Print this pageCompany Of The Committed | Trait #2 - Genuine Accountability | September 17-18, 2005 |
GENUINE ACCOUNTABILITY:
What Real Accountability Looks Like & Why We Need It
AN ACCOUNTABLE LIFESTYLE IS. . .
1) Transparent – A “Glass House” Mindset.
Jeremiah 23:24
Can anyone hide in secret places
so that I cannot see him?" declares the Lord.
"Do not I fill heaven and earth?"
declares the Lord. [NIV]
Proverbs 15:3
The eyes of the Lord are everywhere,
keeping watch on the wicked and the good. [NIV]
James 5:16
Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective. [NIV]
Matthew 5:14-16
"You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. [15] Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. [16] In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven. [NIV]2) Open To Correction – An “Open Door” Policy.
2 Samuel 11:1-12:25
In the spring, at the time when kings go off to war, David sent Joab out with the king's men and the whole Israelite army. They destroyed the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. But David remained in Jerusalem.
[2] One evening David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of the palace. From the roof he saw a woman bathing. The woman was very beautiful, [3] and David sent someone to find out about her. The man said, "Isn't this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite?" [4] Then David sent messengers to get her. She came to him, and he slept with her. (She had purified herself from her uncleanness.) Then she went back home. [5] The woman conceived and sent word to David, saying, "I am pregnant."
[6] So David sent this word to Joab: "Send me Uriah the Hittite." And Joab sent him to David. [7] When Uriah came to him, David asked him how Joab was, how the soldiers were and how the war was going. [8] Then David said to Uriah, "Go down to your house and wash your feet." So Uriah left the palace, and a gift from the king was sent after him. [9] But Uriah slept at the entrance to the palace with all his master's servants and did not go down to his house.
[10] When David was told, "Uriah did not go home," he asked him, "Haven't you just come from a distance? Why didn't you go home?"
[11] Uriah said to David, "The ark and Israel and Judah are staying in tents, and my master Joab and my lord's men are camped in the open fields. How could I go to my house to eat and drink and lie with my wife? As surely as you live, I will not do such a thing!"
[12] Then David said to him, "Stay here one more day, and tomorrow I will send you back." So Uriah remained in Jerusalem that day and the next. [13] At David's invitation, he ate and drank with him, and David made him drunk. But in the evening Uriah went out to sleep on his mat among his master's servants; he did not go home.
[14] In the morning David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it with Uriah. [15] In it he wrote, "Put Uriah in the front line where the fighting is fiercest. Then withdraw from him so he will be struck down and die."
[16] So while Joab had the city under siege, he put Uriah at a place where he knew the strongest defenders were. [17] When the men of the city came out and fought against Joab, some of the men in David's army fell; moreover, Uriah the Hittite died.
[18] Joab sent David a full account of the battle. [19] He instructed the messenger: "When you have finished giving the king this account of the battle, [20] the king's anger may flare up, and he may ask you, 'Why did you get so close to the city to fight? Didn't you know they would shoot arrows from the wall? [21] Who killed Abimelech son of Jerub-Besheth? Didn't a woman throw an upper millstone on him from the wall, so that he died in Thebez? Why did you get so close to the wall?' If he asks you this, then say to him, 'Also, your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead.' "
[22] The messenger set out, and when he arrived he told David everything Joab had sent him to say. [23] The messenger said to David, "The men overpowered us and came out against us in the open, but we drove them back to the entrance to the city gate. [24] Then the archers shot arrows at your servants from the wall, and some of the king's men died. Moreover, your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead."
[25] David told the messenger, "Say this to Joab: 'Don't let this upset you; the sword devours one as well as another. Press the attack against the city and destroy it.' Say this to encourage Joab."
[26] When Uriah's wife heard that her husband was dead, she mourned for him. [27] After the time of mourning was over, David had her brought to his house, and she became his wife and bore him a son. But the thing David had done displeased the Lord.
[12:1] The Lord sent Nathan to David. When he came to him, he said, "There were two men in a certain town, one rich and the other poor. [2] The rich man had a very large number of sheep and cattle, [3] but the poor man had nothing except one little ewe lamb he had bought. He raised it, and it grew up with him and his children. It shared his food, drank from his cup and even slept in his arms. It was like a daughter to him.
[4] "Now a traveler came to the rich man, but the rich man refrained from taking one of his own sheep or cattle to prepare a meal for the traveler who had come to him. Instead, he took the ewe lamb that belonged to the poor man and prepared it for the one who had come to him."
[5] David burned with anger against the man and said to Nathan, "As surely as the Lord lives, the man who did this deserves to die! [6] He must pay for that lamb four times over, because he did such a thing and had no pity."
[7] Then Nathan said to David, "You are the man! This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: 'I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul. [8] I gave your master's house to you, and your master's wives into your arms. I gave you the house of Israel and Judah. And if all this had been too little, I would have given you even more. [9] Why did you despise the word of the Lord by doing what is evil in his eyes? You struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword and took his wife to be your own. You killed him with the sword of the Ammonites. [10] Now, therefore, the sword will never depart from your house, because you despised me and took the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your own.'
[11] "This is what the Lord says: 'Out of your own household I am going to bring calamity upon you. Before your very eyes I will take your wives and give them to one who is close to you, and he will lie with your wives in broad daylight. [12] You did it in secret, but I will do this thing in broad daylight before all Israel.' "
[13] Then David said to Nathan, "I have sinned against the Lord."
Nathan replied, "The Lord has taken away your sin. You are not going to die. [14] But because by doing this you have made the enemies of the Lord show utter contempt, the son born to you will die."
[15] After Nathan had gone home, the Lord struck the child that Uriah's wife had borne to David, and he became ill. [16] David pleaded with God for the child. He fasted and went into his house and spent the nights lying on the ground. [17] The elders of his household stood beside him to get him up from the ground, but he refused, and he would not eat any food with them.
[18] On the seventh day the child died. David's servants were afraid to tell him that the child was dead, for they thought, "While the child was still living, we spoke to David but he would not listen to us. How can we tell him the child is dead? He may do something desperate."
[19] David noticed that his servants were whispering among themselves and he realized the child was dead. "Is the child dead?" he asked.
"Yes," they replied, "he is dead."
[20] Then David got up from the ground. After he had washed, put on lotions and changed his clothes, he went into the house of the Lord and worshiped. Then he went to his own house, and at his request they served him food, and he ate.
[21] His servants asked him, "Why are you acting this way? While the child was alive, you fasted and wept, but now that the child is dead, you get up and eat!"
[22] He answered, "While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept. I thought, 'Who knows? The Lord may be gracious to me and let the child live.' [23] But now that he is dead, why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I will go to him, but he will not return to me."
[24] Then David comforted his wife Bathsheba, and he went to her and lay with her. She gave birth to a son, and they named him Solomon. The Lord loved him; [25] and because the Lord loved him, he sent word through Nathan the prophet to name him Jedidiah. [NIV]
2 Samuel 12:11-13
"This is what the Lord says: 'Out of your own household I am going to bring calamity upon you. Before your very eyes I will take your wives and give them to one who is close to you, and he will lie with your wives in broad daylight. [12] You did it in secret, but I will do this thing in broad daylight before all Israel.' "
[13] Then David said to Nathan, "I have sinned against the Lord."
Nathan replied, "The Lord has taken away your sin. You are not going to die. [NIV]
2 Chronicles 26:1-23
Then all the people of Judah took Uzziah, who was sixteen years old, and made him king in place of his father Amaziah. [2] He was the one who rebuilt Elath and restored it to Judah after Amaziah rested with his fathers.
[3] Uzziah was sixteen years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem fifty-two years. His mother's name was Jecoliah; she was from Jerusalem. [4] He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, just as his father Amaziah had done. [5] He sought God during the days of Zechariah, who instructed him in the fear of God. As long as he sought the Lord, God gave him success.
[6] He went to war against the Philistines and broke down the walls of Gath, Jabneh and Ashdod. He then rebuilt towns near Ashdod and elsewhere among the Philistines. [7] God helped him against the Philistines and against the Arabs who lived in Gur Baal and against the Meunites. [8] The Ammonites brought tribute to Uzziah, and his fame spread as far as the border of Egypt, because he had become very powerful.
[9] Uzziah built towers in Jerusalem at the Corner Gate, at the Valley Gate and at the angle of the wall, and he fortified them. [10] He also built towers in the desert and dug many cisterns, because he had much livestock in the foothills and in the plain. He had people working his fields and vineyards in the hills and in the fertile lands, for he loved the soil.
[11] Uzziah had a well-trained army, ready to go out by divisions according to their numbers as mustered by Jeiel the secretary and Maaseiah the officer under the direction of Hananiah, one of the royal officials. [12] The total number of family leaders over the fighting men was 2,600. [13] Under their command was an army of 307,500 men trained for war, a powerful force to support the king against his enemies. [14] Uzziah provided shields, spears, helmets, coats of armor, bows and slingstones for the entire army. [15] In Jerusalem he made machines designed by skillful men for use on the towers and on the corner defenses to shoot arrows and hurl large stones. His fame spread far and wide, for he was greatly helped until he became powerful.
[16] But after Uzziah became powerful, his pride led to his downfall. He was unfaithful to the Lord his God, and entered the temple of the Lord to burn incense on the altar of incense. [17] Azariah the priest with eighty other courageous priests of the Lord followed him in. [18] They confronted him and said, "It is not right for you, Uzziah, to burn incense to the Lord. That is for the priests, the descendants of Aaron, who have been consecrated to burn incense. Leave the sanctuary, for you have been unfaithful; and you will not be honored by the Lord God."
[19] Uzziah, who had a censer in his hand ready to burn incense, became angry. While he was raging at the priests in their presence before the incense altar in the Lord's temple, leprosy broke out on his forehead. [20] When Azariah the chief priest and all the other priests looked at him, they saw that he had leprosy on his forehead, so they hurried him out. Indeed, he himself was eager to leave, because the Lord had afflicted him.
[21] King Uzziah had leprosy until the day he died. He lived in a separate house --leprous, and excluded from the temple of the Lord. Jotham his son had charge of the palace and governed the people of the land.
[22] The other events of Uzziah's reign, from beginning to end, are recorded by the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz. [23] Uzziah rested with his fathers and was buried near them in a field for burial that belonged to the kings, for people said, "He had leprosy." And Jotham his son succeeded him as king. [NIV]
2 Chronicles 26:16-23
But after Uzziah became powerful, his pride led to his downfall. He was unfaithful to the Lord his God, and entered the temple of the Lord to burn incense on the altar of incense. [17] Azariah the priest with eighty other courageous priests of the Lord followed him in. [18] They confronted him and said, "It is not right for you, Uzziah, to burn incense to the Lord. That is for the priests, the descendants of Aaron, who have been consecrated to burn incense. Leave the sanctuary, for you have been unfaithful; and you will not be honored by the Lord God."
[19] Uzziah, who had a censer in his hand ready to burn incense, became angry. While he was raging at the priests in their presence before the incense altar in the Lord's temple, leprosy broke out on his forehead. [20] When Azariah the chief priest and all the other priests looked at him, they saw that he had leprosy on his forehead, so they hurried him out. Indeed, he himself was eager to leave, because the Lord had afflicted him.
[21] King Uzziah had leprosy until the day he died. He lived in a separate house --leprous, and excluded from the temple of the Lord. Jotham his son had charge of the palace and governed the people of the land.
[22] The other events of Uzziah's reign, from beginning to end, are recorded by the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz. [23] Uzziah rested with his fathers and was buried near them in a field for burial that belonged to the kings, for people said, "He had leprosy." And Jotham his son succeeded him as king. [NIV]
Proverbs 19:27
Stop listening to instruction, my son,
and you will stray from the words of knowledge. [NIV]
Proverbs 12:1
Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge,
but he who hates correction is stupid. [NIV]
Proverbs 17:10
A rebuke impresses a man of discernment
more than a hundred lashes a fool. [NIV]
1) We all have a traitor within.
Romans 7:18-23
I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. [19] For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do--this I keep on doing. [20] Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.
[21] So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. [22] For in my inner being I delight in God's law; [23] but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. [NIV]
1 John 1:8-10
If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. [9] If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. [10] If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives. [NIV]
Proverbs 20:9
Who can say, "I have kept my heart pure;
I am clean and without sin"? [NIV]
1 Corinthians 10:11-13
These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the fulfillment of the ages has come. [12] So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don't fall! [13] No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it. [NIV]2) Anonymity breeds sin – Transparency breeds best behavior.
Ephesians 5:8-9
For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light [9] (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) [NIV]
1 Timothy 5:24-25
The sins of some men are obvious, reaching the place of judgment ahead of them; the sins of others trail behind them. [25] In the same way, good deeds are obvious, and even those that are not cannot be hidden. [NIV]
Ecclesiastes 12:14
For God will bring every deed into judgment,
including every hidden thing,
whether it is good or evil. [NIV]3) The Christian life was never meant to be lived alone.
Proverbs 27:17
As iron sharpens iron,
so one man sharpens another. [NIV]
Hebrews 10:24-25
And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. [25] Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another--and all the more as you see the Day approaching. [NIV]
James 5:16
Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective. [NIV]
A FINAL THOUGHT ABOUT “BUTTING IN”
How To Receive It & When To Do It
Proverbs 12:1
Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge,
but he who hates correction is stupid. [NIV]
Galatians 6:1-2
Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted. [2] Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. [NIV]
1 Thessalonians 4:11-12
Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business and to work with your hands, just as we told you, [12] so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody. [NIV]
Proverbs 9:7-8
"Whoever corrects a mocker invites insult;
whoever rebukes a wicked man incurs abuse.
[8] Do not rebuke a mocker or he will hate you;
rebuke a wise man and he will love you. [NIV]
Proverbs 23:9
Do not speak to a fool,
for he will scorn the wisdom of your words. [NIV]