Speaker 1: 0:01

For the rest of us. I will invite us to stand for the reading of God's Word, which today comes from 1 Corinthians, chapter 6, verses 1 through 11. The Word of God reads this way when one of you has a grievance against another, does he dare go to law before the unrighteous instead of the saints? Or do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world is to be judged by you, are you incompetent to try trivial cases? Do you not know that we are to judge angels? How much more, then, matters pertaining to this life? So if you have such cases, why do you lay them before those who have no standing in the church? I say this to your shame. Can it be that there is no one among you wise enough to settle a dispute between the brothers? But brother goes to law against brother, and that before unbelievers. To have lawsuits at all with one another is already a defeat for you. Why not rather suffer wrong? To have lawsuits at all with one another is already a defeat for you. Why not rather suffer wrong? Why not rather be defrauded, but you yourselves wrong and defraud even your own brothers? Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God. Do not be deceived. Neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God, and such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord, Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. This is God's Word. Thanks be to God you may be seated, and may God bless this reading and preaching of His Word.

Speaker 1: 1:59

A few years ago I took my boys camping in the Cumberland Gap in an area that we'd never been to before, in a woods we'd never been to before, Really remote part of the country, far away from civilization, and after setting up our campsite, we decided that we were going to take a short hike before dinner just to explore a little bit, get a sense of our surroundings. But having never been there before, we didn't exactly know where we were going. So I was doing my best to follow signs and trail markers and I chose one that seemed to me to be advertised as a short loop and I thought, oh, this is perfect. And there was nobody else out there that day. It was hot also and there were bugs. We were the only ones on the trail.

Speaker 1: 2:51

And about 30 minutes in, the boys, who were a little bit younger at that time, they started getting tired and they began asking Dad, when are we going to be back at camp? And I said, with utmost confidence, I said, guys, we're almost back. It's just around this next hill or this next tree, thinking that we should be closing the loop any time now. But it wasn't until about an hour into the hike that I began to lose faith in my own sense of where we were, thinking that something was off. And then I remembered oh, I have my phone in my pocket, I've had it the whole time and my phone has GPS and maybe I should pull it out and see where we actually are. And I pulled it out and I zoomed in and I looked and my heart sank when I realized that we had been hiking for an hour, not toward our campsite but into the heart of the Cumberland Gap, and we were nowhere near where we were supposed to be, nowhere near camp, and the only thing that we could do now there was a huge loop that we were on which would probably take days to complete, but the only option that we had now was to just turn around and walk back an hour. The way that we came, and everyone groaned with pain. When I broke the news I said boys, boys, we're actually not close at all. We have to now double our time and get back there. And what made it all the more painful was that it was so easily preventable. It did not have to be that way. I had a GPS in my pocket the whole time. I just didn't think that I needed it, so I never used it.

Speaker 1: 4:32

There's a particular kind of pain and a particular kind of shame that comes with that sort of loss. It's a loss that didn't have to happen, A wound that easily could have been avoided, A two-hour hike that easily could have been a 30-minute hike it was supposed to be a 30-minute hike. It's a shame. It's a shame when groups of people around the world suffer or die from a preventable disease, a disease that we know how to cure, that we have the resources to treat. It's not just sad, it's a real shame. It's a shame when populations in particular places, at certain times, encounter starvation, when food is available and can be sent to them, Things like this. They're not just sad or tragic outcomes. They're shameful outcomes because they did not have to happen. It didn't have to be this way, and that's exactly the kind of tone that Paul takes in these 11 verses.

Speaker 1: 5:36

Today, If you're just joining us, we've been in a series walking through 1 Corinthians called Bless this Mess. And today Paul addresses the situation of Christians in Corinth taking one another to court to settle disputes Conflict in the Corinthian church, and they're taking one another to court to settle disputes, which was very common in the Roman world. And Paul's response to this is not just frustration. He says you should be ashamed. He says this is shameful. Why does he say that?

Speaker 1: 6:15

Because, as we'll see, in the kingdom of God and I'm not just talking about in one particular local church, though it does apply there, but just broadly speaking in the kingdom of God, among believing people broken relationships are not just sad, they are a shame. And it's not because conflict is unthinkable conflict will happen but it's because we have everything that we need to fix them. In the kingdom of God, broken relationships are a shame because we have everything that we need to fix them. There's no reason why they must remain as broken relationships. And again, I'm not just talking about conflicts within one particular fellowship, but between believers anywhere, even across congregations or even living across the country. When grievances go unresolved, when bitterness festers, when reconciliation is attempted and rejected, it's not just a bad situation for us, it's a shame. It's a shameful situation because it does not have to be that way. We have what we need to fix it.

Speaker 1: 7:30

So today we're going to consider what Paul says under three headings as we walk through that. Number one you can fix it. Number two the church can help. Number two the church can help. And number three have you considered grace? Those three things you can fix it, the church can help. And have you considered grace? So first, you can fix it Christian people should be able to settle disputes privately.

Speaker 1: 8:02

That's the first point. You can fix it. Christian people should be able to settle disputes privately. So let's start with a problem. Look at verse one. Paul says when one of you has a grievance against another, does he dare? Or it could be, it also could be translated how dare he? How dare he go to law before the unrighteous instead of the saints? Go to law before the unrighteous instead of the saints? So there were conflicts in the Corinthian church. Surprise, surprise, the more that you share life with other people, whether they be in your church or in your own household, the more likely that you will have grievances and conflicts. It's just going to happen.

Speaker 1: 8:41

I've done a lot of counseling with young married couples or soon-to-be married couples. My wife and I have done that. And when someone, when I hear this from someone, when they say, oh, we never fight, we never argue about anything, it's actually kind of a red flag for me. That's concerning for me to hear, because it tells me that their lives are still mostly separate, that they just must not spend that much time together, they must not share that much, they must not talk about that much stuff. That's substantial because the more and I know this from being married for I don't know, 15 years, 14 years, yeah the more your lives overlap with any other person, the more you share your bank account, your schedule, your chores, all the all your responsibilities, the more you will have conflict. It's an it's natural.

Speaker 1: 9:40

For sinful people like you and me, Conflict is not really the problem, the occasion of conflict. The problem is how we handle it and how we fight. It's not a problem that your children would see you fight. They need to see you fight and they need to see you fight. Well, they need to see you, and maybe fight is the wrong word, but they need to see you and your spouse work through disagreements in a respectful and in a loving way.

Speaker 1: 10:11

So that's Paul's concern in Corinth. It's not that there are grievances, but it's that the way that they're handling them is the way that they are accustomed to handle them in their life in paganism and the way that all of their Roman Corinthian neighbors handled these conflicts, that they are taking one another to court, which, again, was a very normal thing in Roman society and even in our society. But in Roman society, public courts were everywhere and suing someone litigating was often a social weapon. It was a legal cudgel that you could pick up and beat the living daylights out of the person who you think offended you, and you could do that through the court system. And it was used not just to get back something that was lost, but it was used to get as much as we could out of that person, and that's still the purpose of litigation today. One of the things that I want us to see in this sermon is that there is a huge difference between litigation and mediation, and we're going to talk about mediation in our next point. But even in the case of mediation, there can be a legal mediation, and that's still different from what Paul is talking about here with litigation. So that's what they were doing, and Paul is saying that the church should have no need of that because it has things that are far better.

Speaker 1: 11:44

So look at verses two and three. Paul says do you not know that the saints will judge the world? Do you not know that we are to judge angels? And I don't know exactly what that means, but whatever that means, Paul is saying this. He's saying remember who you are as Christians and the name that you're baptized into, and remember who you're becoming when God is done with you, when he finishes his work in us. We are going to be ruling and reigning with Christ, judging the world, judging the nations and somehow even judging angels. Again, I don't quite know what that is, but whatever that is, Paul says if that's where we're going, if that's your future, shouldn't you be able to handle in your midst, minor disputes now? If you're going to be judging the nations, ultimately in glory or with Jesus, whenever that would be, you should be able to work out now who owes one another $500 and how that should be paid and when that should be paid Minor disputes. So this is Paul calling them to maturity. He says you are going to be glorified, You're moving in the direction of glory and wisdom and judgment. So start practicing that now.

Speaker 1: 13:01

And then look at verse 7. He says to have lawsuits at all with one another is already a defeat for you. So Paul says if your conflict has gotten to that point, if your conflict has already gotten to a courtroom, if you are already reaching for the legal cudgel to bash your opponent, he says you've already lost. You've already lost something important because you should be able, as a Christian, to handle conflict privately. So altogether, Paul is saying this. He's saying when Christian people grieve one another, we, of all people, of all people on the face of the planet, should be able to work it out privately. It's not always effective. That's why there's a step two that we're going to talk about in point two. But of all the people in the world, we should be able to work things out between one another. We have what we need to do it.

Speaker 1: 13:59

Jesus taught the same in Matthew 18. Jesus said if your brother sins against you, he says, go you the offended person. Go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. In other words, Jesus is saying, and Paul is saying as well step one is don't make it public. Don't bring it to a court. Don't bring it to the court of public opinion on social media. Don't bring it to a court. Don't bring it to the court of public opinion on social media. Don't bring it to these places. Bring it to the person. Bring it to the person that offended you, and when you have the Word of God to guide you and when you have the Spirit of God to help you, you already have everything that you need to fix the problem.

Speaker 1: 14:48

My buddy, Matt, was a senior pastor at a large church down in Florida and sometimes I think of him as my pastor because I always call him for advice. But he's a wonderful pastor, he's a godly leader. But, as often happens, even with the best leaders, some tensions began to grow on their staff team, which was a large staff team. One of his assistant pastors started having a hard time with his leadership style and so he began raising concerns and just seeing if anyone else was experiencing what he was experiencing. He would talk to some other staff members, and then he brought it to some of the elders and was kind of making his rounds with the elders just trying to get a sense of what others were saying and if others felt the same and to get counsel on what to do. But when he got to the fifth elder, this wise elder asked a novel question. He said have you talked with Matt about this? And the assistant paused and he said well, not exactly, not yet. You know, I'm trying to figure out what I need to do. And then the elder replied okay, I'm going to call him right now. And then he whipped out his phone and he called Matt and asked if he could come in for a meeting. And Matt later said that in everything that played out in that church and he ultimately ended up leaving that congregation and planting a church elsewhere but in all that happened there, he said that he would always be grateful to that elder, not because that that was a comfortable meeting or a comfortable phone call, but because that should have been step one.

Speaker 1: 16:28

Step one should have been that you would go directly to the person that's offended you and that you would talk to them. And isn't that so often the case. How often are you the last person to find out that someone is upset with you? I'm often the last person to know when people are upset with me. Part of the reason is because I'm aloof and not very emotionally intelligent, and it's hard for me to tell when people are mad at me. So if they don't tell me, I just assume everything's fine. But how often are you the last person to find out? And how often when you're upset with someone, are they the last person that you want to talk to? You'd rather get advice from other people or get prayer requests or talk to other people about it. You don't want to talk to them. We go to 10 other people before we go to the one that actually offended or hurt us.

Speaker 1: 17:16

But according to Paul and according to Jesus in Matthew 18, the person who grieved you should be the first person to know that they grieved you. The person that grieved you should be the first person to know that they grieved you. The person that grieved you should be the first person to know that they grieved you, especially if they're a fellow believer. So just to make an application here before moving on to step two and point two, start by assuming that this can be repaired. Start by assuming that you can fix it, and here's why you should assume that. Here's what I mean.

Speaker 1: 17:52

If a brother or a sister has grieved, you assume, work with the assumption that the two of you can work it out together. If you work through it together, If you can get with them privately and talk with them, assume that you can work it out together. Go to them with the hope that it can be resolved. And what is that hope based on? It's based on two things. First, it's based on God's word, Because both of you are Christians, both of you are under a higher authority, you have a common text, you have the word of God that you both want to be submitted to and claim that you're submitted to. And what an arbiter that is, what a resource we have in the word of God.

Speaker 1: 18:37

So, even before you go and talk to them, you should think about what God's word says about the situation and you should think through it clearly. And that'll help you in two ways. And you should ask this question. Let me say this first, you should ask the question did they sin against you in a way that you can identify from God's Word when you come to them, can you bring to them not just how you feel, but what you think the Scripture says about the situation that you can identify from God's Word. And that's key for two reasons First, it's going to help them grapple with what you're saying and understand what you're saying. And then, second, it's going to help you because not every offense is a sin. Sometimes people offend us and if we really sit down and think about it for a long time, we realize that they didn't really do anything wrong, that maybe the problem is more with me or with my assumptions or my expectations, and so it's helpful for us to think through what God's word says about this even before we go to the person. But the point is that we should be able to work things out together because we're both under the authority of God's word. But we have something else that helps as well we both have God's Spirit. You both have the same Holy Spirit dwelling within you.

Speaker 1: 19:57

So when you confront gently confront a brother or sister, they might initially resist and get defensive, as our fallen nature is wont to do. But know that you're not going into this conversation alone. The Spirit goes ahead of you and the Spirit follows behind you, and the Spirit is still working, even after you have said your piece. I've learned, for example, that when I bring up a grievance or a perceived grievance with my wife or when she with me, that she might initially get defensive and it might seem like this isn't working and she's not listening, but then if I just give her space and time to reflect, the spirit always shows her that I was right Eventually. Yeah, Preach, right For both of us. If we give each other space and time to reflect, things change because the Holy Spirit is at work and sometimes he needs to break up some of the rocky soil in our heart so that things begin to get through to us.

Speaker 1: 21:05

So here's the point In conflict let your first step be a step of faith. It's faith that God's word speaks clearly and powerfully and it's faith that God's spirit works silently. You're going to trust God and you're going to go to your brother or sister and see if you can work it out privately. But you know what? If you can't, the church can help. So here's point two when private reconciliation fails, church mediation is the best. Next step when private reconciliation fails, church mediation is the best next step.

Speaker 1: 21:46

Look at verses four and five. Paul says so if you have such cases, why do you lay them before those who have no standing in the church? I say this to your shame. Can it be that there is no one among you wise enough to settle a dispute between the brothers? So Paul asks, he says is there no one wise enough in your midst, whether it be an elder or a deacon, or even just a godly older brother or older sister, who can help to mediate? Surely there is someone in the church who could help, but they just weren't using the resources available to them. And this also matches with what Jesus says in Matthew 18. In verses 16 through 17, Jesus says after you go to them privately, if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church.

Speaker 1: 22:42

So it is always possible that if we go to the person who hurt us and if we go humbly to speak to them, it's always possible that we won't be able to work it out. We should assume that we can, because we should be able to. We have the resources to do it, but sometimes we hit an impasse, and so the Scriptures give us this next step, and that impasse might be maybe they don't see it like you do. Maybe they don't think that they did anything wrong, but you think that they did. Maybe they dispute the severity of the issue. You think that the level of damages is up here and they think the level of damages is down here. And there's many different ways that we might disagree. Whatever it would be, we can't get on the same page. We can't come to an agreement. So what do you do then? Can't get on the same page, we can't come to an agreement. So what do you do then? Well, both Paul and Jesus say they say, get a third perspective from within the church. We don't yet necessarily need any church leadership to be involved. The circle can still be small. We simply need a third perspective to try to bring about more objectivity, A third perspective. So I'll just give an illustration.

Speaker 1: 23:55

It's much harder to get away with foul play in sports today than it used to be. Do you know why that is? You all know why. It's because now everything that happens in a sporting event is recorded and captured from multiple angles on high definition cameras and in slow motion. So, for example, in the NFL, every play is captured on camera from all kinds of different perspectives. So when a foul is called or disputed, you can go to the replay booth and you can slow it down and you can see it from the side, you can see it from the 50-yard line, you can see it from overhead, you can see it from field level. And when you do that, suddenly, before what was fuzzy and hard to tell what was happening, it becomes clear and you realize, oh, that wasn't a fumble after all. Or you realize, yeah, that definitely was pass interference. I had to Google these things. I don't know what those things mean Not watching much NFL, I'm just kidding I know what those are.

Speaker 1: 25:02

But the point is that sometimes a third perspective changes everything, and the other person doesn't have to be a professional counselor or a pastor, they just need to offer a third perspective. So that's true in conflict, Whether you're the one who's been hurt or you're the one who's being accused. When you're one of those parties, it's really hard to see clearly. When you're in it, it's hard to see yourself clearly, it's hard to see the other person clearly, and we need help. And the beauty of God's design is that help doesn't have to come from a pastor or a professional counselor. Another, just one more or two more brothers or sisters can be enough. When private reconciliation doesn't work, when you've tried and prayed and you're still stuck, church mediation is the best.

Speaker 1: 25:54

Next step, and it's not to shame anyone or to blow things up and make them public, but it's to bring in that third camera angle so that we can all move forward toward clarity and peace. So what would that look like? Well, I have a few things to say here. When you are grieved, of course, ask have you talked with the person who offended you? Knowing that that can be a series of conversations. It might not be one conversation, but if it becomes clear after some time, after giving time for the Spirit to work on them and on you, if it becomes clear that you still cannot reach resolution, then this is what you should do Suggest a third perspective, Say, hey, is there someone, is there a fellow Christian, a brother or sister, who's under the same authority and who has the same Spirit that we both know and trust, that we can invite into this conversation?

Speaker 1: 26:52

To give us a third perspective? What do you think? Is there someone that we can find to help us with that. And if there's not someone that we can agree upon, maybe things have deteriorated and there's too much tension. Maybe there's two people, Maybe there's someone you trust and there's someone that I trust and they can advocate for both of us and we can get them involved and invite them in and say hey, we're having a conflict that we're struggling to resolve. Can you please sit down with us and hear us out and offer your perspective? It's really very simple what I've just said to you. I mean, if you're sitting here listening to this, you might think did I really come to church this morning just to hear get a third perspective? It's so simple, it's so obvious. So why don't we do it? Well, here's why you came to church this morning. We don't do it because we're afraid of the third perspective.

Speaker 1: 27:47

In most conflicts, we feel hurt, we want to be vindicated and we want the other person to take all the blame and we want the other person to face all the consequences. And that is exactly what litigation is all about, and that's the difference between litigation and mediation. Litigation is about I'm not going to admit to anything wrong and I'm going to completely shield and to anything wrong and I'm going to completely shield and protect myself and I'm going to get my legal cudgel and you are going, you are going to pay for all of this, you, you are guilty and I'm not. That's litigation. Um, you don't admit to any wrongdoing.

Speaker 1: 28:25

When I was, I was talking with one of our elders who is a litigator in this church and I was asking him, Ben, his opinion on this and he said that one of the things that he he said he forgets most of what his professors told him in law school, but one thing he remembers is this they were doing a mock trial and he had a coach, another student who was coaching him, and Ben was cross-examining someone in litigation and he was just being way too agreeable and amicable with his questioning and his coach said stop. He said I can't take it anymore. This is so cringe. He said when you're cross-examining someone, what you want to do is you pull out your sword, you thrust it through them and you pull it back out and you wipe it. You wipe your blade and you sit down. That's litigation. Okay, that's the purpose of litigation, not mediation.

Speaker 1: 29:22

But the reality of every conflict is that in every conflict, we're probably both wrong on some things, and we're probably both wrong on some things and we're probably both right on some things and we probably both need to repent and need to change. And the last thing that we want to consider when we're offended is that there's something that we did wrong and that there's maybe some ways that we need to repent, and so we dare not get a third perspective. That's why we don't do the very simple thing that the Bible is calling us to do. But that's kind of the point. The point in doing the painful, long work of conflict resolution is not that one person would win and the other person would lose. That's the point of litigation. The point of conflict resolution within the church is that we would both change, that we would both repent, and that's a far better outcome than I win and you lose, Because if we both change and if we both repent to become more like Jesus, then everybody wins and that's a wonderful outcome. And that's why, if you can't figure that out one-on-one, and that's a wonderful outcome and that's why, if you can't figure that out one-on-one, church mediation is the best.

Speaker 1: 30:34

Next step, Point three have you considered grace? This is not necessarily a step three. This is something that needs to pervade all of the steps. Have you considered grace In every conflict? Consider grace. Look again at verse 7. No-transcript.

Speaker 1: 30:58

And then he says why not rather suffer wrong, why not rather be defrauded, Paul says sometimes. And then he goes on to say but you yourselves wrong and defraud one another. And what do you mean? And he is talking about litigation there, because in litigation often we take back more than what the person took from us and we end up defrauding them in a sense of trying to get justice. So he says why not rather be defrauded? Paul says that sometimes it's better to take it, better to take it on the chin than to strike back in retaliation. If a brother offends or defrauds you, sometimes the right thing to do is simply to forgive them and to release them rather than to fight for restitution. And there could be many different levels of that. There can be a complete forgiveness, there can be a partial forgiveness If there's some sort of settlement, if there's a massive amount of damage that's been done and not all of it can be paid back, but maybe some of it can. There can be grace there as well. Grace can look different in different situations, but yet again this matches very well with the teachings of Jesus.

Speaker 1: 32:13

In Matthew 5, he says you have heard that it was said an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. That's litigation, he says. But I say to you, do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him, the other also. And if anyone would sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. Why can we choose to suffer wrong instead of seeking revenge? And Paul goes on in verses 9 and 11 and gives us the key to being able to do this.

Speaker 1: 32:50

In verse 9, he says or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you, such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the spirit of our God, were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

Speaker 1: 33:24

There's two things here that helps us with this. First, Paul says remember, justice is coming. Paul says do you not know? The unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God. Those who are guilty of greed and reviling and swindlers, they will not inherit the kingdom of God. This means that nobody gets away with anything, and sometimes we're motivated to pursue some kind of justice, because it's the principle of the thing. We don't necessarily need to be repaid in some way, but they just can't get away with this. We can't let them get away with this. They can't treat people like this. Well, Paul says you don't have to worry about that. God is going to see to that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God and God is going to mete out his justice, whether it be temporal or eternal or both, in the way that he sees fit and in a way that's good. You don't have to carry that burden. We should not carry the burden of vengeance, because the judge of all the earth will do what is right.

Speaker 1: 34:21

But the second thing is this, and this is the kicker we're not just people who have been wronged, we are people who have been forgiven, and we have been forgiven more than we will ever be offended or wronged by another person. Paul says such were some of you. This list of people that's not going to heaven, that's not going to make it into the kingdom. You were on that list, this is who you were, but you were washed and sanctified and justified. We were on that list, but now we're on the other list, because of God's grace, and when you really believe that, when you know what Jesus suffered in order to forgive you, it becomes a little bit easier to forgive others, Not because what they did didn't hurt it still hurts but because of what Jesus has done for us, because we're walking in the footsteps of the Savior.

Speaker 1: 35:18

The point that Paul is getting at here is this is that love covers a multitude of sins. The point that Paul is getting at here is this is that love covers a multitude of sins, that not every offense is worth pursuing, that it is wisdom for a man to overlook an offense and to not pursue every conflict, and sometimes the most Christlike way to resolve a conflict is just to lay down your right to be right to forgive, without ever getting an apology, to absorb the loss, because Christ has absorbed yours. So when you're grieved, have you considered grace. Consider grace in every step, even if you're trying to work it out privately, even if it gets to church mediation, even if it gets more complicated than that. Grace should always be on the table, Some amount of it, some level of it, pervading everything that we do.

Speaker 1: 36:12

Several years ago we got the exterior of our house painted and we got connected with a guy who gave us this great price and I'm a contractor now, and so I've come to learn that, like, don't pay for cheap work, the low price is not the one that you want to go with. But I didn't know this at the time. So he gave us this great price and he took a thousand dollar deposit and he showed up late one day for like two hours of work and then we never saw him again, and at the time a thousand dollars really hurt, and it would still hurt today for us. And I thought at the time about what options were available to me. How can I be made whole, how can I pursue justice and wholeness in this situation? Do I try to take him to small claims court? Do I blast him on social media and try to discredit his business? Do I get a lawyer to write him a letter and send him a letter and eventually I realized that anything under $5,000 is like the perfect amount of money to steal because it's just not worth pursuing because of everything you have to put into it. But I realized that as much as losing $1,000 hurt, it just simply was not worth the effort to try to regain it or to make it whole. It was better. Better to just let it go, better to just kiss that money goodbye, give up any hope of ever seeing it again and release this man from my debt. And that was years ago and somehow over the years the Lord has made us whole and it's as if we never lost that money. And I have nothing against that guy today. And if he were, I don't know that I would hire him today, but I'd be happy to have him in our church, I'd be happy to get a hot dog with him. Probably wouldn't hire him, but that's okay, because forgiveness doesn't mean that you need to keep working with that person, no matter what.

Speaker 1: 38:02

Sometimes pure grace or some amount of grace is the best option. And even when we do pursue some restitution, grace always has to be part of the equation. So consider grace. And sometimes we get hurt really bad and we need to pursue some kind of restitution. But even then we should be flexible and reasonable and graceful and not all lawyered up and impenetrable and just protecting and stabbing with the legal cudgel. Sometimes we should be willing to let things go and not pursue a matter, trusting that the Lord will make us whole and that the Lord will judge the offender, if he needs to, in the way that is only he can do. God will judge and we have been forgiven In the kingdom of God.

Speaker 1: 38:59

Broken relationships are a real shame because we have everything that we need to fix them. We have all the resources that we need. We have God's word and God's spirit, we have the help of God's people and we have healing streams of grace that flow from Calvary's mountain. Let's not forget that. Let's go back to those things and rely on those things and pursue unity and peace with one another and with all believing people to live peaceably with all, as much as it is up to us.

Speaker 1: 39:32

To that end, let us pray Our Father. We grieve because of the conflict that we experience that is unresolved and partially resolved and ongoing, but we thank you that you haven't left us without help. We thank you that you've given us the help of your word and spirit. You have given us the help of your people and you have forgiven us so that we can be forgiving people and to know what that means.

Speaker 1: 40:09

Lord, I pray for those in our congregation who are in the midst of conflict right now or who have broken relationships with other believers. Lord, help us. Help us take these basic principles that you give us and apply them to our messy situations. That's where the real difficulty is. But, Lord, we know that you will help us to do that and you can help us to do that. We pray that you would and that, more and more, we would be a people that testifies to the reality of the gospel, that testifies to the fact that we have a God we worship a God that cancels debt and that saves sinners and that reconciles enemies. We want to be that. We pray all this in Jesus' name, Amen.