We are continuing in our sermon series: "Spiritual Habits for Ordinary People." We are taking a closer look at the habits and practices in our lives instructed to us in Scripture so that we can be empowered as Christians to grow spiritually. Spiritual growth is first a desire to be more like Jesus, to live the life of Jesus, and to open our eyes and hearts to the things of God. Therefore, starting a new habit or cutting out negative behaviors is a byproduct of a growing relationship with Christ, rather than the central goal.

One of the key practices that helps us to do this is accountability. Accountability was defined as "being answerable or responsible for the decisions we make, the actions we take, and the assignments completed," and accountability starts with being known. God knows everything about us - our thoughts, our sins, our mistakes - and yet He still loves us completely. We are fully known and fully loved. But we are also accountable to God for how we live our lives, and God calls us to be accountable to one other as a spiritual habit to help us live more like Jesus. We need fellow believers in our lives who we can be open with, admitting our sins and struggles, allowing ourselves to be fully known and fully loved by them in community. 

Here's the key questions Sam challenged us with this week: "Are you a friend who sharpens others? And do you have a friend/community who sharpens you?" We cannot sharpen each other if we are not in relationship and in community. As Christians we need to be humble and teachable to others around us. One place where we can experience accountability in relationship is in life groups. James 5 says when we confess our sins to one another and pray, we will experience healing. This requires tough vulnerability - it is not easy to tell someone your areas of sin and struggle, but doing so brings accountability and healing that can only occur in the context of relationship - being fully known and fully loved. So what steps do we need to take in our lives to put ourselves in accountable relationships with others? 

• James 5:14-17: "Are any of you sick? You should call for the elders of the church to come and pray over you, anointing you with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 Such a prayer offered in faith will heal the sick, and the Lord will make you well. And if you have committed any sins, you will be forgiven. 16  Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results. 17  Elijah was as human as we are, and yet when he prayed earnestly that no rain would fall, none fell for three and a half years."

• Hebrews 4:12-13: "For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires. 13  Nothing in all creation is hidden from God. Everything is naked and exposed before his eyes, and he is the one to whom we are accountable."

• Ephesians 5:21: "And further, submit to one another out of reverence for Christ."

• Proverbs 27:6: "Wounds from a sincere friend are better than many kisses from an enemy.

• Proverbs 27:17: "As iron sharpens iron, so a friend sharpens a friend."

• Ephesians 4:20-27: "But that isn’t what you learned about Christ. 21  Since you have heard about Jesus and have learned the truth that comes from him, 22  throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. 23  Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. 24  Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy. 25  So stop telling lies. Let us tell our neighbors the truth, for we are all parts of the same body. 26  And 'don’t sin by letting anger control you.' Don’t let the sun go down while you are still angry, 27  for anger gives a foothold to the devil.

• Ephesians 4:28-31: "If you are a thief, quit stealing. Instead, use your hands for good hard work, and then give generously to others in need. 29  Don’t use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them. 30  And do not bring sorrow to God’s Holy Spirit by the way you live. Remember, he has identified you as his own, guaranteeing that you will be saved on the day of redemption. 31  Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of evil behavior."

• 1 John 4:18-19:"Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced his perfect love. 19  We love each other because he loved us first."

• Romans 5:8: "But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners."

• Accountability means being answerable or responsible for the decisions we make, the actions we take, and the assignments completed. - Pastor Sam

• When you think about habits in the spiritual life, like Bible reading, like accountability with other believers, like studying Scripture, like involvement in mission in ministry, like tithing, like practicing a Sabbath, we realize that these are practices that we train for in our daily life that reshape us, not based on a task list, but based on relationships that help us become more like Christ. - Pastor Sam

• There's a lot of ways that I fall short, but God knows everything about me and he still loves me. God knows everything about you and he still loves you. So this concept of accountability is based in this wonderful idea that you are fully known and fully loved. - Pastor Sam

• Are you a friend who sharpens others? Do you have a friend/community who sharpens you? - Pastor Sam

• Our dream is that this is what we would do as a church, not just on Sunday mornings, but in our life groups throughout the week, in your relationships, in your family, in places in your work or your teams - are you the kind of person that sharpens others? And do you have someone in your friendship circle who sharpens you? ... How do we sharpen each other? How do we enter into a life of accountability? - Pastor Sam

• Are you humble and teachable? Can you take pain from a friend when it's true? - Pastor Sam

• We don't take time to confess our sins to each other, do we? Do you do this? Do you have a friend that you can tell: 'I've really been struggling with this sin' - this thing I keep falling into this whether it be a hurt, a habit, a hang up, something I keep falling into. We need other people to pray with us. Watch what happens (in James 5) - confess your sins to each other, so that you may be healed. So what happens when we actually take time to confess our sins to each other? We experience healing. - Pastor Sam

• If you're feeling alone, you need some people that you can go deep with and you can say to them: ''these are some of the things I'm struggling with" - so that you can find the healing that God has for you. So I want to ask yourself this question 'Is my life marked by prayer and confession in community?' Imagine if we lived this out so that we have this accountability that was based in being known, fully loved by God and fully loved by each other. - Pastor Sam

• How do I put things in my life, like accountability, that, in the context of being known and fully loved, will change me and make me more like Christ. - Pastor Sam

• Part of what we (Sam and Evie) try to do is to go first in that vulnerability and that place of accountability. It can be scary to be known. We've shed tears up here, about things that have happened that have been really hard in our life. We've allowed you to see that pain and to walk with us in our grief. And so I know that it can feel scary sometimes to feel known. I know that it is hard to go first, to be vulnerable and to be honest. But when I shared about the darkness of my thoughts, I had people come up to me and say me too. And it cracked open a beautiful space for other people to come and approach us and to say me too, this is so hard. So as a family, I want to pray you out of here in a way that helps you sit in the wonder of accepting, being known of not being afraid to go first and to allow others to come alongside of you. - Evie Knottnerus