Bringing God into Your Relationships
- Bringing God into your relationships is the factor of having organic relationships
with one another. (Rom. 14:17-20a and Eph. 4:3)
I. The Factors That Tear Down Organic Relationships
- A. Spiritual pride - Matt. 18:1; Mark 9:33-34; Luke 9:46-47
- B. Ambition - Matt. 18:1b; Phil. 2:3-5
- C. Reasoning - Mark 9:33; Luke 9:46-47; 2 Cor. 10:5
- D. Murmuring - Mark 9:34; Phil. 2:3-5, 12-14
- E. Offenses - Matt. 18:6-9; Rom. 14:20-21; 1 Cor. 8:9-13
- F. Despising - Matt. 18:10; 1 Tim. 4:12; 6:2
- 1. Kataphroneo - (holding a view; a mind-set)
- G. Sinning - Matt. 18:15; 1 John 1:7-9; 2 Cor. 6:11-7:3
- H. Closed and refusing to hear the other person(s) - Matt. 18:15-17
- I. Putting conditions on the relationship - Matt. 18:21
- J. Subjectivity and distortion - Matt. 18:21; James 3:13-18
II. The Factors That Build Up Organic Relationships
- A. Being willing to turn to the Lord - Matt. 18:3; 2 Cor. 3:16-18
- B. Becoming like a little child - Matt. 18:3; 1 Cor. 14:20; Eph. 4:31-32
- C. Humbling ourselves - Matt. 18:4; 1 Pet. 5:5-6
- D. Receiving one another without suspicion - Matt. 18:5; Rom. 14:1
- E. Having a heavenly attitude toward a sinning brother - Matt. 18:10-15
(feeling the same as the angels, the Son, and the Father)
- F. Transparency - Matt. 18:15
- G. Confidentiality - Matt. 18:15-16
- H. Accuracy - Matt. 18:16
- I. The corporate feeling of the church - Matt. 18:17
- J. The authority of the Holy Spirit - Matt. 18:18; John 20:22-23
- K. Harmony without any inner discord - Matt. 18:19
- L. Maintaining the presence of the Lord Himself - Matt. 18:20
- M. Forgiving from the heart - Matt. 18:21-35
- N. Having the capacity to be moved with compassion - Matt.18:27,33