WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:22.260 Hi, and welcome to the Willow Ridge Church weekly podcast. 00:00:22.780 --> 00:00:25.880 This is where you can find audio for our current and past sermons. 00:00:26.100 --> 00:00:30.420 We hope that you enjoy this week's installment, and be sure to check back next week to hear 00:00:30.420 --> 00:00:31.260 the latest message. 00:00:31.680 --> 00:00:32.460 Thanks for listening. 00:00:46.240 --> 00:00:47.160 Well, good morning. 00:00:47.880 --> 00:00:51.640 Glad that you guys are here with us here in person and joining us online. 00:00:51.780 --> 00:00:56.060 If you've got your Bibles, go ahead and open them up to Acts chapter 2. 00:00:56.420 --> 00:00:59.220 Now, we've been looking at Acts 2 and Acts 4 the last couple weeks. 00:00:59.280 --> 00:01:04.240 We're just going to look at Acts 2 this morning and a couple of other passages in Scripture. 00:01:04.920 --> 00:01:11.040 What we are looking at, what this series is about, is understanding these family traits 00:01:11.040 --> 00:01:12.220 that we have. 00:01:12.740 --> 00:01:18.240 And what our video pointed to for our kids this morning, but the truth that we're seeing 00:01:18.240 --> 00:01:23.800 in Scripture is as we look at Acts chapter 2, there's this thing that begins to happen. 00:01:24.960 --> 00:01:30.320 The telling of the Messiah, of the upcoming Messiah that we see in the Old Testament, to the fulfillment 00:01:30.320 --> 00:01:33.440 of Scripture where Jesus comes at the New Testament. 00:01:33.580 --> 00:01:34.940 He has died on a cross. 00:01:35.080 --> 00:01:36.260 He resurrected. 00:01:36.680 --> 00:01:39.840 He walks around and continues to interact with his followers. 00:01:40.400 --> 00:01:45.120 And before he ascends to heaven, he lets them know that the Holy Spirit is going to come. 00:01:45.160 --> 00:01:46.020 And then he ascends. 00:01:46.400 --> 00:01:51.680 And what we see in Acts chapter 2 is the formation of the church. 00:01:51.680 --> 00:02:08.660 And we see this miraculous work that happens where Jesus and the story of the gospel had been regulated to this area of the Middle East that we see throughout the book of Acts that the gospel begins to spread in a way that the gospel has not spread since. 00:02:09.420 --> 00:02:13.960 And we see different tribes and tongues and nations come to faith in Jesus Christ. 00:02:14.360 --> 00:02:23.400 And so what we're doing is we're looking at that and saying, okay, I know this was 2,000 years ago, but this family of God is still this family of God. 00:02:23.740 --> 00:02:26.300 And so what are those traits in the family? 00:02:26.760 --> 00:02:34.460 What are those traits that we see from the formation of the church in the book of Acts that should still ring true in the church today? 00:02:34.700 --> 00:02:47.740 And what is remarkable when we think about going and being a part of the body of Christ and other parts of the world is that we can go into other churches and other cultures and other contexts with other languages, 00:02:47.980 --> 00:02:58.740 and we can still see the embodiment of the traits of the family of God lived out, regardless of culture, regardless of language. 00:02:59.200 --> 00:03:01.780 And we see how God works and God moves. 00:03:02.160 --> 00:03:07.500 And so what we've been doing is we've been looking at this and drawing from this and saying, okay, God, is this what we've embodied? 00:03:07.620 --> 00:03:08.940 Is this what we've embraced? 00:03:09.260 --> 00:03:12.660 And you and I, we have to walk this road kind of twofold, right? 00:03:12.660 --> 00:03:18.780 As the body of Christ together of Willow Ridge Church at the local level, have we embraced this? 00:03:19.000 --> 00:03:25.760 But then also at an individual level, like it's not just about us, it's about the parts of the body as well. 00:03:25.980 --> 00:03:28.980 And so we're working through and pushing through with that. 00:03:29.240 --> 00:03:37.560 So in week one, we looked at the truth of God's word and begin to understand and talk about that the Bible is not only the foundation, 00:03:37.560 --> 00:03:42.740 but the means and the guidelines and the changing power by which we live our life. 00:03:43.000 --> 00:03:48.120 And so we talked about that the Bible is true, that every single word, every single promise, 00:03:48.400 --> 00:03:55.520 that the Bible is historical and scientific and that everything in this word is true. 00:03:56.000 --> 00:03:59.080 But not only is it true, it's different than like a history book. 00:03:59.200 --> 00:04:04.300 It's authoritative, which means this, that what it sets for me in my life, 00:04:04.300 --> 00:04:07.720 whether I like it or not, does not mean that it is not authoritative. 00:04:08.480 --> 00:04:12.320 And so I'm supposed to live out through the power of the Holy Spirit in me, 00:04:12.540 --> 00:04:17.260 the truth of God's word, to be obedient to what God calls me to, 00:04:17.760 --> 00:04:24.460 for one very important reason that is different than any other literature that's ever been written. 00:04:24.940 --> 00:04:26.860 Because the Bible is inspired. 00:04:27.340 --> 00:04:28.960 It's God's word. 00:04:29.300 --> 00:04:34.220 It's not a group of people coming together and figuring out what's the right to put this together, 00:04:34.360 --> 00:04:41.640 but it is God through the power of God speaking to people that then record God's word so that we may have it. 00:04:42.100 --> 00:04:44.200 The wonderful truth of God's word. 00:04:44.800 --> 00:04:51.400 Then we also talked last week about missions and tried to understand both the spiritual aspect of what God does in missions 00:04:51.400 --> 00:04:55.160 and the obedience that God is calling you and I to. 00:04:55.400 --> 00:05:00.060 And we walked out of here in agreeance that we all are missionaries. 00:05:00.360 --> 00:05:08.500 Whether that means you go to another country or go across the street or maybe even for some of you across the hall at your home. 00:05:08.860 --> 00:05:13.280 That you begin to view your homes, your neighborhoods, the places you work, the places you go, 00:05:13.400 --> 00:05:17.880 as the mission field which God has ordained for you to be in. 00:05:17.880 --> 00:05:20.360 And so we have to be missionally minded. 00:05:20.720 --> 00:05:22.860 And we defined missions last week. 00:05:22.940 --> 00:05:25.400 We said the missions is the work of God. 00:05:25.600 --> 00:05:33.040 It is spiritual work done by the people of God so that those who do not know God may come to know him. 00:05:33.180 --> 00:05:35.260 The important aspects of what's there. 00:05:35.600 --> 00:05:37.120 Missions is the work of God. 00:05:37.220 --> 00:05:41.440 It's what God is doing as he is calling men and women back to himself. 00:05:41.520 --> 00:05:42.480 It's the work of God. 00:05:43.000 --> 00:05:44.960 But it's done by us. 00:05:45.380 --> 00:05:55.140 God sends us on to the mission field with a very important reason that makes the church of Christ different than every other organization. 00:05:55.140 --> 00:05:58.840 That we have a specific goal in what we are there to do. 00:05:58.980 --> 00:06:01.520 We're not just there to be kind and to do works. 00:06:01.600 --> 00:06:02.780 We do all of those things. 00:06:02.900 --> 00:06:09.140 But we do them with a purpose and a reason that those who do not know Jesus may come to know him. 00:06:09.340 --> 00:06:11.280 It's why we do what we do. 00:06:11.840 --> 00:06:21.740 And this morning what I want us to look at in Acts 2 and begin to look at in Scripture of a trait that we see developed in the family of God is authentic accountability. 00:06:22.320 --> 00:06:25.740 So let's start reading Acts 2 starting in verse 42. 00:06:27.360 --> 00:06:28.180 Scripture says, 00:06:28.180 --> 00:06:35.740 And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship and to the breaking of bread and the prayers. 00:06:36.740 --> 00:06:42.740 In awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. 00:06:43.320 --> 00:06:47.320 In all who believed were together and had all things in common. 00:06:47.800 --> 00:06:54.900 And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all as any had need. 00:06:55.440 --> 00:07:03.580 And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts. 00:07:03.820 --> 00:07:07.340 Praising God and having favor with all the people. 00:07:07.840 --> 00:07:14.620 And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved. 00:07:14.940 --> 00:07:21.820 Well, we're going to draw from this passage of Scripture and looking at Scripture as a whole, this concept of authentic accountability. 00:07:22.320 --> 00:07:28.620 But as we do that, here's something that we're going to look at today, but also over the next couple of weeks together. 00:07:28.860 --> 00:07:33.560 It's this concept of unity that we see in the early church. 00:07:33.760 --> 00:07:39.000 Now, as you read through, if you were looking at the screen, there were some words that were underlined. 00:07:39.060 --> 00:07:42.400 If you were just reading your Bible, I hope you noticed these as we went through. 00:07:42.860 --> 00:07:45.940 But I raise the question to you today. 00:07:46.380 --> 00:07:53.880 In the working toward the unity of the mission of God, there's a very distinct thing that we must draw out from the early church. 00:07:54.080 --> 00:07:56.760 And it is the concept of they or some. 00:07:57.200 --> 00:08:04.800 That very early on, when we read through Scripture, what we see is an entirety of the movement of God's people. 00:08:05.040 --> 00:08:06.740 Now, trust me, they mess up stuff. 00:08:07.460 --> 00:08:12.960 We're going to see some things within the church that people get wrong and they work toward to correct. 00:08:13.600 --> 00:08:23.700 But when God in His sovereignty spoke the Word and had it recorded, what we begin to see is not aspects of the body, but the wholeness of the body. 00:08:23.700 --> 00:08:26.320 It was the they, not the some. 00:08:27.260 --> 00:08:31.080 It says they were devoted to the apostles' teaching. 00:08:31.780 --> 00:08:34.000 They were selling their possessions. 00:08:34.540 --> 00:08:35.980 They attended the temple. 00:08:36.400 --> 00:08:38.040 They opened their homes. 00:08:38.500 --> 00:08:40.000 They fellowshiped. 00:08:40.240 --> 00:08:44.280 The depth of unity that we see in the church. 00:08:44.720 --> 00:08:49.720 And I think it's the battle as you and I face as we come together as a unique body, 00:08:49.720 --> 00:08:54.420 just like every other local body that gathers together. 00:08:54.820 --> 00:08:59.860 But there's this understanding that if we're going to press forward into what God has us to do, 00:09:00.080 --> 00:09:02.420 that it is the accepting of all of us. 00:09:03.160 --> 00:09:03.960 That it's the they. 00:09:04.760 --> 00:09:09.740 That it's not the some, that they take care of those things, that they do these things, 00:09:09.840 --> 00:09:11.000 but it's the we. 00:09:11.320 --> 00:09:14.260 It's the unity within the body. 00:09:14.260 --> 00:09:20.840 And so over the next several weeks, as we press forward into this concept, into this notion of Scripture, 00:09:21.020 --> 00:09:23.300 we begin to challenge ourselves with this. 00:09:23.520 --> 00:09:26.120 Are we fully embracing this? 00:09:26.520 --> 00:09:29.340 Or is it the expectation of some? 00:09:30.000 --> 00:09:33.500 And so we want to begin this by talking about accountability. 00:09:33.860 --> 00:09:36.940 So as we've been doing, I want to define accountability for us. 00:09:37.380 --> 00:09:37.960 And it is this. 00:09:39.040 --> 00:09:46.400 Investing in my sanctification and others' sanctification through authentic relationships. 00:09:46.660 --> 00:09:46.820 All right? 00:09:46.840 --> 00:09:50.540 So we're going to define these relationships here in just a second. 00:09:50.540 --> 00:09:59.780 But that accountability is the willingness on you and I to invest in our sanctification together. 00:10:00.480 --> 00:10:11.300 That we are battling sin, not as individuals, but we are battling individual sin with each other. 00:10:11.840 --> 00:10:17.460 This past week at our staff meeting, I was talking to our staff about accountability. 00:10:17.800 --> 00:10:22.860 And I said, hey guys, help me understand, because I know that I have struggles with accountability. 00:10:23.100 --> 00:10:23.920 Let me start off. 00:10:23.980 --> 00:10:26.220 Let me be vulnerable and accountable to you guys. 00:10:26.420 --> 00:10:27.700 I struggle with it. 00:10:28.200 --> 00:10:32.400 And so we had about a 30-minute discussion in the room about the struggles that we face. 00:10:32.440 --> 00:10:39.920 And there was kind of two aspects that kind of came up of why we as a staff and others around us, right, 00:10:40.020 --> 00:10:43.380 why we battle and why we struggle sometimes with accountability. 00:10:43.720 --> 00:10:49.340 One of the struggles that I think is common amongst people is this, that we want to stay on the surface, right? 00:10:49.420 --> 00:10:56.820 In order to truly be accountable, I can't go into surface-level relationships, right? 00:10:57.040 --> 00:11:02.400 The second thing that we notice that we struggle with accountability is this, there's no follow-up. 00:11:02.740 --> 00:11:08.960 That when God does work in my heart and I do begin to share and I let you in on this aspect of my life, 00:11:08.960 --> 00:11:14.680 or you let me in on this aspect of your life, then what do we do with it, right? 00:11:15.200 --> 00:11:16.560 Hey, pray for me. 00:11:16.700 --> 00:11:18.440 I'm struggling with this. 00:11:19.300 --> 00:11:20.440 Hey, could you help me? 00:11:20.520 --> 00:11:23.000 Because this is the battle that I'm facing. 00:11:23.620 --> 00:11:29.560 And we kind of give that courteous, all right, but knowing that we're never going to really dive into it. 00:11:30.160 --> 00:11:36.100 But if we're going to go through the process of sanctification, becoming more and more like Christ, 00:11:36.380 --> 00:11:43.500 through the power of the Holy Spirit, but also in the accountability with each other, we have to press into that. 00:11:43.720 --> 00:11:48.400 So I want us to look at this morning, what is biblical accountability? 00:11:49.140 --> 00:11:54.220 And the first is this, accountability involves others, right? 00:11:54.660 --> 00:11:56.020 That's a no-brainer. 00:11:56.300 --> 00:11:59.560 But let's really begin to understand what that means. 00:12:00.080 --> 00:12:03.240 The greatest gift outside of your relationship with Christ, 00:12:03.860 --> 00:12:09.960 the greatest gift other than the Holy Spirit that God has given us as the church, 00:12:10.880 --> 00:12:13.640 is each other, is each other. 00:12:14.020 --> 00:12:19.900 God gave us to each other so that we can go through this together, 00:12:20.060 --> 00:12:22.820 that we do not have to face this alone. 00:12:23.320 --> 00:12:26.240 Paul writes in Galatians 6-2, he said, 00:12:26.800 --> 00:12:33.080 bear one another's burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ. 00:12:33.220 --> 00:12:36.820 Four times in Galatians, Paul uses this word, bear. 00:12:37.420 --> 00:12:40.500 And when he's talking about bearing with someone, 00:12:40.500 --> 00:12:45.280 I think oftentimes when we use that phrase, what we really mean is tolerate, right? 00:12:45.420 --> 00:12:50.100 I got to bear with somebody at work who gets on my nerves, but I got to work with them anyways, right? 00:12:50.720 --> 00:12:52.340 What we mean is tolerate. 00:12:52.580 --> 00:12:53.620 That's not this word. 00:12:53.700 --> 00:12:55.640 That's not what Paul's saying. 00:12:55.980 --> 00:13:00.160 What Paul means is that when we bear with one another, 00:13:00.340 --> 00:13:04.060 it means that we share with the burden. 00:13:04.060 --> 00:13:12.780 The battles and the sins and the struggles that you and I face on a day-to-day basis, 00:13:12.780 --> 00:13:17.000 we were never intended to face them on our own. 00:13:17.320 --> 00:13:19.380 And in fact, we're incapable. 00:13:20.360 --> 00:13:23.340 We're incapable of facing them alone. 00:13:23.980 --> 00:13:29.520 We're incapable of seeing victory as we press through this by ourself. 00:13:29.520 --> 00:13:33.240 We need each other. 00:13:33.460 --> 00:13:37.640 It's a burden that we can't carry by ourselves. 00:13:38.380 --> 00:13:44.940 A few years ago, we were at our old house and there was this slope on the driveway. 00:13:45.520 --> 00:13:48.040 And I had to move something out of the house. 00:13:48.500 --> 00:13:49.460 It was a piece of furniture. 00:13:50.500 --> 00:13:51.820 And so I'd gotten the piece of furniture. 00:13:51.960 --> 00:13:53.900 Someone had helped me get it out into the driveway. 00:13:53.900 --> 00:13:59.620 And I thought, well, this will be easy to kind of get up into the back of my truck by myself. 00:14:00.420 --> 00:14:02.400 And so they had left and sat out there. 00:14:02.460 --> 00:14:05.220 And it was now my turn to get this by myself. 00:14:05.240 --> 00:14:10.760 And as I got the first part of it up into the truck, it was a piece of furniture that was heavy, 00:14:10.860 --> 00:14:15.300 but I didn't realize how awkward it would be to do this by myself. 00:14:15.720 --> 00:14:20.460 And so I reached down and I grabbed one side and I grabbed the other side. 00:14:20.460 --> 00:14:25.720 And if you've ever been in this predicament before, you realize like right now, I'm too 00:14:25.720 --> 00:14:30.560 much into this, right, to give up, but I can't go any farther, right? 00:14:30.940 --> 00:14:32.560 And so you're just kind of stuck. 00:14:33.040 --> 00:14:38.740 And so it's like, all right, as hard as I can, I'm going to try to get some leverage and 00:14:38.740 --> 00:14:42.540 press the rest of this up so that I can get it in the back of my truck. 00:14:42.680 --> 00:14:48.440 And right as I go to strain, to get what I need, my son, who's about in third grade at 00:14:48.440 --> 00:14:53.500 the time, he comes walking up and kind of gets on one side, like, we got this, right? 00:14:53.900 --> 00:14:54.900 Like, we got this. 00:14:55.100 --> 00:14:56.640 He's nodding his head right now, right? 00:14:56.860 --> 00:15:02.920 And so on three, we pressed up and we pushed it into the back and it was there. 00:15:04.040 --> 00:15:05.780 And that's what this looks like. 00:15:06.620 --> 00:15:08.440 We need each other. 00:15:09.240 --> 00:15:11.660 I don't know how much that piece of furniture weighed. 00:15:12.700 --> 00:15:14.860 I don't know what I could have done by myself. 00:15:15.880 --> 00:15:20.460 I don't know pound for pound what Grayson brought to the table. 00:15:21.120 --> 00:15:29.300 But what I know is this, as much as I'm stronger than him, as much as I was more capable than 00:15:29.300 --> 00:15:37.580 him, it took him coming alongside of me in order to overcome the situation in which I was, in 00:15:37.580 --> 00:15:38.460 which I found myself. 00:15:39.040 --> 00:15:43.780 And that applies so much to our spiritual life. 00:15:44.280 --> 00:15:53.740 When it comes to defeating sin, getting close on your own isn't enough when others can come 00:15:53.740 --> 00:15:57.360 alongside us as we battle toward the finish line. 00:15:58.200 --> 00:16:02.340 But accountability has to involve others. 00:16:03.100 --> 00:16:11.000 Next thing we begin to understand about accountability is that accountability requires mutual vulnerability. 00:16:11.760 --> 00:16:17.860 If we're going to bring others into our walk, if we're going to bring others into the battles 00:16:17.860 --> 00:16:24.760 that we face so that we can bear one another's burdens together, it has to require not just that 00:16:24.760 --> 00:16:31.800 you're vulnerable, not just that I'm vulnerable, but that we are vulnerable with each other. 00:16:32.400 --> 00:16:33.780 James 5 16 says, 00:16:33.980 --> 00:16:41.360 Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another that you may be healed. 00:16:41.660 --> 00:16:47.380 The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. 00:16:47.640 --> 00:16:52.600 When we talk about confession in Scripture, here's what confession's not. 00:16:53.100 --> 00:16:58.600 Confession is not sitting down with someone else and you confessing all that you've done 00:16:58.600 --> 00:17:06.000 and they sit there on the other side and nodding their head as you open up yourself for the battles 00:17:06.000 --> 00:17:06.900 that you've gone through. 00:17:07.180 --> 00:17:14.020 But it's very clear in Scripture, confess your sins to one another. 00:17:14.020 --> 00:17:21.240 It goes back to God intended this, that you and I, we need each other. 00:17:22.400 --> 00:17:25.100 Confess, not to you. 00:17:26.380 --> 00:17:35.700 Confess, not to me, but you and I are called to confess to each other. 00:17:37.040 --> 00:17:38.180 We've got to be vulnerable. 00:17:39.500 --> 00:17:41.760 You know, the depth of a relationship. 00:17:43.100 --> 00:17:45.200 People have been talking to me a lot lately. 00:17:45.300 --> 00:17:47.160 It's like I feel like I hear this quite often. 00:17:47.240 --> 00:17:48.140 I just want to go deeper. 00:17:49.260 --> 00:17:51.320 I want to go deeper in my walk with the Lord. 00:17:51.380 --> 00:17:53.820 I want to go deeper into Bible study. 00:17:54.020 --> 00:17:56.420 I want to go deeper into my prayer life. 00:17:56.540 --> 00:17:58.900 Well, I've been really thinking about that a lot lately. 00:18:00.000 --> 00:18:07.340 And here's what I begin to believe is the steps that we can take when our desire of our heart is to go deeper. 00:18:08.300 --> 00:18:10.840 Deeper is not an intellectual discussion of Scripture. 00:18:12.540 --> 00:18:26.320 Deeper is the willingness on the part of the believer to be vulnerable in their own life and to allow others to go vulnerable in their life so that we can work together in order to see God glorified. 00:18:27.420 --> 00:18:30.320 That's what it means to go deeper. 00:18:31.080 --> 00:18:34.240 And God's Word is very clear when this begins to happen. 00:18:34.240 --> 00:18:40.280 When you confess to me and I confess to you and we pray for each other, what do we find? 00:18:40.700 --> 00:18:41.260 Healing. 00:18:42.240 --> 00:18:42.620 Healing. 00:18:43.440 --> 00:18:44.920 And why does that bring healing? 00:18:46.020 --> 00:18:53.540 Because in the secrets of sin is where shame and guilt grows. 00:18:54.320 --> 00:19:07.660 And it is not until you and I are willing to be vulnerable with one another, to confess what we've done to one another, that in that what we begin to find is healing. 00:19:08.100 --> 00:19:08.340 Why? 00:19:08.540 --> 00:19:13.800 Because the secrets are out of the dark and Satan can't hold them over our heads anymore. 00:19:14.820 --> 00:19:16.900 And in that we find healing. 00:19:18.020 --> 00:19:25.740 Also within accountability, we begin to understand that accountability accepts conflict. 00:19:26.560 --> 00:19:29.500 Now, a little quick poll for everybody who's here today. 00:19:29.600 --> 00:19:31.660 I'm going to ask you to be vulnerable with me, all right? 00:19:32.120 --> 00:19:32.380 All right. 00:19:32.720 --> 00:19:33.740 I'm a people pleaser. 00:19:33.960 --> 00:19:34.160 All right. 00:19:34.200 --> 00:19:35.280 I'm going to confess that. 00:19:35.800 --> 00:19:38.780 How many of you in here would define yourself as a people pleaser? 00:19:39.260 --> 00:19:39.460 Right? 00:19:39.520 --> 00:19:39.680 All right. 00:19:39.680 --> 00:19:40.680 We've got some hands raised. 00:19:40.980 --> 00:19:41.760 Appreciate that. 00:19:41.860 --> 00:19:42.300 Appreciate it. 00:19:42.340 --> 00:19:42.760 Thank you. 00:19:43.100 --> 00:19:43.360 All right. 00:19:43.360 --> 00:19:45.060 This one's going to be hard for us, all right? 00:19:45.880 --> 00:19:51.900 Some of you, you don't mind conflict, and even like right now, just talking about it, it's making my stomach hurt, okay? 00:19:51.900 --> 00:20:01.440 But if accountability is going to be more than confession, there must be confrontation when sin happens. 00:20:02.160 --> 00:20:11.060 If accountability is going to be more than, hey, here's what I've done, here's what I'm struggling with, if we're going to follow back up with that and press into that relationship, 00:20:11.320 --> 00:20:16.320 then we have to understand that confrontation and conflict can come from this. 00:20:16.820 --> 00:20:24.760 Proverbs 27, 17, as iron sharpens iron, one man sharpens another. 00:20:25.020 --> 00:20:26.500 So let's talk about this. 00:20:26.760 --> 00:20:29.120 How does iron sharpen iron? 00:20:29.780 --> 00:20:37.420 If you take two pieces of iron and you hold them in your hands and you keep them away from each other, they're never going to get sharp. 00:20:37.420 --> 00:20:49.300 If you take two pieces of iron and you set them down on the table and you put them side by side so that they're touching and you walk away from it, they're never going to get sharp. 00:20:50.300 --> 00:21:02.660 If you take iron, two pieces, and you put one on top of the other and you very lightly begin to move them, they'll never get sharpened. 00:21:04.180 --> 00:21:12.160 Iron only sharpens iron when there is not only just friction but violent contact. 00:21:12.840 --> 00:21:25.520 That we are willing to dive into the depth of our relationship with each other, that we are okay with conflict because we're using conflict for the glory of God. 00:21:26.360 --> 00:21:32.520 We're using conflict to make each other better for the glory of God. 00:21:33.020 --> 00:21:37.020 Now, this type of conflict can be sinful. 00:21:37.680 --> 00:21:48.640 If we do it out of a heart that is belittling or judgmental, this type of conflict is sinful when it's not mutual. 00:21:49.020 --> 00:22:05.960 But conflict for sanctification purposes is necessary and is godly when it's done by the people of God in order to set people free from the sins that they face and to see God glorified. 00:22:06.960 --> 00:22:10.620 We see that accountability is based in scripture. 00:22:12.140 --> 00:22:13.780 Accountability is based in scripture. 00:22:14.220 --> 00:22:26.780 We must approach each other in being accountable, not based in our opinion or our perspective, but in the truth of God's word. 00:22:27.300 --> 00:22:28.440 Very, very important. 00:22:29.240 --> 00:22:31.400 You and I, we have different experiences. 00:22:32.360 --> 00:22:34.860 You and I, we have different perspectives. 00:22:35.540 --> 00:22:43.160 And when I come to you or you come to me through the context of our opinion and our perspective, things can be skewed. 00:22:43.460 --> 00:22:44.500 Things can be off. 00:22:44.760 --> 00:22:47.000 Things can be seen in a very narrow format. 00:22:47.000 --> 00:22:57.240 But when we come together by the premise and the understanding of God's word, of scripture, that's what we can base accountability off of. 00:22:58.000 --> 00:23:03.560 2 Timothy 3 says this, all scripture, all scripture is breathed out by God. 00:23:03.700 --> 00:23:06.400 Part of what we talked about, about God's word being inspired. 00:23:06.780 --> 00:23:08.740 And here's what believers can use it for. 00:23:09.380 --> 00:23:22.240 And it's profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. 00:23:22.780 --> 00:23:29.360 That what you and I can do within the context of our relationships with each other is that we can take God's word. 00:23:29.360 --> 00:23:32.860 It can be the foundation, the means by which we live our life. 00:23:33.080 --> 00:23:37.400 And then we can apply it in our relationship in this way that we can teach it to each other. 00:23:38.140 --> 00:23:42.460 That you and I, that we are charged, we are responsible to teach it to each other. 00:23:42.460 --> 00:23:45.160 So that we understand where sin comes. 00:23:45.420 --> 00:23:49.640 We come at the baseline of understanding, of saying this is what God's word says. 00:23:50.020 --> 00:23:52.240 This is what God's word means. 00:23:52.620 --> 00:23:55.880 But then it also calls us to bring reproof. 00:23:56.340 --> 00:23:56.520 All right? 00:23:56.640 --> 00:23:58.500 And here's what reproof is. 00:23:58.660 --> 00:24:00.480 It is bringing conviction. 00:24:01.160 --> 00:24:03.280 It's having the conversation. 00:24:03.740 --> 00:24:07.840 It's pointing out the error that's there. 00:24:07.900 --> 00:24:13.680 So that it can move from that to the status of correction. 00:24:13.680 --> 00:24:17.160 So you're like, Beau, is reproof and correction the same thing? 00:24:17.300 --> 00:24:17.400 No. 00:24:17.700 --> 00:24:19.940 Reproof is bringing conviction. 00:24:20.560 --> 00:24:23.520 Correction is bringing to right standing. 00:24:24.000 --> 00:24:24.140 All right? 00:24:24.260 --> 00:24:25.060 Very important. 00:24:25.620 --> 00:24:34.280 So often you and I want to bring the argument of what each other have done wrong without working through the process of how do we restore one another. 00:24:34.480 --> 00:24:35.940 And that's what God's word does. 00:24:35.940 --> 00:24:39.440 God's word always restores God's people. 00:24:40.160 --> 00:24:47.060 And so when you and I, we come together in this, it's not just enough to point out where each other are wrong. 00:24:47.200 --> 00:24:52.720 But it's the understanding of grace, repentance, and how we move forward. 00:24:52.980 --> 00:25:04.740 So that Paul says that we are training in righteousness, that we are raising so that it doesn't happen again. 00:25:05.320 --> 00:25:07.400 The training of what's there. 00:25:08.040 --> 00:25:12.120 That we're willing to come alongside in investing. 00:25:12.820 --> 00:25:14.680 So we say this is what this means. 00:25:15.480 --> 00:25:17.700 We say this is how you've gotten off path. 00:25:18.200 --> 00:25:26.800 We say this is how we're going to get on path with this and how we're going to train as we continue to move forward. 00:25:27.280 --> 00:25:28.980 That's the hardest part with this. 00:25:29.840 --> 00:25:32.120 It's the hardest part with accountability. 00:25:32.620 --> 00:25:38.260 Because when I press into your life or you press into my life or we press into the lives of others, 00:25:38.260 --> 00:25:46.660 what we're saying as we bear through this with each other is that I'm on the battle with you. 00:25:47.320 --> 00:25:48.680 I'm training you. 00:25:49.160 --> 00:25:50.780 I'm coming along. 00:25:51.320 --> 00:25:54.080 You're not on this by yourself. 00:25:55.360 --> 00:25:59.260 And lastly, we say, well, what's the purpose of this, Beau? 00:25:59.680 --> 00:26:01.300 Why does accountability matter? 00:26:01.900 --> 00:26:05.840 Because accountability strengthens the body. 00:26:06.920 --> 00:26:09.480 Accountability strengthens the body. 00:26:10.380 --> 00:26:15.760 Church, strength doesn't happen in comfort. 00:26:17.440 --> 00:26:25.400 Strength is not built in relaxation, but it is built and it is found in the fight. 00:26:26.140 --> 00:26:26.380 All right? 00:26:26.940 --> 00:26:34.020 This past week I was on social media and an ad popped up on my Facebook page. 00:26:34.120 --> 00:26:39.580 And it said, how to build your abs while sitting on the couch and watching TV. 00:26:39.880 --> 00:26:42.020 It's like, yes, please, right? 00:26:42.280 --> 00:26:44.060 So click on that and here's the deal. 00:26:45.220 --> 00:26:46.040 Here's what I know. 00:26:46.040 --> 00:26:49.820 There was a glimmer of hope that maybe someone had figured this thing out, right? 00:26:50.540 --> 00:26:53.340 How can I do nothing and get stronger? 00:26:55.200 --> 00:26:56.240 But it doesn't work. 00:26:57.380 --> 00:26:59.120 I read the reviews of the product. 00:27:00.320 --> 00:27:02.820 Everybody who had purchased it was like, this is terrible. 00:27:02.960 --> 00:27:04.800 Don't waste your money on it. 00:27:05.140 --> 00:27:07.120 Because they're selling something that's impossible. 00:27:08.220 --> 00:27:10.580 That strength does not come. 00:27:11.000 --> 00:27:14.620 Strength does not happen in comfort, but in the fight. 00:27:14.620 --> 00:27:16.880 Ephesians 4.25. 00:27:16.880 --> 00:27:26.780 Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor. 00:27:26.780 --> 00:27:34.200 For we are members of one another. 00:27:36.200 --> 00:27:39.500 Strength doesn't happen in the comfort. 00:27:40.960 --> 00:27:45.100 It's easy to say, nope, I'm not engaging in that. 00:27:46.640 --> 00:27:49.540 It's easy to say, nope, I'm not revealing that. 00:27:51.240 --> 00:27:53.220 And that's where we think we're staying comfortable. 00:27:53.220 --> 00:28:01.260 But the strength of the body doesn't happen in the comfort, but it happens in the fight. 00:28:02.340 --> 00:28:09.860 And that you and I, what we see from Scripture, that we are members of one body. 00:28:10.520 --> 00:28:12.620 And so it's our calling. 00:28:12.620 --> 00:28:15.820 It's what God has set before us. 00:28:16.180 --> 00:28:22.560 That when there's a part of the body that is weak, when there's a part of the body that's fallen apart, 00:28:23.100 --> 00:28:24.320 we don't cut it off. 00:28:24.380 --> 00:28:25.340 We don't remove it. 00:28:25.360 --> 00:28:25.980 But what do we do? 00:28:26.100 --> 00:28:28.940 We work together to fight, to build, to strengthen it. 00:28:29.100 --> 00:28:30.280 So that for what? 00:28:30.380 --> 00:28:33.440 So that the body can be complete. 00:28:33.440 --> 00:28:36.040 So that the body can be whole. 00:28:36.320 --> 00:28:40.680 So that the body can do what God's called it to do. 00:28:42.060 --> 00:28:45.300 We can't show up week to week. 00:28:46.040 --> 00:28:49.340 We can't show up at our small group. 00:28:50.120 --> 00:28:57.220 We can't show up at our Bible study and sit down and just talk about a whole bunch of facts 00:28:57.220 --> 00:29:03.700 if we're not willing to dive in, to go through the discomfort, 00:29:04.180 --> 00:29:07.600 to hold each other accountable, and to be vulnerable 00:29:07.600 --> 00:29:15.420 so that we may be equipped and prepared and ready for every work that God has for us. 00:29:15.880 --> 00:29:16.660 Would you pray with me? 00:29:19.600 --> 00:29:26.540 Lord, we thank you so much for this opportunity and for this time. 00:29:28.020 --> 00:29:35.880 Lord, what you're asking from Scripture is it's so important for us to be able to understand 00:29:35.880 --> 00:29:41.280 that we are called to grow in our relationship with God. 00:29:41.500 --> 00:29:44.200 We are called to grow in our relationship with you 00:29:44.200 --> 00:29:49.260 and to do so in a corporate relationship with each other. 00:29:49.600 --> 00:29:52.740 That we're willing to be open about our struggles. 00:29:52.740 --> 00:29:56.680 That we're willing to be open where sin still rings true. 00:29:57.420 --> 00:30:03.200 Not as a manner or as a system of confession that once we say it, we're good, 00:30:03.400 --> 00:30:05.980 but so that we can hold each other accountable. 00:30:06.220 --> 00:30:08.260 That we can work through this together. 00:30:08.480 --> 00:30:10.380 That as brothers and sisters of Christ, 00:30:11.020 --> 00:30:13.160 we see the battle that's before us. 00:30:13.160 --> 00:30:16.740 And we embrace it and we press through it. 00:30:17.780 --> 00:30:19.780 So God, as we go from here, 00:30:20.780 --> 00:30:24.180 as we dive into, in the next coming weeks, 00:30:24.840 --> 00:30:28.280 our different Bible studies that we're going to have, 00:30:28.780 --> 00:30:34.000 as we continue on in our CR step studies. 00:30:35.540 --> 00:30:39.480 As we gather back together as small groups. 00:30:41.480 --> 00:30:46.560 As we sit down at the table as husband and wife and family. 00:30:51.240 --> 00:30:55.580 Lord, may we understand that we're in this battle, 00:30:56.380 --> 00:30:58.220 but we're in it together. 00:31:00.260 --> 00:31:05.120 Would we be willing to bear with one another? 00:31:06.880 --> 00:31:10.420 Would we be willing to be vulnerable? 00:31:12.200 --> 00:31:16.940 Would we be okay with conflict that's used for the glory of God? 00:31:17.940 --> 00:31:22.600 Would we be okay with holding each other accountable for Scripture 00:31:22.600 --> 00:31:24.480 and what you've called us to? 00:31:25.580 --> 00:31:32.860 So that the body can be strong for the mission and the purpose of God. 00:31:33.780 --> 00:31:35.100 Jesus, we love you. 00:31:35.760 --> 00:31:36.660 We praise you. 00:31:37.440 --> 00:31:38.300 It's in your name we pray. 00:31:38.900 --> 00:31:39.220 Amen. 00:31:41.340 --> 00:31:44.140 In just a moment, we're going to stand and respond in worship. 00:31:44.960 --> 00:31:47.460 We're going to make the choice to go from here. 00:31:48.460 --> 00:31:49.580 And here's what I want to ask you. 00:31:50.420 --> 00:31:51.840 Do you have somebody? 00:31:52.900 --> 00:31:54.100 Do you have somebody? 00:31:55.380 --> 00:31:57.360 Somebody that you can be open with? 00:31:57.960 --> 00:31:59.540 That can be open with you? 00:32:00.360 --> 00:32:02.740 That you can press in to relationships, 00:32:03.040 --> 00:32:06.500 to share, to strengthen, to confront, 00:32:07.400 --> 00:32:09.060 so that God will be glorified. 00:32:10.340 --> 00:32:12.480 Would you stand as we worship Him? 00:32:12.480 --> 00:32:12.560 Amen. 00:32:12.560 --> 00:32:12.800 Amen. 00:32:17.940 --> 00:32:33.420 Thanks again for listening to the Willow Ridge Church weekly podcast. 00:32:33.760 --> 00:32:36.040 We hope that you enjoyed listening to this week's message. 00:32:36.320 --> 00:32:38.440 If you'd like to learn more about who we are 00:32:38.440 --> 00:32:40.080 or explore additional resources, 00:32:40.640 --> 00:32:45.100 visit us online at www.willowridgechurch.com 00:32:45.100 --> 00:32:48.660 or by searching for Willow Ridge Church on Facebook and Instagram.