The Lord's Priority for Unity in His Church

The Gospel of Matthew

Matthew 18:14-20

Sermon by Rick Crandall

(Prepared October 11, 2022)

BACKGROUND:

*Please open your Bibles to Matthew 18, as we focus on the Lord's Church. The church is mentioned over a hundred times in the New Testament. But surprisingly, it's only mentioned 3 times in the Gospels, and all 3 are here in Matthew's Gospel.

*The first was in Matthew 16:18 where Jesus was speaking to Peter, and the Lord confidently said, "You are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it."

*We must remember that Jesus is the rock-solid foundation of His Church. Yes, Peter's name is from the original word "petros," and that means rock or boulder. But the word Jesus used for "rock" in that verse was "petra." And that word is talking about a huge, mountain-sized rock like the Rock of Gibraltar or Mount Rushmore. In other words, Jesus said, "You are a little rock Peter. And on this huge mountain of a rock, I will build My Church." Maybe Jesus even pointed to Himself as He said it, because the Rock of our salvation is Jesus Christ!

*This truth is confirmed in both the Old Testament and the New. For example, in Deuteronomy 32:3-4, Moses' song says, "I proclaim the name of the LORD: ascribe greatness to our God. He is the Rock, His work is perfect; for all His ways are justice, a God of truth and without injustice; righteous and upright is He."

*In 2 Samuel 22:2 King David said, "The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer." And in vs. 31-33, David said, As for God, His way is perfect; the word of the LORD is proven; he is a shield to all who trust in Him. For who is God, except the LORD? And WHO IS A ROCK, EXCEPT OUR GOD? God is my strength and power, and He makes my way perfect.

*Jesus Christ is the Rock of our salvation! That's why in 1 Corinthians 3:11 Paul spoke of Jesus Christ being the only foundation for God's Church. But what is God's Church? Basically, it is the growing group of all people who have believed in Jesus Christ, everyone who has received Jesus as their Lord and Savior.

*Pastor Russ Blowers gave a wonderful description of God's Church when he was speaking to the Rotary Club in Indianapolis. Each week, a different member told a little about his job. And this is what Russ said when his turn came up:

*"I'm with a global enterprise. We have branches in every country in the world. We're into motivation and behavior alteration. We run hospitals, feeding stations, crisis pregnancy centers, universities, publishing houses, and nursing homes. We care for our clients from birth to death. We are into life insurance and fire insurance. We perform spiritual heart transplants.

*Our original Organizer owns all the real estate on earth, plus an assortment of galaxies and constellations. He knows everything, and lives everywhere. Our product is free for the asking. (There's not enough money to buy it.)

*Our CEO was born in a hick town, worked as a carpenter, didn't own a home, was misunderstood by his family, hated by enemies, walked on water, was condemned to death without a fair trial, and arose from the dead! I talk with him every day." (1)

*God's Church is all of that, and much more! In the Book of Ephesians, the Holy Spirit led Paul to give us a multi-faceted view the Church. For example, in Ephesians 2:19-22 Paul tells Christians that we are citizens of Heaven, members of God's family, and part of the growing, holy temple where God now lives through the Holy Spirit. Praise the Lord!

*In Ephesians 3:15, Paul confirms that we are part of the family of God. In Ephesians 3 and 4, he also stresses that we are part of the Spiritual Body of Christ on earth. And in Ephesians 5:25-27, Paul confirms that the Lord's Church is the spiritual Bride of Christ. There Paul wrote, "Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for it, that He might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, that He might present it to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that it should be holy and without blemish." Thank God for the Church of Jesus Christ!

*Today's Scripture focuses on the Lord's priority for unity in His Church. Please think about our unity as we read Matthew 18:14-20.

MESSAGE:

*Remember the situation here: In Matthew 18:1 the disciples asked Jesus, "Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?'' They were wondering about that question, because they had been arguing about it as they walked on the road to Capernaum. Mark 9:33-35 says:

33. Then He came to Capernaum. And when He was in the house He asked them, "What was it you disputed among yourselves on the road?''

34. But they kept silent, for on the road they had disputed among themselves who would be the greatest.

35. And He sat down, called the twelve, and said to them, "If anyone desires to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all.''

*On the road, maybe all of them thought they deserved to be greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And they were stubborn about it, even up to the night before the cross. (2)

*But Jesus tried to teach them that their whole idea of greatness was upside down, and He used a little child to do it. In vs. 2-4:

2. . . Jesus called a little child to Him, set him in the midst of them,

3. and said, "Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.

4. Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

*Jesus wanted them to know the truth about how God measures greatness. Then the Lord began to talk about His greatest reason for coming to earth. And in vs. 11-14 Jesus said:

11. . ."The Son of Man has come to save that which was lost.

12. What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them goes astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine and go to the mountains to seek the one that is straying?

13. And if he should find it, assuredly, I say to you, he rejoices more over that sheep than over the ninety-nine that did not go astray.

14. Even so it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish."

*Christ's greatest purpose for coming to earth was to seek and save the lost. But Jesus knew that our lack of Christian unity would be a huge stumbling block to His purpose, so He began to help His arguing disciples understand.

*And unity makes a big difference. James Dobson made explained this in a story about his parents. One night they heard a strange sound in the house. Mrs. Dobson jumped out of bed and grabbed hold of the bedroom door. Mr. Dobson also jumped out of bed and grabbed the door.

*In the darkness, she pushed as hard as she could. She was determined to keep the door closed, so the intruder could not enter. At the same time, Mr. Dobson was pulling as hard as he could. He wanted to open the door, so he could confront the bad guy. So, there they were, frantically struggling in the dark, pushing and pulling against each other, until they turned on the light and found out that there was no one there but them. (3)

*Pulling against each other in the dark will get us nowhere. That's why God has a heart for harmony in His church. He puts a great priority on our unity.

1. FIRST JESUS SHOWS US THE PURPOSE OF OUR UNITY.

*It's in 14-15 where again, Jesus said, "Even so it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish. 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."

*Jesus wanted His arguing disciples to walk together as one, united by humble hearts and a Christ-like commitment to reach the lost. You see, the Lord knew that prideful divisions could hinder His goal of reaching the lost.

*One of these worst things that can happen in any church is to start fighting over prideful things. It can happen in any church. And we need to realize that there has never been a perfect church in this world. I have often recalled something I heard Louis Bartet say 40 years ago: "If I searched and searched until I finally found the perfect church, then after I joined it, it wouldn't be perfect anymore."

*There is no perfect church this side of Heaven, and on some level, all churches struggle to keep unity in the body of believers. The main reason why is because the devil does everything he can to stir up trouble. On top of that, Christians, we have different opinions, attitudes, and backgrounds. Some of us like chocolate. Some of us like vanilla. Some of us are morning people. Some of us are not. Sometimes we make false assumptions, and sometimes we misunderstand other people.

*Quite a few Christians also get stubborn and selfish about "their" church, and they want to be in control. They think God's Church belongs to them, and they get a "my way or the highway" point of view.

*There are many reasons for disunity in God's Church. And it started with the first church in Acts 6, the poverty-stricken church of Jerusalem. In that case, the widows of the Grecian Jews were being neglected in the daily distribution of food. The local widows were getting more than their fair share, and that problem is why we have deacons today.

*Acts 15 also records the bitter sting of discord between Paul and his close friend Barnabas. The contention was so sharp that they parted company for their second missionary journey. I have no doubt that both of them later regretted that bitter disagreement.

*Disharmony in the church: It was one of Paul's greatest concerns in his first letter to the Corinthian Church. In 1 Corinthians 1:10-13, Paul said:

10. Now I plead with you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.

11. For it has been declared to me concerning you, my brethren, by those of Chloe's household, that there are contentions among you.

12. Now I say this, that each of you says, "I am of Paul,'' or "I am of Apollos,'' or "I am of Cephas,'' or "I am of Christ.''

13. Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?

*Disharmony in the church was also one of Paul's greatest concerns in his letter to the church in Philippi. That's why in Philippians 4:1-3, Paul said:

1. Therefore, my beloved and longed-for brethren, my joy and crown, so stand fast in the Lord, beloved.

2. I implore Euodia and I implore Syntyche to be of the same mind in the Lord.

3. And I urge you also, true companion, help these women who labored with me in the gospel, with Clement also, and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the Book of Life.

*The problem of disunity is also why Paul wrote this passionate plea in Philippians 2:1-8:

1. Therefore if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy,

2. fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind.

3. Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself.

4. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.

5. Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus,

6. who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God,

7. but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a servant, and coming in the likeness of men.

8. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.

*Fussing and fighting in God's Church is tragic for many reasons. It has broken countless hearts. But worst of all, it often crushes the witness of a church.

*God wants all Christians to witness for Jesus Christ in every way that we possibly can. Certainly, this includes telling people the good news about who Jesus is, what He did on the cross for us, and what our Risen Savior can do for them today. God also wants us to tell other people how we were saved by believing in Jesus.

*But our words are not enough. God also wants us to witness by the way we live. That's a big reason why God's Word urges Christians to love one another at least 16 different times. It has a powerful impact on our witness. (4)

*Jesus highlighted this truth in John 13:34-35, where He said: "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.''

*Our love for one another helps shout to the world that Jesus is real, and that we are His true followers. But Satan doesn't want them to know, so he does everything he can to pull us apart. The devil works hard to stir-up trouble in churches because Christians fussing, and fighting kills our witness.

*Bro. James Strittman reminded me of this truth years ago. James was a most godly man. He and his wife Flora faithfully served the Lord for 70 years! Once I visited with Bro. James, while Mrs. Flora was in surgery. We talked about church, and he asked me about some of the churches around us that were struggling at the time.

*Then Bro. Strittman told me about a church he had considered going to pastor. He said at first glance everything seemed fine. They had recently carpeted the whole church. And they had air conditioning, back in a day when most churches didn't. But when Bro. Strittman looked a little deeper, he found out that no one had been saved in that church for over 2 years. That greatly concerned him. And over time it became clear that the people in that church were fussing with each other.

*Bro. Strittman said that on the day they voted to call him, the vote was 145 to 6. After the service, one of the men who voted against him came out the door and said, "Preacher, we want you to know that we weren't voting against you. We were voting against that other 145!"

*After telling me that, Bro. James paused for a moment. Then he said, "I sure am glad the Lord led me in another direction." He also said he could understand why people were not being saved. Those church people weren't loving each other. And that kind of fussing kills the witness of a church.

*"It kills the witness of a church," Bro. Strittman said. And that makes sense, because again in John 13:34-35 Jesus said, "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another. As I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.'' That's one of the main purposes for our unity.

2. BUT JESUS ALSO SHOWS US THE PROCESS FOR OUR UNITY.

*We see this process in vs. 15-17, where the Lord said:

15. "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.

16. But if he will not hear you, take with you one or two more, that 'by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.'

17. 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."

*Unity is so important to God that He gives us a process for solving problems. It's a 3-step process: Go to the person alone. Go with a small group of witnesses. And if those approaches don't work, then take it to the church.

*The guilty person can even be shunned by the church. Hopefully it won't come to that. But there is one example of this in 1 Corinthians 5, where a man was openly in an incestuous relationship with his father's wife. Thankfully, he repented and in 2 Corinthians 2:7, Paul urged the church to "forgive and comfort" that man "lest perhaps such a one be swallowed up with too much sorrow."

*Church members living together in unity can be hard, but it is so important that Jesus gives us a process for unity.

3. JESUS ALSO SHOWS US THE POWER OF OUR UNITY.

*There is amazing, special power in unity, and we can see it in vs. 18-20, where Jesus said:

18. "Assuredly, 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.

19. 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.

20. For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.''

*The power of unity is so important, that Jesus mentions it four times in these three verses: In vs. 18, whatever we bind together will be bound. Also in vs. 18, whatever we loose together will be loosed. In vs. 19, if two of us agree about a prayer request, it will be done (according to God's perfect will, of course). And in vs. 20, where 2 or 3 are gathered together in Jesus' name, He will be there with us in a special way.

*It could be 2 Christians gathered together in a hospital room. It could be 3 of us gathered around a table sharing our food and fellowship. It could be 7 working together on a mission trip, 10 gathered to rehearse music for a worship service, or 20 gathered in a Sunday School class. But let me focus on God's people gathering together in church to worship the Lord.

*A confused dad once put this question on Yahoo Answers: "How do you raise a Christian without going to church? My wife and I are Christians, and we have a 10-month-old daughter. I want her to have Christian beliefs and thoughts, but I hate organized religion.

*I pray on my own. I thank God when good things happen, and I pray over difficult things. I got my background from church obviously, but I hate going and always have. I have always seen going to church as a waste of my day. I don't need to sing and all that stuff to believe in Jesus.

*If I go to church the day is shot. I can't work in the yard or just relax on my only day off. So, my question is can I give my child a good Christian background from home?" (5)

*Church: The answer is: NO. You cannot give your child a good Christian background without going to church. And you can't be a good Christian without going to church. God has always planned for His church to gather together, and one of the most important reasons why is to worship the Lord.

[1] BUT WHY SHOULD WE GATHER FOR WORSHIP? ONE REASON WHY IS BECAUSE GOD DESIRES IT.

*The Lord certainly wants His followers to gather together for worship. In the Old Testament God's people gathered at the Tabernacle, the Temple, and local synagogues. The early church gathered to worship at these places too. But God's people also gathered in homes, schools, and even outdoors.

*In Acts 16, the Lord led Paul's mission team to Philippi for the first time. And in vs. 13 Luke wrote that "on the Sabbath day we went out of the city to the riverside, where prayer was customarily made; and we sat down and spoke to the women who met there." Lydia and her whole household got saved that day!

*Hebrews 10:24-25 tells believers to "consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching."

[2] WHY SHOULD WE GATHER FOR WORSHIP? BECAUSE GOD DESIRES IT, AND BECAUSE GOD DESIGNED IT.

*He designed our public worship to function in a special way. Please listen to Jesus again in vs. 20, "Where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.'' Now the Lord is always with those who trust in Him. God the Father and God the Son both live in us through His Holy Spirit. And in Hebrews 13:5 Jesus tells all Christians, "I will never leave you nor forsake you." But He is with us in a special way when we gather for worship. There is heaven-sent love, joy, and strength, as the Lord experiences worship with us.

*Bill Bouknight once explained that "pagan folks throughout history have written off the church as weak and helpless. Adolf Hitler said, 'Once I have settled my other problems, I'll have my reckoning with the church. I'll have it reeling on the ropes.' Adolf Hitler and all the other pagan braggarts of history have self-destructed. But the church of Jesus Christ goes marching on. It is the only institution on earth guaranteed by God to last forever.

*What is our secret? The living Spirit of Christ is here among us, wherever even two or three are gathered in his name. We have the only saving recipe for a hurting world, and the living Christ authenticates and energizes that message.

*Thanks be to God that our ultimate dependence is not on the eloquence of our preachers, or the brilliant planning of our staff, or the generosity of our members. We are utterly dependent on Christ in the midst of us." This was and is God's plan for His Church. (6)

[3] WHY SHOULD WE GATHER TOGETHER FOR WORSHIP? GOD DESIRES IT, GOD DESIGNED IT, AND GOD DESERVES IT!

*The Lord certainly deserves our worship! Jesus Christ is worthy of our worship! He is worthy because of who He is: The Almighty God, Creator of all, King of kings, and Lord of Lords. Jesus is also worthy of our worship because of what He has done. He came to earth for us, suffered on the cross for us, took the guilt for our sin, died for us, and rose again from the dead! Now He offers forgiveness and eternal life to everyone who will trust in Him, so Jesus is worthy of our worship!

*The "MS Herald" was a British ferry that used to travel the English Channel between Dover, England, and the Belgian port of Zeebrugge. On the night of March 5th, 1987, the Herald left the Belgian port with a crew of 80 and 459 passengers. About 25 minutes later, that ship rolled on its side and partially sank in the shallow water. The forward loading doors had been negligently left open, and water began pouring in as soon as the ship got up to speed. The lights went out almost immediately. There was panic and confusion. People were screaming. It was a horrifying situation, and 193 people died that night.

*Andrew Parker and his family were trapped on that sinking ferry. By the grace of God, there was large metal buoy floating close to the boat. It was close, but just out of reach.

*It was too far for anyone to jump, -- except for Andrew. He was big enough and strong enough to stretch his body out across the gap. Andrew turned his body into a human bridge, and 20 people crossed over to safety. (7)

*That is a picture of what Jesus Christ did for us! None of us is big enough or strong enough, smart enough, or good enough to get to Heaven on our own. But Jesus Christ will be your bridge. He even died on the cross to be your bridge to Heaven. Our risen Savior Jesus is the only way to Heaven, but you have to turn to Him and put your trust in Him. And when you do you, He will give you salvation!

CONCLUSION:

*That's why Jesus is more than worthy of our worship! And special things happen when we gather together to sincerely worship the Lord. Also remember James Dobson's parents pulling and pushing on their bedroom door against each other. Pulling against each other in the dark will get us nowhere. That's a great reason why God puts a priority on unity, and so should we.

*Christians: Please think about this, as we go to the Lord in prayer. And if you have never put your trust in our crucified and risen Savior, call on the Lord Jesus to save you right now.

(1) Andy Mason, amason@accs.net, "Leadership Magazine" -- "to Illustrate" - Source: "Dynamic Illustrations - April, May, June 2001 - Topic: Church

(2) See: Matthew 20:20-28, Matthew 23:11-12, and Luke 22:23-27

(4) The 16 Scriptures I saw:

1, 2. - John 13:34. "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another.

3. - John 13:35. "By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.''

4. - John 15:12. "This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.

5. - John 15:17. "These things I command you, that you love one another.

6. - Romans 13:8. Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law.

7. - 1 Thessalonians 3:12. And may the Lord make you increase and abound in love to one another and to all, just as we do to you,

8. - 1 Thessalonians 4:9. But concerning brotherly love you have no need that I should write to you, for you yourselves are taught by God to love one another;

9. - 1 Peter 1:22. Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit in sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart,

10. - 1 Peter 4:8. And above all things have fervent love for one another, for "love will cover a multitude of sins.''

11. - 1 John 3:11. For this is the message that you heard from the beginning, that we should love one another,

12. - 1 John 3:23. And this is His commandment: that we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ and love one another, as He gave us commandment.

13. - 1 John 4:7. Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.

14. - 1 John 4:11. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.

15. - 1 John 4:12. No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us.

16. - 2 John 1:5. And now I plead with you, lady, not as though I wrote a new commandment to you, but that which we have had from the beginning: that we love one another.

(5) Adapted from SermonCentral sermon "Living Beyond Myself" by Pat Damiani - Ephesians 2:19-22 - 06272007

(6) Sermons.com sermon "Who Is This Jesus?" by Bill Bouknight - Colossians 1:13-20 - 2002

(7) Sources:

-Jon Johnston, "WALLS OR BRIDGES" - Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1988 - Source: Sermons.com email illustration 01092005

-"'It was a night of paralysing terror. But also great heroism': Survivors relive the Zeebrugge ferry disaster 30 years after 193 passengers were killed within 60 seconds of leaving a Belgian port" by Joseph Curtis for MailOnline - 5 March 2017 - https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4283156/Survivors-relive-Zeebrugge-ferry-disaster-30-years-later.html

-https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MS_Herald_of_Free_Enterprise