Whatever God Builds Satan Will Battle 6/30/2024

Whatever God Builds - Satan Will Battle
Matthew 18:15-17
There are only two occasions in all four Gospels where the word “church”
occurs. In Matthew 16:15-18, Jesus refers to all Christians in every time and
place. And in Matthew 18:15-17, Jesus refers to a local congregation of
Christians. If you belong to Jesus Christ, you are part of the great community
drawn from every culture, every place, and every generation. It is a privilege
to be a part of the Lord’s Church. There are demands, expectations, placed
upon each of us when we submit to Christ and live a Christian life. Jesus
sums up those demands in two basic laws in a conversation he had with a
lawyer (Matthew 22:37-39). We are to love the Lord and we are to love our
neighbor. Together, we represent and display Christ to the world around us.
Satan knows that love and unity are the primary apologetics for a lost and
watching world. Jesus said it would be this unity, and this unity alone, which
would arrest the world’s attention and confirm that He was from the Father
(John 13-17).
What can you and I do to love the Lord and each other as we build unity?
Practice Matthew 18:15
By far, the most important lesson we could learn about relational health is to
practice Matthew 18:15. This verse is elementary: “If you have a problem
with someone, go to them and them alone to work it out.”
Act Now
Have you noticed how big things get when they’re given time to grow?
There’s a reason the Bible says to never let the sun go down on your anger
(Ephesians 4:26). Community is often built not simply on talking things
through but talking in the right direction. The sooner you address the
problem the better!
Believe the Best
Learn to believe the best in others, as opposed to assuming the worst. Why?
Because our tendency is the opposite: to instantly question someone’s
motives, to doubt their intentions, to distrust their loyalty.
“Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or
rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does
not rejoice at wrongdoing but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things,
believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things”
(1 Corinthians 13:4-7).