the same servant went out and found one of his fellow servants. So again, it's a servant, isn't it? He's talking about a fellow servant, and we're seeing in the context, we've been talking about forgiving our brother in Christ, yeah? Which owed him 100 pence, he laid hands on him and took him by the throat, saying, Pay me that thou owest. Now, so he finds this fellow servant, who owes him, it's still a sizable amount, isn't it? Okay, 100 pence, if a penny's a day's wage, that's 100 days wages, okay? That's a lot of money, isn't it? But really, that amount of money, and look, if that's what, what's that, like 10 grand, by today's standards, approximately, is still nothing compared to what we owe God. Now, you could argue in terms of salvation, but you could argue just on a day-to-day basis, because we all sin, because we're all sinners, and we should be constantly asking for forgiveness as we go through life for the sins that we still commit, yeah? And again, it's got nothing to do with salvation. You're saved the second you put your faith in Christ, yeah? Forever. Okay, so Christians, I believe, can be like this, so. They're in, and this is the point, and I've talked about this with that gnat straining camel swallower. This is something we want to avoid, as Christians, we want to avoid this sort of thing in our church, is that it's often when people are in wickedness themselves, that they're quick to then try and get so angry about so-called wickedness in other people, and debts that they think they're owed by someone, or even not that they're owed. They're just trying to pick on everything else someone else does. It's like, and so often, like I said, one of the classifications of people that do that are people that are just in wickedness themselves, in some sort of sin, some sort of wickedness, and they're projecting and trying to find someone else to kind of lay the blame on everything else, and I believe that's what that kind of is a picture of there. They're angry at themselves, really, a lot of the time. This guy's literally, it looks like he's just been forgiven. He's just gone out and find someone, oh, you owe me, you know, and kind of take it out on them, yeah? Verse 29 says, And his fellow servant fell down at his feet, and besought him, saying, Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. So is this person repentant? Yeah, this person's repentant. He said, Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. Okay, that's what we're seeing, like the example of someone who's repentant. He said, Yeah, okay. He wants to make things right. First, certainly, and he would not, but went and cast him into prison until he should pay the debt. So, look, he's a picture there, I think, of casting someone out of fellowship, becoming the stumbling block to them serving the Lord. I mean, how's he going to pay? He's been cast into prison, you know? He's basically just casting him away, getting rid of him. He doesn't want him anywhere near him, type thing. Verse 31, So when his fellow servant saw what was done, they were very sorry and came and told unto their Lord all that was done. So they obviously don't agree, do they? So he hasn't gone before the two witnesses here, has he, and got them involved. They don't agree. He hasn't gone to the church leadership. No one seems to agree. They've gone to the Lord and gone, Look at what this guy's doing. Then his Lord, after that he had called him, said unto him, O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt because thou desirest me. Shouldest not thou also have had compassion my fellow servant, even as I had pity on thee? So, again, I believe this poor guy's clearly repentant, the one that he's taken out, and he said, Like you desired me, even as I had pity on thee. And in verse 34 says, And his Lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him. So this is chastisement, because a tormentor is just basically someone that inflicts pain or anguish, okay? This could be spiritual or physical, couldn't it? Okay, and when you're chastised, it can come physically, it can come spiritually in one way or another as well. But notice that there's an end, till he should pay. And I don't believe that's a picture of everlasting torment, then, is it? It's chastisement of the believer, okay? Now, look, you could go, okay, well, it's just some similarities, and he's just kind of giving a similar story, and it is talking about, that's what you want to believe, that's up to you, but then why does he say in verse 35, So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you? Well, it's clearly not being cast into hell, is it? Yeah? And he's not going to make you pay for every single sin that you've ever done, otherwise you'd have to go to hell. Okay, this is talking about the chastisement of God in life. So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you? He's talking to his disciples. If ye from your hearts forgive not everyone, his brother, their trespasses. Clearly talking about believers, right? Okay, so obviously not talking about God haters. He's talking about believers. He's talking about forgiving your brother. We see the picture of a repentant brother. Now, look, if they're not repentant and you can forgive them, great, because what does your lack of forgiveness even do anyway? What do you achieve from not forgiving people in life? Forgiving a brother or sister? Nothing. It just winds you up. Lack of forgiveness just eats away at you, doesn't it? So what you end up thinking about, they're probably sleeping safe and sound at night, well, you're just, you're just, brother so-and-so, sister, sister. She didn't even like my cooking. Whatever it is, you know, your lack of forgiveness, you know, it doesn't really affect them, does it? So obviously, you know, look, if you can, great, because you're only going to be happier if you can. However, the point here is about a repentant brother or sister that you've gone to and that they have then repented, you should, or in fact, you're commanded to really forgive them. And ultimately, we're talking about a church setting here and for the harmony of a church, that's what we want to all be doing. Look, you don't have to be best friends with everyone, okay? I've said this many times, you're best friends with everyone, that's a bit weird, okay? Because you're obviously not very genuine because not everyone's best friend material with each other, yeah? However, we want to get on with everyone, don't we? We want to still be brothers and sisters in Christ and love each other and everything else. That's a bit hard if you just hold bearing grudges about things because you didn't really go and just deal with it with them. Or because that person's not repentant and then you need to sort yourself out. You know, I said this to someone when I preached this before, I said, look, if someone came up to me and I really thought that I hadn't done anything wrong, they said, you know, the way you said this to me, it really offended me and it really, I just, you know, I just, I'm being honest, I would just say, I'm sorry, I didn't realise I offended you. You know, I think, because what else, oh, how dare you, you know, you might say that I really didn't mean that, you'd be honest, you're not going to go, yeah, I better admit that I did, you know? You'd be like, I'm sorry, okay, I'll try and talk to you a bit differently because I'm a bit sensitive, but yeah, okay, sorry about that, you know? Because sometimes we can, can't we? And that's the normal behaviour. So again, we want to be repentant when we upset someone because you don't want someone to be upset, you know? It's part of your family, part of your family of Christ. However, if someone does repent and if you're the one who needs to repent in one way or another, you know, and, you know, be different and think, okay, I better not behave like that in the future, whatever it is, then we should, look, we should then be able to move on from that. Yeah, that's the point. Okay, so, specifically, brothers or sisters that seek forgiveness, but you could add that outside. Well, look, in the workplace, oh, well, they're not saved and they don't have to forgive them. If you can forgive them, yeah, much better. And that's why the famous example prayer in Matthew 6-12 says, forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors, okay? And point being, when you tie it all back together, that's why it all goes hand in hand. It's talking about save people here, is that, look, God's going to forgive us our daily debts to Him in life as our loving Father, as He should be chastising us and everything else as we forgive those that owe us, but there is a protocol there and, yeah, you can take it to them and you can rebuke them and seek that repentance and if they don't repent, well, there is a protocol to go through and they can become an heathen man and a publican, which doesn't sound like you're forgiving them, does it? Okay, so, again, it all has to be put together and don't let people take these little verses out of context and just try and tell you, you're wicked because you don't forgive some sort of child murderer somewhere or something. I mean, it's just ridiculous, isn't it? Okay, on that, let's play. Father, thank you, well, for your forgiveness. Thank you for not only that eternal forgiveness, you know, through the shed blood of Jesus Christ, but also for that, you know, that regular forgiveness you give us on a daily basis for all the many sins that we still commit, Lord, and thank you that, you know, you're such a loving, forgiving Father. Thank you for that and help us to be more like you, help us to be more forgiving to those around us, but, you know, and obviously there is that condition that you ask us to confess and, you know, if we are faithful and, you know, sorry, if we confess our sins, you know, you're faithful and just to forgive us our sins, we know that we should be, you know, we should be confessing things to you and obviously we should be like that with each other and we should want to make things right with each other as well, but, however, help us to just be more forgiving as, you know, as our natures as a whole, it just helps us to be happier in life as well if we can move on from things whether people want to, whether those who are, you know, guilty of those trespasses against us are willing to try and move on themselves as well. Please just help us to be more like that, Lord, help us, especially, you know, with just Christmas time right now around sort of family and friends outside of the church, just, you know, be a great example of, you know, new lives in Christ, help us to just shine that light, help us to preach the gospel over this Christmas period, Lord, and get many people safe, Lord, and in Jesus' name we pray all this. Amen.