Where Two or Three Are Gathered... Matthew 18L15-20 Episode #34

The Prayer Podcast with Jan L. Burt

Hey there, hello to you today. Welcome to episode number 34 of The Prayer Podcast, and thanks for listening.

Today we’re going to read some of Jesus’ words about prayer from the book of Matthew, chapter 18. I’m going to read from the Amplified Bible today, and I will start in verse 15 and read through verse 20.

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And this section of chapter 18 is titled “Discipline and Prayer” - so what Jesus says here isn’t solely and singularly about prayer. There’s something more to this passage, and that something has to do with discipline. Don’t think of discipline as a bad word. The word disciple is very similar to the word discipline, after all. Disciples of Jesus are called to be a disciplined people, you could say.

Matthew 18:15-20 AMP

“If your brother sins, go and show him his fault in private. If he listens and pays attention to you, you have won back your brother. But if he does not listen, take along with you one or two others, so that EVERY WORD MAY BE CONFIRMED BY THE TESTIMONY OF TWO OR THREE WITNESSES. If he pays no attention to them (refusing to listen and obey), tell it to the church, and if he refuses to listen even to the church, le them be to you as a Gentile (unbeliever) and a tax collector. I assure you and most solemnly say to you, whatever you bind (forbid, declare to be improper and unlawful) on earth shall have (already) been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose (permit, declare lawful) on earth shall have (already) been loosed in heaven. Again, I say to you, that if two believers on earth agree (that is, are of one mind, in harmony) about anything that they ask (within the will of God), it will be done for them by My Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered in My name (meeting together as my followers), I am there among them.”

These five verses have a lot of counsel for us.

First, the discipline portion was what Jesus mentioned here. Someone sins, and not someone who does not know the Lord, this is not about hitting the lost upside the head with our Bibles, this is about sin in someone who is a follower of Jesus. Go to him, or to her, in private first and show them their fault. Now I will say this: if the sin is very public, like on a platform, think of a literal platform like at a conference or it could be a virtual platform, then I have seen times when sin like that was addressed in the same manner it was committed. So, this seems touchy, like hmmm, but Jesus said to do it privately first, and He sure did. And that is what we ought to do. But if a very public leader in the church is leading church folk in sin, there is a need to make sure that the church understands what was sinful…because Jesus also said whoever leads one of these little ones to sin is in a bad place, in a bad way. Little ones can for sure be about children, and the Lord does not take that lying down. But a little one could also be someone who is new to the faith, has come to Jesus like a little child, fully trusting and all-in with Jesus, and if someone publicly misleads that new believer, well, just letting that go and not doing some kind of follow up (and immediately is best in this case, when the room is still occupied)...if we doing ensure new believers understand what was sinful, we aren’t discipling them. So I wanted to mention that, because sometimes it gets lost in the modern church, the follow up to make sure things are being addressed. There is a way to acknowledge that something was not right, was sinful and harmful to the body of Christ and still have the private moment of showing that person their fault. And the next step is witnesses, some others come along and help try to show them their fault. Why? So, they can be restored. The body doesn’t need any sick parts, and Jesus is returning for a pure bride, so we as the church are not wrong in trying to eliminate sickness and keep ourselves pure. The American culture smacks at this, doesn’t like this. But I am a Christian who happens to live in America, not an American Christian. My identity is in Christ, my home is in heaven, I am a pilgrim here, something of a nomad, and I’ve been told in the New Testament not to love the world…and so, I need to grow up a bit, take it on the chin sometimes, and accept that other believers can, and should, show me my fault. Disciplined discipleship is not a bad thing, and those of us who are honest can admit that.

Also, based on this text, can I strongly encourage you to really listen when someone is bold and brave enough to do what Jesus says here and show you your fault? I’m talking to myself, and actually I am praying for this: Lord, when I am wrong, and one of Your people comes to me to show me my fault, my wrongness, would You enable me to deal with my sin and not take offense? To simply be Your daughter, in humility, and yield to You in that area of my life? Amen.

This text is one we reference often, say, in our prayer groups at church or at Bible study. Both the part about binding and loosing, which is worth reading again, and it’s here in the show notes, so feel free to look at these verses about binding and loosing. But also, the part of verse 20 that says where two or three are gathered in Jesus’ name, he is there among them. Okay, so we can of course go into our prayer closet and pray, also something Jesus said about prayer, and we can and should pray when we gather with believers and know that not only will He hear us as we pray, but He is there with us, among us. Even two people, or three people. I find this so very comforting. Sometimes all we can do is get together with one or two others and pray. Anybody else ever feel like that? Just a couple of us together in prayer over that thing that is weighing on you. And that’s enough. No need for a massive group of prayer warriors, although there is not a thing wrong with that! But if there are two of you, He is there among you. Close enough to catch all your tears in a bottle, that kind of there among you. And that is awesome to consider.

Lord, as we come to You with our prayer requests, and when we gather with others who follow You, help us to remember that You are there among us. Teach us how to be disciples who don’t balk at Your discipline. Remind us that we can bind and lose things in prayer, and show us clearly what Your will is for us in the situations we face in life. Lead us as we follow You, and bring a special blessing on us when we gather together in Your name for Your purposes. Be glorified in our lives, and bless each one listening in a way that encourages them today. In Your name I pray this - Amen.

Thanks for joining me for the show today, and for the listeners from around the world, the Netherlands and Australia and Trinidad and Tabago, and other places, thanks for listening! As always, I’m honored to pray for any of your needs that you share with me and I’ll put a link in the show notes for you to easily share prayer requests. Lord bless you and I’ll see ya next time! Bye bye.