I greet you all in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The title for this morning's sermon is Church Discipline. And our text is taken from Matthew chapter 18, verse 15 to 20. We're looking at three sub-headings. The first one is Rules of Church Discipline. The second one is Decision of the Church. And the third one is Meeting Together in Church. Let's go to the text, Matthew chapter 18, verse 15 to 20. I read, Moreover, if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault. Between you and him alone, if he hears you, you have gained your brother. But if he will not hear, take with you one or two more, that by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established. And if he refuses to hear them, tell it to the church. But if he refuses even to hear the church, let him be to you like a heathen and a tax collector. Shortly I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in my name, I am there in the midst of them. Last week, during our morning sermon, we looked at kingdom greatness. What does it actually take for one to be great in the kingdom of God? To be great in the kingdom of God, you have to seek to be like a child, in modesty, sincerity, openness, and most importantly, humility. For God, the Bible says, resist the proud, but give grace to the humble. Jesus took a child to illustrate the concept of humility. When asked by his disciples, who then is the greatest in the kingdom of God, Christ uses the innocence of a child as an example of greatness in the kingdom of God. Children are humble, they are teachable, easily forgiven, and therefore a good example to illustrate the qualities of true faith in Christ. Today we're looking at church discipline, which is the process of correcting sinful behavior among members of a local church, to protect the church from corruption and evil testimony, and also to restore sinners to a right walk with God and bringing renewed fellowship among members of the church, which leads us this morning to our first subheading, Rules of Church Discipline, verse 15 to 16. I read. Moreover, if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he hears you, you have gained your brother. Then if he will not hear, take with you one or two more, that by the mouth of two or three witnesses, every word may be established. Offenses must come. Because we are human beings, we are sinners by nature, as well as in practice. But there is a biblical way of treating offenses, which, if adhered to, will relieve most of the problems, the quarrels, and the contentions that we have in churches today. We live in a highly charged, contentious, moments with cultural, political, and social issues constantly stretching and tearing the social fabric of society and nations. And also the unity between Christians in the body of Christ. In John chapter 13, verse 34 to 35, Jesus said to his disciples, a new command I give to you, that you love one another as I have loved you, that you also love one another. Now, if you begin to think about the love of Christ, and that Christ is now directing you to show that love to your brother in Christ, you begin to wonder, Where would I get such an ability to express such a foreign kind of love? Because it's a love that comes from heaven. It is foreign. In our human, depraved nature, we are used to do me, I do you. Man no gobex. We are used to revenge, to hatred, to strife, We are used to bitterness, to jealousy, to anger. That is what we are born into. By nature, we are sinners. by nature as well as in practice. And so these tendencies are inherent in us. We don't have to learn how to be evil and wicked and selfish and greedy. These are qualities we have within us as a result of our depraved human nature. And so when Christ came and died and rose again from the dead, the Bible says his death, his burial, and his resurrection has been Transferred to us when we believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and therefore he gives us grace He gives us the Holy Spirit So that we would put to death the desires of our sinful nature And so we don't have an excuse To live in carnality all our life when we become Christians. We don't have an excuse to put to death the sinful passions of our flesh And the Bible says in 1 Corinthians 10 verse 32, give no offense either to the Jews or to the Greeks or to the church of God. Give no offense. The Bible says take wrong as a Christian and allow yourself to be defrauded for the sake of your brother. Give no offense, I have noticed and see much evil in the church today, mostly because we violate the principles of God when it comes to one another principles. These are laid down for us in scripture so that we will not cross the mark, we will not go beyond the scripture when it comes to our dealings with our brother and our sister in Christ. And so the Bible says when your brother offends you, instead of taking the matter to your friend and begin to gossip about him, or instead of telling the church members one after the other what sister, brother have done to you the Bible lays down the principle and the principle number one is to go to the person who is involved and tell the person with humility what and what he or she may have done to you that is an offense that is rule number one so nobody should hear about it Nobody should know about it. You should not tell anyone. But the first principle, which is commanded from scripture, is to go to the person and tell the person that this is what you have done to me, with humility, knowing that you yourself are susceptible to the same sinful behavior and frailty. because you are not a champion of your own salvation. It is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, and to the glory of God alone. And what should motivate you to do that is because you love your brother even as Christ loved the church. The Bible says we should forgive each other even as Christ forgave us. And if I'm here to expand and tell you how Christ has become our Lord and personal Savior, Bible says, he was made sin, who knew no sin, that we might become the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. Bible says in Romans 5, 8, that he demonstrated his love towards us, in that while we are yet sinners, Christ died for us. So imagine, by nature, we are haters of God, we are fugitives running away from God, that Christ came and died for the very people who were going to crucify him and nail him to the cross. And at the end of his life, he looked at them and said, father, forgive them because they do not know what they are doing. And so when you have an offense, an offense is directed to you by a brother or sister in Christ, because of the love of Christ in you, you should not say a word to anyone, but to the sister or brother directly. If we desire and pray for a united assembly of God, we must seriously guard against gossip. When we repeat information to others that should not be repeated, even if the information is true, we still gossip. Gossip causes division within the church, and it should be addressed. In Proverbs 11 verse 13, the Bible says, a gossip betrays a confidence, but a trust for the person keeps a secret. In Matthew 18 verse 15 to 16, Jesus explains how sin should be dealt with in a church. If your brother sins against you, the first step is not for you to go around from person to person and become a tail bearer. That is one big problem most of us have in the church today. And if we follow the example of the Bible, most of our problems with division amongst ourselves would have been amicably solved. The first step is to take the information to your brother, who might have hurt you. humility and point out the sin to him or her scripture says if he listens to you you have warned him or her but if she does not listen you had more poison sorry if he does not listen to you the situation becomes worse now it is still within you and the brother. And the Bible says if the brother does not listen to you, then you go and tell another brother to accompany you to the offender and bring the offense to him with humility. Now it is still within the circle of two. Nobody should hear it apart from the two of you who must have heard about the offense. Now imagine we treating each other that way. how loving and compassionate we must have demonstrated the love of God in our hearts. Not more than two, so that the matter can be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses. Now, this is not just a New Testament principle. We go back to the Old Testament in Deuteronomy, chapter 17, the one we read this morning, our scripture reading, the Bible says, An accusation should be confirmed by the testimony of two or three witnesses. And I'm sure most of us are familiar with this kind of procedure because of some of the happenings that have taken place in the church, where some of us were invited by the church court to face the session. And as a result, most of us had become witnesses. And this is the principle, biblical principle. That is the beauty of Reformation. We are sold as scriptural. We take all our principles from the Bible. When the Bible speaks, God speaks. It is the inspired, inherent, authoritative, and final word of God. And so our conduct, our behavior, our principles must all be derived from the word of God. And so if it doesn't listen, you take another person with you. If it doesn't listen, you take a third person. so that the testimony will be established by two or three witnesses. And make sure the kind of person you are going to take to bring to the brother as a witness, make sure that person is not a tail bearer, because he will be the next one to tell the church or other people that sister so-and-so is involved in so-and-so, that sister so-and-so is caught with so-and-so, And so the so-and-so will continue to become so-and-so until everybody is joined in the so-and-so. Make sure that your witness is not a tail bearer so that when you bring up the talk, it will be in the circle of two and three. And make sure also the person that you are carrying along is not hot-tempered. Because a hot-tempered person, when you tell the person to come and escort you, he will be the one ranting. You know, because there is a way you rebuke someone, the person will know that you are humble yourself. Because you have to be careful the way you rebuke people. Because if you are not careful, you will end up doing the same thing that you have rebuked the other person of. Because we all, we are not superhero Christians. We are all in the flesh. Imagine Moses lying. Imagine David sleeping with another man's wife. And this is a man after God's own heart. We are not superhero Christians. We don't have monopoly of the grace of God. We have to come to him daily and seek him daily for our own salvation. For our own daily salvation from the loss of the flesh, the pride of life, and the deceitfulness of riches. We have to look to Jesus daily. The Bible says without him we can do nothing. And so when we come to rebuke someone, we rebuke the person in the spirit of humility. Not coming to him and say, oh brother, why would you do a thing like this? I don't expect you to, what? Is that a brotherly way to rebuke? No, it isn't. That is a show of pride and not humility. Because if you are not careful, the very thing that you are rebuking this brother for, actually, you will find yourself doing it. And the reproach on you would be worse than the one the brother experienced. And so we must be careful. Make sure that you do it in humility. So after adding two or three witnesses, the offender still refuses to listen. That is the only time you can bring up the issue to the church. The church should be the last resort. And so when you bring up an issue to me concerning a brother or sister, I'll ask you, the first question I'll ask you, have you talked with the brother or the sister in question? Now if you have not spoken to the brother or sister in question, I will send you back to your brother and your sister. It is called the one and other principle. Love your brother even as Christ loved the church. Because gossip is actually an evil act. And it is a show of pride. and destroying the body of Christ. Because what you are telling or spilling out, you know it is unpleasant for another person to hear. On top of that, you are thinking that you are better than the person, and so you have liberty to spread the information. That is what comes to the mind of gossipers. They always think that they are better than you. And so they have the right to spill the nonsense or the evil thing that you might have done that is not good to hear. And sometimes when people want to gossip about you, they cover it up in the name of prayer. They say, you know, I have a prayer request for brother so-and-so. You know, last night as I was walking past the market, I saw him frolicking with one woman. I'm sure that is the girlfriend or the boyfriend. Did the brother ask you to go about and spread or share prayer requests? for him or her. It's a cover up for gossip. If you have any concern about someone, go and meet the person and have the permission of the person to share that prayer request that you're talking about. you know, one day someone met me with an information. The information was so destructive that even to the hearing of the ear, you would feel disgruntled about it. And so the brother came to me and said that somebody said, who lives in that house told me that this is what and what uncle this and this is doing in the family. I said, wow. And I warned the person. I think I warned him several. I think I warned him with seriousness. I said, pastor, I know what gossip can do to a church. I say, first of all, you are not living in that family. You have never been in that house to have caught the people committing the so-called crime that you are gossiping about. This is all hearsay, and you are taking the hearsay, blowing it out of proportion, and telling the whole church. Do you know What is happening in that family? Have you caught the man in question on the act? I say if you have not, keep quiet, close your mouth, zip it. I say number one, the one who told you must have told you out of envy, jealousy, hatred. You don't know any of those. You are just receiving information. You did not see the man doing the act red handed and you are spreading it. I said that is evil. I said one of the things reformers hate, the Bible hate, is gossip in the house of God. You have no proof. You have no evidence. Keep quiet. It's not your business. If somebody told you, say, I don't want to hear, go and meet the person and talk to the person. Between the two of, if you love the person, that is a kind of, an act of kindness and love. Gossipers, most of the time, are expressing their hatred towards one another. Go and meet the person. If you meet the person, you tell the person, this is what I heard. I'm not a gossiper, I don't want to spread it. So I come to you and ask. The person will tell you his own side of the story. And the case will be buried there. But for you to become a tail bearer upon the information that is given to you, you have almost evil. and you don't have good intention for that individual or that family. Speak to the person directly. And after two or three witnesses, you now bring the issue to the church. Someone met a brother, you know the brother went to visit the fiancée and they were talking and the brother entered the house the brother now made an old view that this particular brother is committing fornication with this fiancée because the man came and visited the fiancee. And the person who received the audio sent back a message. He said, so is it an evil thing for one to visit his fiancee, somebody that you have in mind to get married to? So you should not visit each other. You should not go to the person's house anymore. And so that is how this brother, instead of going to the man that he knew, they all live in the church. He had never for one day, Ask the man, what are you doing in that house? He now took the information direct to the section of the church. That this brother is a fornicator. Now what are you achieving? What are you achieving? It's just hatred, bitterness, evil. to the highest order in the house of the Lord. You have no love for that brother, no concern for that brother, because if you truly have concern, you talk to the brother, hear from the brother. That may be a caution to the brother if he had even wanted to do that. Now to our second subheading, the decision of the church, verse 17 to 19. And if he refuses to hear them, tell it to the church. But if he refuses even to hear the church, let him be to you like a hidden and a tax collector. If after private admonition and the addition of two or more proves unfruitful, the Bible says, tell it to the church. If private admonition fails, public censor must be used as the next measure to purify the body of Christ. so that the church cannot be smeared on the mud. Here is what to be done. First of all, the church receives the complaints. With the weaknesses of two or at most three, the offender must be called upon and rebuked. This is now the church. His or her sins must be pointed out. Now, some offenders will try to defend themselves and even attempt to rally witnesses in support of an evil agenda, which is a crooked defense. But if the offender acknowledges his sins and is willing to admit them and repent of them, it makes the process even more easier to conclude and preserve the body of Christ. This motive is to end differences in the church, is to end contestions in the church, and to remove offenses. If it is a false accusation, rebuke the complainant. Because some people can bring false accusation. You rebuke the complainant. But if the accusations are true, rebuke the offender. Well, if you have gone through the process, at least one or two or three witnesses, it's hardly for you to become a false accusation. Because you might have seen the response from the offender, if it is true or not. Finally, the Bible says, if the person refuses to hear the church, in which case the person is not ashamed of his Faults, nor try to amend them, let him be to you like an unbeliever. Now this, we are talking specifically here about public sins. We are not talking about hatred, strife, bitterness. These are sins of the heart. You cannot picture them, you cannot see them. Lost, you cannot see them. We are talking of public sins that will cause a public disgrace to the individual and the church of the Lord Jesus Christ. This is very serious and it comes with even severe penalties. These are spiritual penalties to be inflicted on the offender that comes with the backing of God. So when someone has been accused of something, the witnesses of two or three persons, and the person has been rebuked in the church, And you know some people when they rebuke them in the church, they move to another church. They don't want to take church discipline. And this church discipline comes with the backing of God. If you do not take church discipline in one church and you move to another church, you repeat the same thing in that church. I've seen Christians who go about from church to church, they just repeat the same things, because they have refused to take church discipline from one church, and they move to another church. Church discipline is very important. Makes the pillars of a church. The preaching of the gospel, worship, the sacraments of the Lord's Supper and Baptism, and church discipline, very important. So a person who is not ready to take church discipline, and he moves to another church, he will repeat the same thing. So, sugar person can be barred from taking the Lord's Supper. It can be secluded from special ordinances of the church, excluded from the membership list of the church. That is when the person has actually refused to repent. That is when you exclude the person from the membership list of the church. I think, That serves as a warning for the person to take this matter seriously. And let the members of the church be aware of it through a written declaration stating all the reasons why such and such member is going on the church discipline. So sometimes we have to come to the podium here, to the pulpit, and read out the the crime the person committed so that you will know that this person is on the church discipline. And if the person does not stay in the church because he or she is ashamed or annoyed and decide to leave, I tell you, that person is going to face serious consequences. I remember during our session, someone was put on the church discipline, and one of the elderly men in the session He told the person, he says, let me warn you, I have been in the church of the Lord Jesus Christ for over 30 to 40 years. He said it is never well with someone who does not take church discipline. And that is why the Bible says, we are two or three are gathered in my name. This text is actually talking about short discipline, not binding and losing the devil as so many people believe today. Scripture without context is a pretext. And that is why we believe in teaching the word of God, preaching the scriptures line upon line so that you will understand. So next time when you hear someone say whatever we bind on earth will be loose in heaven, whatever we loose on earth will be loose in heaven, and they begin to direct it to demons, tell them Matthew 18 has nothing to do with demons. Read all the text, you will not see any demon mentioned there. Everything in Matthew 18 here that we have just read is talking about church discipline, not binding and loosing of devils. It is not. in our purview to bind and loose devils. Satan is roaming, walking about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. If our binding and loosing truly works, he must have been bound by now, not moving or going anywhere. But he is on his mission. You cannot bind him. You cannot put him one place. is going to be bound and sent to hell on the last day, but not now. It is not in the purview of our abilities as Christians to bind the devil. This text is talking about church discipline, not binding. And so whatever two or three, what the elders agree to do, God is backing them in that agreement. That is what the Bible says here. I'll come to that. And let the members of the church be warned not to associate with shelter person so that he will be ashamed of his sins and not inflict it on others. If you go close to short people, very close to them, you will learn evil from them. Someone who disregards church discipline is a disaster that is happening right before your eyes. Remember the people with discipline in this church? They refused to take the church discipline. They went back to another church. They did the same thing they did to me, to the very pastor they went to. The pastor had to excommunicate the brother and gave a warning to the other brother. The same thing they did here. They went to the same pastor and repeated the same thing. The pastor said, I cannot even play the audio for you, my brother. what this boy said to me, said about me. All the same things you hear that was passing around that that particular fellow said about certain people in the church. He went, because he did not take church discipline, he went to another church. In less than one year, they have excommunicated him. I spoke to the pastor one-on-one. We all attend the fellowship, the pastor's fellowship. And that is the thing that this elderly man in the session, who had been an elder of the church, a pastor, now a retired pastor, going towards 80 years of age, warned them specifically that never you despise church discipline. Because where two or three are gathered, God is there with them. He endorses discipline because he had entrusted it into the hands of elders, both in the Old Testament and in the New Testament. So you don't joke with it. So when they discipline you in the church, sit down, observe the discipline, take the discipline, go through it. When it's done, you will be called back into fellowship. The reason is out of love to remove the offenses so that the body of Christ will be united. That is the reason for church discipline. Someone who disregards your discipline is a disaster that is about to happen This is where two or three so whatsoever you bind on our elders. It is bound in heaven Whatsoever you agree on up here Concerning your discipline is a greed in heaven because I have given you the mandate to go ahead and enforce it. I So ministers, I warn, if your members are moving from one church to another, give them a letter of transfer. Sia, that is with us here, moved to the United Kingdom during our last session meeting. We're thinking of giving her a letter of transfer because she has been a faithful member in this church and has served us well. And this does not only go for churches, it also goes for institutions. The character of a person leaving and coming to join you is very important. You have to know. And even in our administration in the school, we have learned that if you are coming to us, you want to come and work with us. I don't mind to be a secret agent. I go to the school where you are left and I go and make inquiries. Somebody gave us an application to work for us in the school. I went to the school where this guy was working. What the head mistress told me is enough to dig someone's grave and bury that person. That guy flaunted and disobeyed all the authorities in the school. And they ended up in the courts with his former administration. That is the kind of person that we wanted to employ. Where he was coming from? the school took him to court and gave him a fine of 50,000. The kind of things he did in that school, they are so terrible. And he did not take the discipline of those people. So is he going to take my own? He's not going to take. And so these principles are not only for churches, but they can be applied even in our own institutions. And where there is love, where there is togetherness, where there is peace, there is blessing. I remember someone coming to our school and trying to bring the vision in the school. This person does not know that all the staffs in the school, they are relating to each other like brother and sister. And the one who is running the school, she is a mother to all the teachers in the school. So every teacher in the school perhaps, most of them, their children are going to the school for free. Some of them have two or three children, free scholarship. And when they are sick, this woman will take care of them. Provide hospital bills for them, just like a mother. And this man came into the school and started gossiping about the woman from one person to the other. The people started looking at him and they were just laughing at him. because they were all together. You know, the way you treat people, they will not betray you easily. If you love people and treat them kindly, they will not betray you easily. Not even a single teacher was persuaded to join this evil man. Not even one. All the teachers were for the headmistress. She tried everything in her power to bring this unity. She did not succeed in one. Even the drunkards in our midst support the headmistress. one another principle. Be our brother's keeper. Let us love each other even as Christ loved the church and forgive each other even as Christ forgave us. Cry, mourn with them that mourn. Rejoice with them that rejoice. These people who disobey the orders of the church, of Christ in the church, should be justly laid aside till they repent and submit to the authority of God's word before they can be admitted in any church. So I don't admit any person who is under church discipline. I will not admit you in this church. unless and until you sort out the issues of your discipline. Especially if you are coming from a biblical church. Because some churches, they can just discipline you because you say the truth. Because the pastor is the head of the church. All the money comes into his pocket. All the tithe comes into his pocket. So he dictates to the people, the members, what is happening. One day a church committee came together and they wanted to build. They've gathered all the funds. And the pastor went into prayer one day and woke up in the morning and said, the Holy Spirit told him that the funds should be directed to the buying of his new car. No, we don't have that here. We have a session. We have leadership of elders. And we are paid a salary. The rest of the money is for the church. Even if I want to paint this building, the session must agree. I only have one vote in that session, one vote. So if I make a pastor today, even if I've been in the ministry for 20 years, and I make a pastor today, he becomes a pastor in this church, that pastor and I becomes equal. All of us only have one vote. That is how churches are run, right through throughout the history of the Old Testament, the New Testament. And even the Old Testament elders are there in the Old Testament. They all just have the same responsibilities that we all have in the house of the Lord. Because if you do not discipline and foster discipline, you may have the devils incarnate in the name of fellowship. and they come to you in the authority of God's word when they are all fake. So if you care about the dignity and the purity of the church and church discipline, you should not be excluded. This scriptural obligation of church discipline vindicates the honor of the church, preserves its purity, and brings conviction and reformation of those offenders of both individuals and the body of Christ in general. If Christ is dishonored, he dishonors the whole body. In 1 Corinthians chapter five, verse five, verse eight. We saw in this text a brother who was accused of sleeping with his father's wife. Paul said such an abomination should not be tolerated in the church. And Paul joined them, the elders of the church, to deliver such a person to Satan so that his spirits will be saved. So, for the destruction of the flesh, and so that his spirit will be saved on the last day. Now, this man is going to have severe consequences in the flesh. Paul say, hand him over to Satan. Now, if they hand you over to Satan and you're a believer in Christ, your salvation is not going to be forfeited. Because what's saved is saved forever. But your flesh, God is going to judge you. Like he did with the Corinthians, the Bible says, because they dishonored the Lord's Supper, some of them are weak and sickly, and even some of them died because of dishonoring the Lord's Supper. So this brother was excommunicated from the church because of his evil act. And Matthew Henry, commenting on this verse, said, suspension is for the terror of the obstinate, so absolution is for the encouragement of the penitent. So you're going to absorb a brother who repents and takes correction and undergoes his or her church disciplinary measures and comes back into fellowship. Now to our final subheading, meeting together in church, verse 20. For where two or three are gathered together in my name, I am there in the midst of them. Meeting together in church or religious worship of a group of Christians. Church discipline are encouraged and directed by God. Public worship is for the honour of Christ and edifies God's covenant children as we testify to the world our loving hope, our living hope. coming together as an assembly of God's people in church, and prayer meetings have been attested in scripture to have great blessings, special answers to prayers, calls for solemn assemblies. You know, when you read the Bible, solemn assemblies are called when issues come up and they are addressed cooperatively in the church, and we see how God moves. Sovereignly to bless his people and to bring answers to their prayers For where two or three the Bible says are gathered together in my name. I am there in the midst of them We know our public worship, especially the Lord's Day like this. It's very important because it brings us into the special presence of God You have private prayer family devotion. They don't bring you to the special presence of God, but public worship does because read the book of Hebrews, brings you into the special presence of God. That is why the veil in the Old Testament was torn from top to bottom. The priest only enters there once a year and with the rope tied around his waist, so that in case he dies in the Holy of Holies, the worshipers will draw him out of the place. That is where we come into, the most holy place, through the blood of the lamb, on the Lord's day. So we encourage people to come to the Lord's day morning and evening service, to honor the Lord's day and keep it holy, a day that has been set apart for God. Elders come together, in the name of Christ, The name gives authority to what has been agreed as a censor or absolution. Christ gives us an assurance that is in the midst of us when we gather for short assemblies. For where two or three are gathered together in my name, I am there. We come to the special presence of God in the worship service on the Lord's Day. Christ comes to us by spirit in the gathering of God's people to strengthen us, to revive us, and to keep us sober, vigilant, and strong to face the temptations of the evil one. The text goes on to encourage the meetings of a few not to be discouraged as God is present in both few and many. Now if we have faith, and a sincere devotion to God, you will invite the presence of Christ. It is not about how many people we have. Faith and sincere devotion to Christ can be found in any one of God's covenant children, both great and small. And this is what God is looking for in a man, not the numbers. Christ gives us a gracious encouragement for meeting together in his name. It also speaks of the divinity of Christ, because the text says, where two or three are gathered in my name. In more than one place at the same time is everywhere presence. So if we love to come to church on the Lord's Day and weekday prayer meetings, this is an encouragement for us. Though sometimes we meet with small numbers, the presence of God is just short for us. At all short meetings, we should remember His promise and know that He is with us in a special way. If you neglect public worship and meetings, That call we leave us together for prayer, worship, and sharing the word of God, you are missing out very badly in the blessings that come to us as we meet as covenant children of God. If we have despised short meetings, we must repent and return back to the church. The text ultimately is talking about church discipline. as the context clarifies. In church discipline, the elders will call two or three to clarify in Jesus' name what they know to be true about the matter or the situation at hand. They are coming together in matter of church discipline. The accusation of a single person is insufficient. Two or three are sufficient to establish The two or three who gather in Jesus' name to discipline a church member, they have confronted the sinner in a spirit of humility, and the sinner has not repented. When the two or three take the matter to the Lord in prayer to enforce church discipline, for scripture is saying that God endorses such effort, and Christ is with them in this matter. So never we take this matter lightly. When this process of church discipline is followed, God is walking in it. So whatever you bind on heaven is bind on earth. Because God is in the midst of his people. God is ready to enforce that discipline. It is spiritual in the church and it has physical consequences for disobedient children. And I want to call to you this morning, if your lifestyle is characterized by disobedience, Bible calls us to repent, to turn away from our sins and put our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ alone. To save us from an evil, and perverse generation from the wrath of the holy God and to reconcile us to him through his blood atoning sacrifice. So that he will give you a new heart and a new way of living that is characterized by love and obedience. Would you come? And would you come now? And the Bible says, today is the day of salvation. If you hear his voice, do not harden your heart. And if any man will come to him, the Bible says he will know why he's cast away. May you come now, and may you never delay. Let us pray. Our most gracious and everlasting Father, we thank you for your word this morning. We ask for grace to take heed of all your commandments, warnings, promises, and good examples to follow. Give us today our daily spiritual bread and give us grace to forgive at all times. These and many other masses we ask through your son's name and for his sake. Amen.