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I love the words of that last 
song. 

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You're the same God. 
I think sometimes we read 

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scripture and we think of how 
amazing God was and we think of 

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all the miracles and the power 
of God that we see in scripture.

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And, and I want you to know 
today that you came to worship 

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the same exact God that is still
working, that's still healing, 

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that's still doing miracles. 
Do you know that today? 

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Are you glad to be worshipping 
the same God today? 

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You should be. 
This is a big deal. 

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We, we get the opportunity to 
gather together as the body of 

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Christ to worship an almighty 
God that still heals. 

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He's been healing this week, 
that still reconciles. 

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That's what we're going to be 
talking about today, a God that 

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is at work. 
So we're in our second week of 

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radical reconciliation. 
I feel like I need to start with

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a disclaimer. 
We're really going to get into 

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forgiveness and reconciliation 
today. 

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And I just want to say today, 
some of you may be tempted to 

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think today that I'm preaching 
at you. 

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Sometimes I hear people say, 
well, you're just speaking at 

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me. 
No, no, no, no. 

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Please understand I would never 
personally write a message at 

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any one person. 
However, I do want to reassure 

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you today that I am speaking to 
you and God's Word is speaking 

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to you today. 
There's not a single person 

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that's here that God's Word is 
not 2:00 and 4:00 today. 

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And I believe that God wants to 
speak to us in a powerful way. 

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So we're looking at the Paul's 
letter to Philemon. 

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Philemon was a member of the 
church at Colossi. 

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And just to give you the 
background of the letter, 

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Philemon was probably a wealthy 
member of the Church of Colossi 

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and and he had a slave name, 
Onissimus. 

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Now we're not going to get too 
deep into this, but slavery was 

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a very common thing in that day.
Slavery was for a lot of 

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different reasons. 
Sometimes families would sell 

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each other into slavery. 
Sometimes parents, and this is 

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awful and I, it's not OK. 
And let's just get this out of 

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the way at the beginning that, 
that in no way does God think 

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it's OK for people to not have 
value and to be treated that 

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way. 
But the reality was in this day 

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there, there was slavery and 
some families would sell their 

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children into slavery. 
Sometimes if you owed a debt and

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you couldn't pay it, you would 
go into slavery. 

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Sometimes there was a battle or 
a war and if you lost, instead 

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of killing you, they would take 
you into slavery. 

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And so there was the reality was
slavery was a thing. 

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And there was a guy named 
Monisimus who was a slave of 

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Philemon in the Church of 
Colossae. 

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And I'm going to say colossi, 
colossi, colossi like 50 

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different ways. 
Just forgive me. 

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Just laugh at me and move on, 
OK? 

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The Church of Colossi, Philemon 
had a slave named Onysmus, and 

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Onysimus ran away. 
Not only did he run away, but he

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did some sort of wrong. 
We think by the context that he 

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probably stole from Philemon, 
and so he ran away. 

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And then he ended up in Rome, 
where Paul was. 

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Paul was in prison in Rome and 
Onissimus when he ended up with 

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Paul ended up, we don't know if 
he sought Paul out or, or what 

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happened, but he ended up 
accepting Christ as his savior. 

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He ended up coming to know Jesus
and being a man of God. 

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And so, so the, the context of 
Philemon, the letter to Philemon

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is that Paul is writing back to 
Philemon and he's sending 

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Onissimus back so that there can
the right, the wrong can be made

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right. 
Now let me just give you a quick

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geography lesson. 
And yes, I googled this. 

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I did not know it from my 
studies. 

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Rome, where it's being written 
from, where Onissimus is being 

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sent from, and Colossi are 1300 
miles apart, 1300 miles apart. 

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So let me just set the stage 
here that Onissimus did 

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something wrong. 
He, he stole, he wronged 

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Philemon in some way, and then 
he ran away as a slave and he 

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ran, I don't know if he ran 1300
miles, but he went as far away 

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as he possibly could and God got
a hold of him and changed his 

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heart. 
And that's the context into 

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which we're reading this. 
So one of my thoughts, and this 

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is may have been your thought 
before as well, is why in the 

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world, why in the world would 
they go to all this trouble? 

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I mean, he accepted Christ, 
everything's good, right? 

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He's 1300 miles away. 
This isn't 2025 where everyone 

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has, you know, Twitter and or 
whatever X whatever it is now 

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and Facebook and Instagram. 
It's not like they were ever 

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going to cross past. 
They're 1300 miles away. 

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But but Paul thought it was 
really important for there to be

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reconciliation. 
Why? 

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Why go to this these great 
lengths? 

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I think the answer isn't 
something Jesus said in John 

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chapter 10. 
Jesus said very truly, I tell 

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you, I am the gate for the sheep
and all who have come before me 

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are thieves and robbers, but the
sheep have not listened to them.

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I am the gate and whoever enters
through me will be saved. 

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Now listen to this line. 
This is going to be important 

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and I'm going to come back to 
this several times. 

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They will come in and they will 
go out and find pasture. 

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The thief comes only to steal 
and kill and destroy. 

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I have come so that they may 
have life and have it to the 

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fullest. 
Jesus is saying I am the gate, I

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am the way to salvation and 
sheep will come in through me 

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and they will receive salvation.
But then he says that second 

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thing and I think it's a board. 
He says then they will go out 

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and they will find pasture. 
I think what Jesus is trying to 

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say here is it's not just come 
and receive salvation, but then 

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he says, I want to give you life
and life to the fullest. 

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As Christians, sometimes we 
could think, well, he's talking 

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about eternal life, He's talking
about heaven. 

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No, no, listen, God wants you to
receive salvation through Jesus 

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Christ today and then to go out 
and find pasture to live in that

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salvation, to live life to the 
fullest. 

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Come in, go out and find pastor.
So some of us I fear and I 

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don't, I don't, I'm not thinking
of anyone personally. 

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I think some of us in today's 
society are settling for less 

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than life to the fullest. 
I think we have a partial 

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obedience to God. 
I think we have a partial 

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commitment in our faith. 
And I think because of that, we 

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aren't experiencing the life 
that God has for us to the 

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fullest today. 
Come in, receive salvation and 

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grace, and then go out and live 
life to the fullest. 

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So we're in the second week. 
Last week we talked about the 

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fact that we're invited in. 
Last week was all sunshine and 

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rainbows and nice, and you're 
invited into Koinonia 

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Fellowship. 
You are invited into the body of

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Christ. 
Listen, it's great news, every 

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single one of us, if you're here
today and you do not know Jesus 

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as your Savior, I want you to 
know that that Jesus Christ, the

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Son of God came and died on a 
cross so that you could be 

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invited in, so that you could 
have life. 

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And today, all it takes is a 
surrender of your heart to say, 

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hey, I've done it my way and it 
doesn't work. 

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Forgive me, Lord, I want 
salvation. 

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Come in and receive salvation. 
And today God wants you to have 

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life and life to the fullest. 
So we are invited into Cognia 

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fellowship. 
But today we're really going to 

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focus on the tough stuff. 
If last week was sunshine and 

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rainbows, today is tough. 
We're talking about 

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reconciliation. 
We're talking about forgiveness.

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And Philemon is 25 verses of 
some incredible reconciliation 

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and freedom and forgiveness. 
A quote I came across this week 

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that I think is really good is 
from Corey 10 Boom. 

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And Corey 10 Boom said 
forgiveness is setting the 

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prisoner free, only to find out 
that the prisoner was me. 

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Forgiveness is not just about 
letting someone else off the 

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hook. 
Forgiveness is about you being 

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free and living life the way God
wants you to live it to the 

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fullest. 
So we're called into the Colonia

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Fellowship today. 
We're called to reconciliation. 

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Stand with me if if you can. 
And we're going to read God's 

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word. 
And once again, God doesn't just

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want you to come in today and 
receive salvation. 

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He wants you to go out and he 
wants you to live in it, to live

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life to the fullest. 
I'm going to read the whole 

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chapter. 
It's 25 verses. 

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Listen to the powerful letter 
that Paul wrote to Philemon, 

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Paul, prisoner of Christ Jesus 
and Timothy our brother, to 

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Philemon our dear friend and 
fellow worker. 

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Also to Afia, our sister and 
Archibus our fellow soldier, and

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to the church that meets in your
home. 

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Grace and peace to you from God 
our Father and the Lord Jesus 

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Christ. 
I always thank my God as I 

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remember you in my prayers 
because I hear about your love 

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for all his holy people and your
faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. 

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I pray that your partnership 
with us and the faith may be 

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effective in deepening your 
understanding of every good 

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thing we share for the sake of 
Christ. 

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Your love has given me great joy
and encouragement because you, 

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brother, have refreshed the 
hearts of the Lord's people. 

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Therefore, although in Christ I 
could be bold and I could order 

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you to do what you ought to do, 
yet I prefer to appeal to you on

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the basis of love. 
It is as none other than Paul, 

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an old man and now also a 
prisoner in Christ Jesus, that I

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appeal to you for my son 
Onissimus, who became my son 

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while I was in chains. 
Formerly he was useless to you, 

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but now he has become useful 
both to you and to me. 

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I am sending him who is my very 
heart back to you. 

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I would have liked to keep him 
with me so that he could take 

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your place in helping me while I
was in chains for the gospel. 

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But I did not want to do 
anything without your consent, 

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so that any favor you do would 
not seem forced. 

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But we'd be voluntary. 
Perhaps the reason he was 

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separated from you for a little 
while was that you then might 

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have him back forever, no longer
as a slave, but better than as a

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slave, as a brother. 
He's very dear to me, but even 

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dearer to you, both as a fellow 
man and as a brother in the 

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Lord. 
So if you consider me a partner,

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welcome him as you would welcome
me. 

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If he has done any, he has done 
you any wrong or owes you 

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anything, charge it to me. 
I, Paul, am writing this to you 

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with my my own hand. 
I will pay it back. 

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Not to mention, you owe me your 
very self. 

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I do wish, brother, that I may 
have some benefit from you in 

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the Lord. 
Refresh my heart in Christ. 

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Confident in your obedience, I 
write to you, knowing that you 

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will do even more than I ask. 
One more thing, prepare a guest 

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room for me, because I hope to 
be restored to you in answer to 

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your prayers. 
Apophis, my fellow prisoner in 

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Christ Jesus, sends you 
greetings. 

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So do Mark, Aristarchus, Dimas 
and Luke, my fellow workers. 

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And he ends the letter with 
this, the grace of the Lord 

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Jesus Christ, be with your 
spirit, you can have a seat. 

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So last week we talked about the
fellowship we're invited into, 

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we talked about Koinonia 
fellowship, We talked about the 

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body of Christ. 
This week we're going to focus 

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in real closely on 
reconciliation and, and three 

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things. 
There's the reason for it and 

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then there's the two sides of 
it. 

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That's what we're focusing on 
today, the reason for 

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reconciliation and the two sides
of it. 

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First Paul says we'll, we'll 
focus on the reason and verse 8,

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he says, therefore, although in 
Christ I could be bold and I 

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could order you to do what you 
ought to do, yet I prefer to 

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appeal to you on the basis of 
love. 

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He says the word. 
Therefore, anytime there's a 

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therefore in Scripture, we 
should look at what's before it 

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because what it's saying is 
because of what I just said. 

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Now, because of that, this is 
what should happen. 

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So therefore, let's look back to
what was before, before he said,

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I always thank God as I remember
you in my prayers because I hear

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about your love for all this 
holy people in your faith. 

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I pray that our partnership of 
every good thing that you that 

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our partnership with your 
partnership with us in the faith

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may be effective in deepening 
your understanding of every good

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thing we share for the sake of 
Christ. 

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Your love has given me great 
encouragement because you, 

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brother, have refreshed the 
hearts of the Lord's people. 

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Therefore, therefore, what's the
Therefore, Philemon, you're a 

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man of God, you're a part of the
fellowship. 

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You have loved well. 
You have a strong faith. 

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I've heard about it. 
I love it. 

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It's great, he says. 
Philemon, you're 1 of God's 

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people. 
Therefore, although in Christ I 

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could be bold and I could order 
you to do what you ought to do, 

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yet I prefer to appeal to you on
the basis of love. 

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Paul says. 
Hey, I have the authority and 

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the right to tell you what to 
do. 

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I have the authority to tell you
that you need to be reconciled. 

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See, Paul did not start the 
church at Colossae, but Paul was

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the leader of, I mean, basically
the leader of the whole movement

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of, of the church growing and 
moving. 

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He started so many churches. 
He wrote letters back to them. 

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I mean, he was, you know, the if
in our, our Nazarene Church, a 

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Superintendent. 
He was, if you look at like the 

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00:14:05,680 --> 00:14:07,160
Catholic Church, maybe like a 
Pope. 

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I mean, he was he was an 
authority figure. 

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00:14:09,840 --> 00:14:15,040
And he says, listen, I have the 
right to tell you what to do as 

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a member of the church, but 
that's not what I'm going to do.

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See, I've heard about your love 
for others. 

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I've heard about your faith. 
I've heard about this 

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00:14:25,400 --> 00:14:30,240
partnership. 
Therefore I appeal to you on the

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basis of love. 
He says, I could force you to do

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00:14:35,600 --> 00:14:40,360
it, but there's a better way. 
And that's for you to come to 

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reconciliation because of love. 
The word that he used here is 

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the word agape. 
There's four kinds of love that 

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we see in in Scripture, 4 words 
used for it. 

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And the four types are there's 
romantic love, there's 

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friendship love, there's family 
love, and then there's agape 

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love. 
OK, I think you probably 

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understand the first three 
romantic love, friendship, love,

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00:15:11,920 --> 00:15:15,520
family love. 
But then there's this 4th agape 

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love and, and agape love. 
Listen, you probably in your 

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00:15:19,200 --> 00:15:22,320
life will experience all three 
of those other kinds of love. 

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00:15:22,320 --> 00:15:24,440
Hopefully you've got friends at 
some point. 

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00:15:24,440 --> 00:15:28,160
Maybe you'll have someone that 
you love romantically and, and, 

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00:15:28,160 --> 00:15:31,040
and, and you probably have 
family, whether it's, you know, 

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00:15:31,040 --> 00:15:34,720
biological family or, or church 
family, whatever that, that you 

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00:15:34,720 --> 00:15:37,520
are, you have the opportunity to
love as a family. 

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00:15:38,960 --> 00:15:43,960
But agape love, Agape love means
selfless, unconditional, 

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00:15:44,400 --> 00:15:48,160
sacrificial love. 
It's the highest form of love. 

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Here's the thing. 
As a follower of Christ, if you 

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00:15:51,440 --> 00:15:54,920
are a follower of Christ, if you
call yourself a Christian, you 

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00:15:54,920 --> 00:15:59,000
are called to have agape love. 
Not just have like some people 

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00:15:59,000 --> 00:16:01,080
that there's romantic love and 
some people that there's 

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00:16:01,080 --> 00:16:03,560
friendship love and some people 
that there's family love. 

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Agape love should encompass all 
of those. 

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In your romantic relationship, 
you should have agape love. 

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00:16:11,400 --> 00:16:14,320
In your friendships, you should 
have agape love. 

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00:16:14,440 --> 00:16:17,440
In your family, you should have 
agape love. 

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00:16:17,600 --> 00:16:22,040
Agape love is all-encompassing 
and it's what we are called to. 

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In fact, first John 4 says since
he first agape loved us 

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00:16:29,120 --> 00:16:32,000
unconditionally, loved us 
selflessly, loved us 

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00:16:32,160 --> 00:16:38,560
sacrificially, loved us, so we 
ought to love agape one another 

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00:16:39,080 --> 00:16:43,280
selflessly, unconditionally, 
sacrificially. 

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00:16:44,400 --> 00:16:46,400
So he says, listen, I could 
quote rules to you. 

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00:16:47,320 --> 00:16:51,600
I could pull the Paul card. 
I'm appealed. 

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00:16:51,640 --> 00:16:54,840
I'm going to appeal to you based
on love. 

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00:16:56,000 --> 00:16:59,000
It's what we're called to be. 
It's who we're called to be. 

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00:16:59,760 --> 00:17:03,040
Guys, as a church, I think I've 
said this before. 

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00:17:03,040 --> 00:17:07,440
I hope you've heard it. 
We as the body of Christ are to 

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00:17:07,440 --> 00:17:12,560
be known for our love, not for 
what we're against. 

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00:17:12,560 --> 00:17:14,760
Too many churches are known for 
what they're against. 

288
00:17:15,280 --> 00:17:19,240
Too many churches are known for 
for a power grab or anything 

289
00:17:19,240 --> 00:17:22,520
else or whatever it is even 
listen, we are not meant to be 

290
00:17:22,599 --> 00:17:25,520
known for our wonderful worship 
team and we have a wonderful 

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00:17:25,520 --> 00:17:27,160
worship team. 
That's not what we should be 

292
00:17:27,160 --> 00:17:29,320
known for. 
We don't need the community to 

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00:17:29,320 --> 00:17:32,600
just think, hey, that church has
some good music or anything 

294
00:17:32,600 --> 00:17:34,440
else. 
What what we're supposed to be 

295
00:17:34,440 --> 00:17:40,240
known for as followers of Christ
is that we are a people of agape

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00:17:40,240 --> 00:17:43,240
love. 
That's who we're called to be. 

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00:17:43,960 --> 00:17:50,920
So he says, I appeal to you for 
reconciliation based on love. 

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00:17:50,920 --> 00:17:58,720
True agape love compels us, 
requires us, commands us to 

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00:17:58,720 --> 00:18:04,120
reconciliation. 
Romans 12, What does that look 

300
00:18:04,120 --> 00:18:06,000
like? 
I love this text. 

301
00:18:06,000 --> 00:18:09,800
It says verse 17 says do not 
repay anyone evil for evil. 

302
00:18:10,840 --> 00:18:13,680
Be careful to do what is right 
in the eyes of everyone. 

303
00:18:14,680 --> 00:18:20,600
Verse 18, if it is possible as 
far as it depends on you, live 

304
00:18:20,600 --> 00:18:24,280
at peace with everyone. 
I'm down in verse 21. 

305
00:18:24,280 --> 00:18:29,880
It says do not over be overcome 
by evil, but overcome evil with 

306
00:18:29,880 --> 00:18:33,240
good. 
We as the body of Christ are 

307
00:18:33,240 --> 00:18:38,560
called to when it comes to me, 
when it comes to you as far as 

308
00:18:38,560 --> 00:18:44,720
it depends on you do everything 
you can to be at peace, to be 

309
00:18:44,720 --> 00:18:51,360
living in agape love in Queenia,
fellowship with everyone and and

310
00:18:51,360 --> 00:18:53,640
listen, I know there's evil, 
there's evil, right? 

311
00:18:54,440 --> 00:18:56,720
People can be evil. 
Let's just acknowledge that that

312
00:18:56,720 --> 00:19:00,400
it is not just like our world 
has a lot of evil in it and can 

313
00:19:00,400 --> 00:19:04,120
I be honest sometimes the 
church, it invades the church. 

314
00:19:04,120 --> 00:19:07,640
I've seen it plenty. 
This is a great church. 

315
00:19:07,640 --> 00:19:12,640
You guys are awesome, but 
sometimes evil infiltrates in 

316
00:19:13,080 --> 00:19:16,440
and the devil's at work in the 
church and and and scripture 

317
00:19:16,440 --> 00:19:22,640
tells us don't be overcome by 
it, but overcome it with love. 

318
00:19:23,920 --> 00:19:28,160
That's who we're called to be. 
So as it as far as it depends on

319
00:19:28,160 --> 00:19:32,320
you live at peace. 
You have a responsibility to do 

320
00:19:32,320 --> 00:19:37,280
everything you can to live out 
agape love and reconcile and 

321
00:19:37,280 --> 00:19:41,120
live at peace with all people. 
Overcome evil with good. 

322
00:19:42,000 --> 00:19:44,320
That's the reason. 
So turn to someone and say 

323
00:19:44,320 --> 00:19:47,920
agape. 
Turn to someone and say love. 

324
00:19:49,400 --> 00:19:51,680
That's the reason that we 
reconcile. 

325
00:19:52,600 --> 00:19:55,680
Guys, if there's anything broken
in your life, any relationship, 

326
00:19:55,680 --> 00:20:02,120
anything that's messed up, the 
reason we're called to fix it is

327
00:20:02,120 --> 00:20:04,560
love. 
Go ahead, tell them love. 

328
00:20:04,560 --> 00:20:07,400
Tell someone love. 
Yeah, sing it. 

329
00:20:07,400 --> 00:20:08,280
That's fine. 
That's good. 

330
00:20:08,320 --> 00:20:11,400
I like that. 
All right, so that's the reason.

331
00:20:11,400 --> 00:20:14,520
Now let's look at the two sides.
I got to get it moving here. 

332
00:20:15,640 --> 00:20:17,560
So the first side is Nismus's 
side. 

333
00:20:19,200 --> 00:20:21,800
I think when we read this 
letter, we focus on Philemon's 

334
00:20:21,800 --> 00:20:25,160
part. 
The letter is 2 Philemon, and 

335
00:20:25,160 --> 00:20:27,520
the idea is that Philemon's been
wronged. 

336
00:20:27,520 --> 00:20:31,400
And so the letter is really sent
to Philemon with the intention 

337
00:20:31,400 --> 00:20:34,640
of helping Philemon to forgive 
Onissimus. 

338
00:20:34,640 --> 00:20:38,160
But there's two sides to this 
guy's and and the first side is 

339
00:20:38,160 --> 00:20:41,400
Onissimus's side. 
See, he's the one that's 

340
00:20:41,400 --> 00:20:45,480
committed the wrong and 
reconciliation has two sides. 

341
00:20:46,240 --> 00:20:50,680
In every situation, there are 
people that do wrong and there 

342
00:20:50,680 --> 00:20:53,920
are people that are wronged. 
Nod your head if you've ever 

343
00:20:53,920 --> 00:20:58,480
done somebody else wrong. 
If you didn't nod your head, nod

344
00:20:58,480 --> 00:21:03,920
your head that you're a liar. 
Every single one of us has 

345
00:21:03,920 --> 00:21:07,600
wronged somebody else. 
Every single one of us. 

346
00:21:09,240 --> 00:21:13,680
All right, now nod your head if 
you've ever been wronged, OK? 

347
00:21:13,680 --> 00:21:16,200
Nod your head if you're human, 
because we've all been wronged. 

348
00:21:18,720 --> 00:21:20,880
There's two sides of it. 
The first side is Onis missus 

349
00:21:20,880 --> 00:21:22,680
side. 
And and man, he, he committed a 

350
00:21:22,680 --> 00:21:25,960
pretty bad wrong. 
Not only did he steal and in 

351
00:21:25,960 --> 00:21:28,320
fact, I think we know that he 
committed a pretty bad wrong 

352
00:21:28,320 --> 00:21:29,920
because he didn't just run to 
the next town. 

353
00:21:29,920 --> 00:21:33,880
He ran 1300 miles away. 
He ran away. 

354
00:21:34,040 --> 00:21:37,600
He stole or did something 
terrible to Philemon and he took

355
00:21:37,600 --> 00:21:41,880
off. 
And then he got to Paul and God 

356
00:21:41,880 --> 00:21:46,440
got a hold of his heart. 
And now we see this happening 

357
00:21:47,920 --> 00:21:52,960
and Paul says, I'm sending him 
Onissimus, who is my very heart 

358
00:21:53,080 --> 00:21:54,840
back to you. 
Now picture this guys. 

359
00:21:56,200 --> 00:21:58,200
I like to think of how this 
conversation went. 

360
00:21:59,280 --> 00:22:01,320
Onissimus accepts Christ, hey, 
I'm all in. 

361
00:22:01,320 --> 00:22:05,840
And Paul says, awesome. 
Hey, you know that thing, You 

362
00:22:05,840 --> 00:22:08,600
know that thing with Philemon 
over there in colossi? 

363
00:22:08,600 --> 00:22:13,360
We got to make that right. 
And Onissimus is like, OK, cool.

364
00:22:13,360 --> 00:22:14,920
Like we can, you know, I'll say 
a prayer. 

365
00:22:14,920 --> 00:22:16,880
And Paul's like, no, no, no, no,
no, no, no. 

366
00:22:16,920 --> 00:22:18,840
We got to make that right. 
Well, what are we going to do? 

367
00:22:18,840 --> 00:22:20,200
Well, we're going to send him a 
letter. 

368
00:22:20,200 --> 00:22:23,320
OK, I can get behind that. 
Let's send them a letter asking 

369
00:22:23,320 --> 00:22:24,800
for forgiveness. 
Great. 

370
00:22:25,000 --> 00:22:26,600
All right, Well, how's the 
letter going to get there? 

371
00:22:26,600 --> 00:22:28,640
Well, Onisamus, you're going to 
take it. 

372
00:22:29,960 --> 00:22:34,680
Think about that. 
He ran 1300 miles away to Rome. 

373
00:22:35,640 --> 00:22:39,040
And Paul says, hey, now that 
you're a follower of Christ, 

374
00:22:39,040 --> 00:22:44,320
you're going to go 1300 miles 
back and you're going to make 

375
00:22:44,320 --> 00:22:47,560
the wrong right. 
Now this is a huge deal because 

376
00:22:47,560 --> 00:22:51,360
as I told you last week, the 
penalty just for a slave running

377
00:22:51,360 --> 00:22:54,840
away, the penalty could be as 
harsh as death on a cross. 

378
00:22:54,960 --> 00:22:59,280
So not only does he have to 
journey back 1300 miles, not 

379
00:22:59,280 --> 00:23:01,920
only does he have to trek all 
the way back there, not only 

380
00:23:01,920 --> 00:23:04,920
does he have to walk into the 
House of the man he's wronged, 

381
00:23:05,040 --> 00:23:11,120
but he's risking his life. 
Philemon could say you're going 

382
00:23:11,120 --> 00:23:16,640
to a cross. 
Paul says, listen, I'm sending 

383
00:23:16,640 --> 00:23:20,560
you back because if you're going
to be a faithful follower of 

384
00:23:20,640 --> 00:23:25,320
Jesus, you're called to agape 
love and reconciliation. 

385
00:23:26,120 --> 00:23:29,760
And if you've wronged someone, 
you need to make it right. 

386
00:23:30,360 --> 00:23:32,800
Matthew chapter 5, This is Jesus
teaching. 

387
00:23:34,080 --> 00:23:37,320
He says, therefore, if you are 
offering your gift at the altar 

388
00:23:37,320 --> 00:23:39,760
and there you remember that your
brother or sister has something 

389
00:23:39,760 --> 00:23:44,120
against you, leave the gift 
there in front of the altar. 

390
00:23:44,720 --> 00:23:50,480
First go and be reconciled to 
them, then come back and offer 

391
00:23:50,480 --> 00:23:53,280
your gift. 
You know what Jesus is saying? 

392
00:23:54,240 --> 00:23:59,040
Don't come here and, and, and 
give us half of don't, don't 

393
00:23:59,040 --> 00:24:02,440
come here and give God half your
obedience and say, yeah, I 

394
00:24:02,440 --> 00:24:04,760
praise you, Lord. 
Yeah, you're the same God. 

395
00:24:04,920 --> 00:24:06,680
Yeah, you heal. 
Yeah. 

396
00:24:07,200 --> 00:24:10,720
No. 
If there's something wrong, as a

397
00:24:10,720 --> 00:24:14,360
member of Koinonia Fellowship, 
as a follower of Christ, as a 

398
00:24:14,360 --> 00:24:19,320
person of love, you need to go 
make it right. 

399
00:24:20,880 --> 00:24:25,600
Jesus says don't come in with 
major things going on, with hurt

400
00:24:25,600 --> 00:24:28,960
in your life. 
Don't come in and sing songs and

401
00:24:28,960 --> 00:24:31,440
offer things and pretend that 
things are good. 

402
00:24:32,120 --> 00:24:36,320
Go make it right, then come 
back. 

403
00:24:38,840 --> 00:24:42,840
We, we often think of worship as
our singing, maybe listening to 

404
00:24:42,840 --> 00:24:46,080
the word of God. 
I think what Jesus is saying is 

405
00:24:46,080 --> 00:24:48,800
the most important act of 
worship is complete surrender 

406
00:24:48,800 --> 00:24:51,720
and obedience. 
And if there's something off, if

407
00:24:51,720 --> 00:24:55,720
there's a broken part of your 
life, a relationship or a 

408
00:24:55,720 --> 00:24:59,560
situation that's not healed, 
don't come fake it. 

409
00:25:00,720 --> 00:25:06,640
Go fix it first. 
Go be reconciled, then come off 

410
00:25:06,640 --> 00:25:11,120
for your gift. 
Seeking forgiveness is seeking 

411
00:25:11,120 --> 00:25:13,520
reconciliation is a matter of 
obedience. 

412
00:25:14,400 --> 00:25:16,240
Even bigger, it's a matter of 
worship. 

413
00:25:17,680 --> 00:25:21,920
And so Anismus was wrong. 
Maybe you're sitting here 

414
00:25:21,920 --> 00:25:24,840
thinking, you know, hey, I have 
a situation and I did something,

415
00:25:24,840 --> 00:25:28,080
but I've never felt like God's 
telling me to go make it right. 

416
00:25:28,080 --> 00:25:30,400
I've never heard God say go make
it right. 

417
00:25:30,840 --> 00:25:35,360
God's Word says before you come,
sing praises, offer gifts. 

418
00:25:36,320 --> 00:25:39,200
If you've wronged someone, go 
make it right. 

419
00:25:39,600 --> 00:25:46,640
There it is, you heard it here. 
If there's brokenness, go make 

420
00:25:46,640 --> 00:25:50,000
it right. 
You won't be able to truly 

421
00:25:50,200 --> 00:25:56,440
worship, to truly surrender, to 
truly be fully obedient until 

422
00:25:56,440 --> 00:25:59,560
you reconcile. 
That's the first side on this 

423
00:25:59,560 --> 00:26:01,000
mess. 
There may be some of you in here

424
00:26:01,000 --> 00:26:03,840
that are living in that side. 
Maybe you've wronged someone. 

425
00:26:04,280 --> 00:26:09,240
I'm guessing we all have. 
If you haven't fixed it today, 

426
00:26:10,720 --> 00:26:15,200
you're called to go fix it. 
Second side is Philemon's side. 

427
00:26:16,640 --> 00:26:18,760
Paul sends hey here, I'm sending
him to you. 

428
00:26:19,680 --> 00:26:23,680
Sends sends Nismus with a letter
and he asks something crazy. 

429
00:26:24,600 --> 00:26:27,800
Hey, you know that guy that ran 
away from you, You know the guy 

430
00:26:27,800 --> 00:26:30,400
that probably stole from you or 
hurt you in a major way. 

431
00:26:30,400 --> 00:26:34,280
You know the guy that found him 
1300 miles away and he's 

432
00:26:34,280 --> 00:26:36,120
accepted Christ and praise the 
Lord. 

433
00:26:36,120 --> 00:26:41,800
Hey, that guy, I'm sending him 
back and I'm not just asking you

434
00:26:41,800 --> 00:26:45,560
to say you're forgiven. 
I'm not just asking you to do 

435
00:26:45,560 --> 00:26:48,840
the right thing. 
I'm asking you to welcome him to

436
00:26:48,840 --> 00:26:54,680
love him as a brother. 
Verse 17, he says, so if if you 

437
00:26:54,680 --> 00:26:58,040
consider me a partner, welcome 
him as you would welcome me. 

438
00:26:58,640 --> 00:27:01,840
If he's done anything wrong or 
owes you anything, charge it to 

439
00:27:01,840 --> 00:27:03,560
me. 
This is incredible to me. 

440
00:27:03,600 --> 00:27:06,760
Paul says if you consider me a 
part of what? 

441
00:27:06,760 --> 00:27:10,160
What he's basically saying there
is if you are a part of the 

442
00:27:10,160 --> 00:27:14,040
fellowship, if you are a part of
the body of Christ, if you are a

443
00:27:14,040 --> 00:27:20,640
brother of mine, if you are a 
Christian, then love requires 

444
00:27:20,640 --> 00:27:25,760
you to forgive. 
Guys, let me say that again. 

445
00:27:26,880 --> 00:27:33,040
If you are a follower of Jesus 
Christ agape love requires you 

446
00:27:33,040 --> 00:27:37,760
to forgive others. 
He says welcome him back. 

447
00:27:38,440 --> 00:27:42,720
He says, welcome him back as if 
you're welcoming me. 

448
00:27:42,720 --> 00:27:45,520
Remember, this is Pope Paul. 
This is Superintendent Paul. 

449
00:27:45,520 --> 00:27:47,880
This is the guy who has all this
authority. 

450
00:27:47,880 --> 00:27:49,720
And, you know, everybody looks 
up to him. 

451
00:27:49,720 --> 00:27:52,520
He writes letters to churches. 
He wrote a bunch of the, you 

452
00:27:52,520 --> 00:27:53,960
know, books and letters of the 
Bible. 

453
00:27:53,960 --> 00:27:57,560
I mean, this is Paul. 
And he says, I'm sending him 

454
00:27:57,560 --> 00:28:01,720
back. 
And if you're a follower of 

455
00:28:01,720 --> 00:28:08,360
Christ, you'll welcome him in 
incredible Luke chapter 6, Jesus

456
00:28:08,360 --> 00:28:11,720
says, but you who are listening,
I to you who are listening, I 

457
00:28:11,720 --> 00:28:15,400
say listen to what Jesus says. 
Look at the the commands that 

458
00:28:15,400 --> 00:28:19,240
Jesus gives. 
He says love your enemies, do 

459
00:28:19,240 --> 00:28:26,240
good to those who hate you, 
bless those who curse you, pray 

460
00:28:26,880 --> 00:28:29,880
for those who mistreat you. 
If someone slaps you on one 

461
00:28:29,880 --> 00:28:32,200
cheek, turn to them the other. 
Also, if someone takes your 

462
00:28:32,200 --> 00:28:33,720
coat, do not withhold your shirt
from them. 

463
00:28:33,960 --> 00:28:37,880
Give to everyone who asks you, 
and if anyone takes what belongs

464
00:28:37,880 --> 00:28:41,160
to you, do not demand it back. 
Do to others as you would have 

465
00:28:41,400 --> 00:28:45,640
them do to you. 
But love your enemies, do good 

466
00:28:45,640 --> 00:28:48,120
to them, lend to them without 
expecting anything back. 

467
00:28:48,120 --> 00:28:51,480
Then your reward will be great 
and you will be children of the 

468
00:28:51,480 --> 00:28:56,080
Most High because He is kind to 
the ungrateful and wicked. 

469
00:28:57,080 --> 00:29:01,120
Be merciful, just as your Father
is merciful. 

470
00:29:02,240 --> 00:29:06,560
Do you hear that language, guys?
It doesn't say if somebody's 

471
00:29:06,560 --> 00:29:11,000
wronged, you just say you're 
forgiven. 

472
00:29:12,360 --> 00:29:15,120
It doesn't say if somebody's 
wronged, you just do the bare 

473
00:29:15,120 --> 00:29:18,160
minimum of forgiveness. 
It says love them. 

474
00:29:18,160 --> 00:29:21,160
It says do good to them. 
It says bless them. 

475
00:29:21,160 --> 00:29:25,800
It says pray for them. 
It says give to them, then your 

476
00:29:25,800 --> 00:29:27,800
reward will be great. 
Once again I want to point out I

477
00:29:27,800 --> 00:29:31,360
don't think this is just hey if 
you forgive in this life, then 

478
00:29:31,360 --> 00:29:34,080
someday in heaven you'll 
experience a reward. 

479
00:29:34,080 --> 00:29:37,880
I think what Jesus is telling us
is if we can learn to forgive 

480
00:29:37,880 --> 00:29:41,960
and to reconcile, we will 
experience life to the fullest. 

481
00:29:41,960 --> 00:29:48,880
Even now we free the prisoner 
only to realize we were the 

482
00:29:48,880 --> 00:29:54,640
prisoner. 
Do good love, bless, pray, 

483
00:29:54,640 --> 00:29:58,480
forgive another. 
Paul says it in in his letter of

484
00:29:58,480 --> 00:30:00,520
the Colossians, which was 
probably delivered at the same 

485
00:30:00,520 --> 00:30:02,080
time. 
Therefore, as God's chosen 

486
00:30:02,080 --> 00:30:04,520
people, wholly and dearly loved,
clothe yourselves with 

487
00:30:04,520 --> 00:30:07,280
compassion, kindness, humility, 
gentleness, and patience. 

488
00:30:07,720 --> 00:30:09,960
Bear with each other and forgive
one another. 

489
00:30:09,960 --> 00:30:14,640
If any of you have grievance 
against someone, forgive as the 

490
00:30:14,640 --> 00:30:19,200
Lord forgave you. 
And over all these virtues put 

491
00:30:19,200 --> 00:30:22,240
on love which binds them all 
together in perfect unity. 

492
00:30:23,200 --> 00:30:26,520
All right, So if you're 
Onissimus, if you've wronged 

493
00:30:26,520 --> 00:30:30,280
someone, agape love says go make
it right. 

494
00:30:31,320 --> 00:30:40,320
If you're Philemon, agape love 
says forgive, love, do good, 

495
00:30:41,320 --> 00:30:49,280
bless, pray for, serve. 
It says forgive as Christ 

496
00:30:49,280 --> 00:30:57,200
forgave you guys last week we 
talked about the the penalty for

497
00:30:57,200 --> 00:30:59,000
Onissimus would be death on a 
cross. 

498
00:30:59,000 --> 00:31:02,480
And, and I talked to you about 
the fact that that Jesus Christ 

499
00:31:02,480 --> 00:31:10,760
came and died on a cross to pay 
the price for Onissimus sin for 

500
00:31:10,760 --> 00:31:14,040
your sin, for my sin. 
The truth of the matter is not 

501
00:31:14,040 --> 00:31:18,000
one single one of us can come 
into this sanctuary today on our

502
00:31:18,000 --> 00:31:20,600
own merit and say I'm good 
enough to be here. 

503
00:31:20,600 --> 00:31:24,720
I can stand before God. 
Not one of us, all of us have 

504
00:31:24,720 --> 00:31:26,880
sinned and fallen short of the 
glory of God. 

505
00:31:28,200 --> 00:31:33,720
But praise be to God that our 
Savior Jesus Christ came and 

506
00:31:33,720 --> 00:31:40,120
died on a cross so that we could
be offered salvation and we 

507
00:31:40,120 --> 00:31:46,200
could have life and grace. 
You've been forgiven much. 

508
00:31:47,480 --> 00:31:50,360
Now you're called to forgive 
others. 

509
00:31:51,520 --> 00:31:56,200
It's what love requires. 
It's what Koinonia fellowship 

510
00:31:56,480 --> 00:31:59,320
requires. 
We are called to reconciliation.

511
00:31:59,320 --> 00:32:03,120
So whether we've wronged someone
else or whether we've been 

512
00:32:03,120 --> 00:32:11,160
wronged, Holiness Koinonia 
fellowship agape Love demands 

513
00:32:11,480 --> 00:32:15,840
reconciliation. 
It's not optional. 

514
00:32:18,560 --> 00:32:20,520
You guys know I'm not a real 
tough creature. 

515
00:32:21,400 --> 00:32:24,080
I don't get after you. 
And I've even heard people say 

516
00:32:24,080 --> 00:32:25,840
you need to be tougher. 
Here it is. 

517
00:32:27,120 --> 00:32:30,000
You don't have an option to 
reconcile. 

518
00:32:31,320 --> 00:32:35,440
You don't, as much as it depends
on you. 

519
00:32:35,800 --> 00:32:39,160
To your very best effort, 
everything you have, give 

520
00:32:39,160 --> 00:32:42,040
everything. 
If you need to go 1300 miles and

521
00:32:42,040 --> 00:32:44,520
you need to walk in and put your
life on the line, do it. 

522
00:32:44,520 --> 00:32:54,400
And if someone comes to you, 
receive them, welcome them, love

523
00:32:54,400 --> 00:33:01,760
them, forgive them. 
Love requires reconciliation. 

524
00:33:03,600 --> 00:33:08,080
I want to end with a little bit 
more of Coryton Boom story. 

525
00:33:08,560 --> 00:33:14,840
If you don't know her story, her
and her family, they, they 

526
00:33:15,320 --> 00:33:18,200
helped Jewish people escape from
the Nazis. 

527
00:33:19,240 --> 00:33:22,360
And so they would take people 
into their home, and they would 

528
00:33:22,360 --> 00:33:25,920
hide people from the Nazis to 
try to keep those Jewish people 

529
00:33:25,920 --> 00:33:28,400
from being put in concentration 
camps and killed. 

530
00:33:28,840 --> 00:33:30,920
And so Corey, 10, Boom, and her 
family did that. 

531
00:33:30,920 --> 00:33:33,840
But then they were eventually 
caught by the Nazis, and they 

532
00:33:33,840 --> 00:33:37,760
were put into a concentration 
camp, and they suffered. 

533
00:33:39,600 --> 00:33:43,080
And her father and her sister 
were killed. 

534
00:33:44,400 --> 00:33:48,360
And she was tortured and 
dehumanized and abused. 

535
00:33:49,400 --> 00:33:54,360
Listen to what she writes. 
It was at a church service in 

536
00:33:54,360 --> 00:33:59,760
Munich that I saw him, the 
former S S man who had stood 

537
00:33:59,760 --> 00:34:01,920
guard at the shower door in the 
processing center at 

538
00:34:01,920 --> 00:34:05,480
Ravensbrook. 
He was the first of our actual 

539
00:34:05,480 --> 00:34:08,000
jailers that I had seen since 
that time. 

540
00:34:08,920 --> 00:34:13,360
And suddenly it was all there, 
the room full of mocking men, 

541
00:34:13,360 --> 00:34:17,040
the heaps of clothing, Betsy's 
pain blanched face. 

542
00:34:18,000 --> 00:34:21,920
He came up to me as the church 
was emptying, and he was beaming

543
00:34:21,920 --> 00:34:25,760
and bowing and he, he said, He 
said, how grateful I am for your

544
00:34:25,760 --> 00:34:29,080
message for a line. 
He said to think that, as you 

545
00:34:29,080 --> 00:34:36,719
say, he has washed my sins away.
His hand was thrust out to shake

546
00:34:36,719 --> 00:34:40,239
mine, and I, who preached so 
often to the people in Brahmand 

547
00:34:40,239 --> 00:34:43,480
all the need to forgive, kept my
hand at my side. 

548
00:34:44,280 --> 00:34:48,080
Even as the angry, vengeful 
thoughts boiled through me, I 

549
00:34:48,080 --> 00:34:55,280
saw the sin in them, the sin in 
her own hateful thoughts. 

550
00:34:57,360 --> 00:35:00,680
Listen to this line. 
Jesus Christ had died for this 

551
00:35:00,680 --> 00:35:06,200
man. 
Was I going to ask more or 

552
00:35:06,320 --> 00:35:11,000
Jesus? 
I prayed Forgive me and help me 

553
00:35:11,000 --> 00:35:14,800
to forgive Him. 
I tried to smile, I struggled to

554
00:35:14,800 --> 00:35:17,040
raise my hand, but I could not. 
I felt nothing, not the 

555
00:35:17,040 --> 00:35:18,960
slightest spark of warmth or 
charity. 

556
00:35:19,120 --> 00:35:21,080
And so again I breathe the 
silent prayer. 

557
00:35:21,080 --> 00:35:26,240
Jesus, I cannot forgive him. 
Give me your forgiveness. 

558
00:35:27,440 --> 00:35:30,400
And as I took his hand, the most
incredible thing happened. 

559
00:35:30,680 --> 00:35:34,160
From my shoulder, along my arm 
and through my hand, a current 

560
00:35:34,160 --> 00:35:37,840
seemed to pass from Him to for 
me to Him, while into my heart 

561
00:35:37,840 --> 00:35:41,040
spring a love for the stranger 
that almost overwhelmed me. 

562
00:35:42,520 --> 00:35:47,360
And so I discovered that it's 
not on our forgiveness anymore, 

563
00:35:47,360 --> 00:35:50,360
that it's on our goodness that 
the world's healing hinges. 

564
00:35:51,520 --> 00:35:55,800
It's on His, the healing and the
goodness of Jesus Christ. 

565
00:35:56,720 --> 00:36:01,440
When He tells us to love our 
enemies, He gives along with the

566
00:36:01,440 --> 00:36:07,920
command, the love itself. 
Praise the Lord worship team 

567
00:36:07,920 --> 00:36:10,360
coming up. 
Everybody stand with me. 

568
00:36:14,360 --> 00:36:19,120
The reason we reconcile is 
because we are a people of agape

569
00:36:19,120 --> 00:36:23,000
love. 
It's because love requires it. 

570
00:36:24,160 --> 00:36:27,480
There's two sides of it. 
You may be an Onissimus. 

571
00:36:27,960 --> 00:36:30,680
You probably have been. 
I'll just go ahead and tell You 

572
00:36:30,680 --> 00:36:33,440
have been. 
You may be, Philemon. 

573
00:36:34,800 --> 00:36:36,200
I'll tell you. 
You probably have been. 

574
00:36:36,200 --> 00:36:42,000
You have been love requires 
reconciliation. 

575
00:36:43,360 --> 00:36:46,560
I love her story. 
She says Jesus, she recognizes 

576
00:36:46,560 --> 00:36:50,840
that her own lack of desire for 
reconciliation is sinful. 

577
00:36:51,160 --> 00:36:55,840
And she says forgive me and then
help me to forgive him. 

578
00:36:57,080 --> 00:37:00,200
And then she says this when he 
tells us to love our enemies, he

579
00:37:00,200 --> 00:37:05,960
gives us not just a command, but
he gives us the love to do it. 

580
00:37:06,800 --> 00:37:12,320
Paul ends the letter verse 25 by
saying the grace of our Lord 

581
00:37:12,360 --> 00:37:15,320
Jesus Christ be with your 
spirit. 

582
00:37:16,240 --> 00:37:21,600
See, Paul knows that Onissmus 
doesn't have the ability on his 

583
00:37:21,600 --> 00:37:24,080
own to make things right, and 
Philemon doesn't have the 

584
00:37:24,080 --> 00:37:26,840
ability on his own to make 
things right. 

585
00:37:26,840 --> 00:37:30,520
But the God who calls us to 
agape love and reconciliation is

586
00:37:30,520 --> 00:37:35,200
the God that gives us agape love
and reconciliation. 

587
00:37:36,680 --> 00:37:40,840
So here's the thing. 
Today I'm not naive enough to 

588
00:37:40,840 --> 00:37:45,160
think in a in a group this size,
there aren't brokenness, there 

589
00:37:45,160 --> 00:37:47,840
aren't broken things, there 
aren't broken relationships. 

590
00:37:48,680 --> 00:37:51,360
You may have been holding on to 
something for a long time. 

591
00:37:51,360 --> 00:37:53,080
Someone may have hurt you long 
ago. 

592
00:37:53,320 --> 00:37:55,480
You may have hurt someone else 
long ago. 

593
00:37:55,480 --> 00:38:01,760
If you are onissimus and you've 
done wrong today, you're 

594
00:38:02,040 --> 00:38:08,520
required to reconciliation. 
If you've been wronged today, 

595
00:38:09,200 --> 00:38:13,040
you are required to forgive. 
Why? 

596
00:38:14,600 --> 00:38:19,360
Because we're a people of love. 
Selfless, unconditional, life 

597
00:38:19,720 --> 00:38:31,610
giving love. 
May God give us His love and His

598
00:38:31,610 --> 00:38:37,080
grace that we can love others. 
Father, I pray and speak to us 

599
00:38:37,080 --> 00:38:39,680
and I pray in this time as we 
sing, I pray, Lord, that if we 

600
00:38:39,680 --> 00:38:42,360
need to bring something to you 
that we would come to you. 

601
00:38:44,680 --> 00:38:48,800
Lord, if there's brokenness, I 
pray we would come to you. 

602
00:38:50,080 --> 00:38:53,200
If we have a piece of our heart 
that we just, we can't do it, 

603
00:38:53,200 --> 00:38:54,880
Lord, help us to bring it to 
you. 

604
00:38:54,880 --> 00:38:58,400
If we're struggling because 
we've wronged someone or we're 

605
00:38:58,400 --> 00:39:00,720
struggling because someone's 
wrong to us, Lord, I pray that 

606
00:39:00,720 --> 00:39:05,360
today we would come to you, that
you would give us the grace and 

607
00:39:05,360 --> 00:39:09,840
the love to make it right. 
Lord, speak to us. 

608
00:39:10,760 --> 00:39:16,040
Help us to be fully obedient to 
you in Jesus name, Amen. 

609
00:39:16,040 --> 00:39:17,920
Listen, don't just come and 
sing. 

610
00:39:18,640 --> 00:39:21,400
If there's something off, make 
it right. 

611
00:39:21,400 --> 00:39:23,520
The altars are open. 
If you need to come pray, come 

612
00:39:23,520 --> 00:39:25,760
pray. 
If you're going to make a call, 

613
00:39:26,000 --> 00:39:30,960
make a call. 
Let's worship in full obedience.