Being Mature in Discipline
Pastor Duane closed his series, “Lord Teach us to Pray” on Sunday. His message was titled, “Intercession,” but he covered so much ground. Below is just a part of what he said.
It’s an important part of life to fix things when they go wrong, and it can be difficult to do. Things do need to be worked out – they don’t just work themselves out most of the time. We don’t confront each other because some people can be immature and get mad rather than receiving correction. Conversely, offense is the main reason that people don’t mature and grow.
Matthew 18:15-19 says, 15 “If your brother or sister sins, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over. 16 But if they will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’ 17 If they still refuse to listen, tell it to the church; and if they refuse to listen even to the church, treat them as you would a pagan or a tax collector. 18 “Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. 19 “Again, truly I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything they ask for, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. 20 For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.”
The context of this scripture is church discipline. People need loving discipline. It is one of the hardest things that church leaders must do in order to keep peace and unity in the church body and many leaders ignore problems that can eventually destroy their ministry for fear of the course of discipline. The truth is, people need loving discipline, and without it, the body of Christ cannot function properly, and the individual believer suffers in immaturity and does not grow. But we also need to remember that, according to scripture, the first step is to lovingly face one another before it ever gets to that point.
God is not against you. God is for you and if God is for you who can be against you? Even in our moment of painful discipline, He is there, loving us, forgiving us, and cheering us on!
We encourage you to listen to this message, and entire series, by clicking here.