Corporate Faith

For the last few weeks, we've been talking a great deal about faith, and really faith as it's practiced by the individual. And it's true that each of us is called as an individual to follow Jesus. And each of us, if the Lord doesn't return in the meantime, will die as an individual.

Alone, we will stand before the judgment seat of Christ. But this individual faith, which we hold in Jesus, will never last if we don't also learn how to have faith together. Kingdom faith is sustained and nourished here in the body.

This is the place that's kept alive, and this is why our Lord, every time he would find that one lost sheep, would take it and put it into the flock. He would always fit the individual into the body and make that person a living member of that body. There is no other way that faith will survive and grow and become strong if we don't learn also, in addition to having faith as individuals, to have faith together and practice that faith together in the body.

And so the faith that we're called to have as a body of believers, together, is best described anywhere in Scripture in the 18th chapter of Matthew. In this chapter, we see the foundations of corporate faith, body faith. And so I'd like to begin by reading here from verse 12 of chapter 18 of Matthew, keeping in mind now that he starts with us as individuals.

Jesus is speaking and he says, what do you think if a man has a hundred sheep and one of them has gone astray? Does he not leave the 99 on the hills and go out in search of the one that went astray? And if he finds it, truly, I say to you, he rejoices more over that one sheep than over the 99 that never went astray. So it is not the will of my Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish. And really, that's how it happened with every one of us.

Somewhere, somehow, the Lord found us when we were lost and he saved us and he delivered us from our sin and death and Satan and hell and ourselves. But once he saved us, we were never to be out there floating around alone anymore. He fit us together into the body, a community of brothers and sisters.

And it's in functioning together in the body, together with each other, that the power of the kingdom of God begins to form within us and the life of the kingdom of God begins to flow out from us. And so in the very next verses of chapter 18 of Matthew, we read, if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother.

But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you that every word may be confirmed by the evidence of two or three witnesses. If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector.

Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven. Whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Again, I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my father in heaven.

For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in the midst of them. Then Peter came up and said to him, Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him as many as seven times? Jesus said to him, I do not say to you seven times, but 70 times seven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven.

Whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. That was spoken to the body, not just to the individual. In chapter 16, he says this to Peter.

But now in chapter 18, he says it to the disciples, to the brothers and sisters really together. When you are in unity, this is what you're going to do. When you're one with each other, when you're carrying the weight of the glory of God that I placed in your midst and you're committed to carrying this together, then what you bind on earth will be bound in heaven.

You will bind the demons and you will free loose the captives. Then he goes on to say, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my father who was in heaven. Now, he's talking about corporate faith, body faith.

And he's saying, you know, that when we walk together in this kind of unity, when we're practicing that kind of commitment to one another under the Lord, then we can ask and we will receive. When the body is practicing that kind of faith, mighty things happen when it prays. He goes on to say, for wherever two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in the midst of them.

You know, and again, to be gathered in his name, to be joined together, to know what it is that holds us together. What is it that holds them together like this? The fact that they're all Lutherans or Baptists or Catholics or Pentecostals? No. The fact that they have a strong, wise, visible leader? No.

They are held together by a strong, wise, invisible leader, Jesus himself. And in their midst, he stands, he draws them together. When his name becomes their unity, when they're gathered under him because they trust him, he stands among them and he speaks to them.

Now, what we're looking at in Matthew 18 is not only a description of the early church as it emerged from the day of Pentecost and the days that followed, but we're also looking at a miracle which is occurring in thousands of places on Earth right now, including this place. Redemptive power, power to see with new eyes and think with a new mind and speak with a new tongue and love with a new heart is given to those believers who submit themselves to this corporate faith that Jesus is calling for in Matthew 18. Specifically, in Matthew 18, corporate faith breaks down to four things.

One, we will have the power to bring heaven to bear on the Earth when we walk in peace with each other. Two, we will have the power to ask and receive from the living God when we're in agreement with each other. Three, we will have the presence of the risen Jesus in our midst when we are in unity under his name.

And four, which ties the beginning and the end of this passage together, Alpha and Omega, we will be the gate of heaven to the lost sheep of this world when we practice forgiveness consistently among ourselves. First of all, we will have the power to bring heaven to bear on Earth when we walk in peace with each other. If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone.

If he listens, you have gained your brother. But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you that every word may be confirmed by the evidence of two witnesses or three witnesses. If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church.

And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a tax collector or a Gentile. Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on Earth shall be bound in heaven and whatever you loose on Earth shall be loose in heaven. Now, the only fellowship where this binding and loosing can go on under the power of God is that fellowship where the walls are down between us, where we are walking in peace with each other, where we absolutely will not allow resentments to fester.

If there's something wrong between us, we have to get it right. If we're going to bind evil so that it can't spread and loose the captive from their demonic chains, we have to be at peace with each other. Now, the real work in this binding and loosing is done by God.

God does the binding and the loosing. That's not our work. Our work in this binding and loosing, our work is to stay right with each other.

That's our work. To make sure that it's absolutely clear between us. Just as in a marriage, it's got to be right.

And there's work involved in constantly maintaining a right relationship. So if there's something wrong, it has to be cleared up. Don't just guess.

Don't jump to conclusions. Find out and get it right. So in our life with each other together, exactly the same thing applies.

We have to be clear and right with each other. If I'm walking around in a snit because you didn't smile to me in the supermarket, you know, then for your good as well as mine, you have to say, Dick, are you all right? Yeah, I'm all right. No, no, no, really.

Is there something wrong, Dick? Nothing wrong. Now, you know, I really should go to you and say, how come you didn't talk to me at A&P? But one way or another, we have to get this right. We must get it right.

Because the spirit of God will not move with any power among us if the air between us isn't clear. Jesus makes this so important that he brings the whole church into it. You know, if your brother sins against you, tell him.

If he listens, you've gained your brother. If he doesn't, take one or two others along and tell him again. If he still doesn't listen, tell it to the church.

If he still doesn't listen, he's out. It's that important. We have to listen and we have to be right with each other.

Second, we will have the power to ask and receive from the living God when we are in agreement with each other. Thursday afternoon, I went to see Willie Anderson in Ford Hospital. The other woman in the room with her was in agony with pain.

When it came time to pray with Willie, Willie said, Take Michelle's hand. So I'm standing between the two beds, Willie's hand and Michelle's hand and praying. When I'm finished, Willie looks over at Michelle and says with absolute authority, Now, Michelle, you're going to feel better.

I was praying. Willie was in charge. We were in agreement.

And that prayer was answered. Agreement. You know, joining our hearts together under God.

Now, a few weeks ago, Odell was leading the Bible study, as he does every Tuesday at four at the Yorba Hotel. And in this particular day, there was a woman who was wandering around with a troubled mind. And you could see fear and despair written on her face.

And she'd sit in one corner of the room and take the stuff out of her bag and put it back and go to another corner, come over where we were. And finally, Odell says, We're going to pray for her. And God's going to do something.

And so we did. And this had gone on over there at the Yorba Hotel for days. Within hours of that prayer, here comes the EMS and all the red tape somehow is finally cut and they take her for help.

And Friday afternoon, I made a call over at Southwest Detroit Hospital on somebody else. And I'm sure I saw sitting at the next table in the day room, this woman who looked like her mind was coming back together. And it's that's it's like simply agreeing, you know, together.

We can be doing this when we're talking on the telephone, when we're visiting each other, we can we can be in agreement with each other and agree and pray that should become like the most natural part of our life together. Thirdly, we will have the presence of the risen Jesus in our midst. When we are in unity under his name.

For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them. We need to keep remembering what it is that holds us together. There is only one thing that holds us together in this place, and that's Jesus.

We come because of him. In submission to him, in obedience to him, to listen to him. To commune with him in the body and blood.

But it is so easy to forget to be here and forget why we're here. We can you know, we can be distracted by so many things and scattered and forget what it really is all about so that we but when we take our minds and fix them in our hearts on him, Lord, you know, you're the beginning and the ending of this meeting. You are the source of our life here.

You are the only one who holds us together when that's on our mind, and that becomes our prayer. He indeed stands among us and speaks to us in the power of the Holy Spirit. And finally, we will be the gate of heaven for the lost chief of this world when we practice forgiveness consistently among ourselves.

Then Peter came up and said to him, Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him as many as seven times? Jesus says to him, I do not say seven times, but 70 times seven. You can go into a church where every face is pious. And every mind is filled with scripture, which is always quoted correctly.

But the atmosphere is hard. The air is thick with some kind of problem. The truth is that Sister Jones and Sister Smith haven't spoken to each other for three years.

Brother Brown is really bitter because he was slighted 10 years ago. The East Siders and the West Siders don't trust each other until the forgiveness of the Lamb of God finds daily expression in that church, in their life with each other, these saints with each other. If they're not just singing about the salvation of the Lord, but experiencing and practicing forgiveness with each other until that happens, that's going to be a hard place, a cold place.

And the lost sheep of this world will find no hope there. See, but when we humble ourselves and determine that we are going to live forgiveness, we're going to practice forgiveness with each other. When we determine that and are thoughtful of each other, then the atmosphere changes.

And the lost sheep who finds his way in here today, the lost sheep who stumbles in here next week will find God here and will see Jesus here. So the faith that we hold in Jesus as individuals brings us together in the body. No way you can follow Jesus as a Lone Ranger ever.

But the faith that we practice together as we walk in agreement, in peace, in unity, and in forgiveness, that faith moves mountains, breaks chains, opens doors, and brings the dead to life. God grant that we, even beginning today again, may commit ourselves to walking in that kind of corporate faith, that we may walk always in agreement, in peace, in unity, and in forgiveness. For when we do, mighty things will happen.

Let's just take some time in silence now.