The War Over Accountability

Fasting Basics

Why ? Purpose

We fast to recalibrate our hearts, ears and motivations to Gods

as time goes on often find ourselves off. usually from wear and tear, life and fasting and prayer brings us back into alingement into to be able to hear and know his will.

Whats the Giants?

This is counter cultural because we are depriving ourselves of something we need or we really want

We push away something that is a priority to in order that we make God words a priority.

How( suggestions)

Fast 1 meal a day

fast something that gives you pleasure

fill your home and car with worship

Watch wholesome content only

pray for 5 people every day by name

How not to fast

not praying

not setting aside time to intentionally seek his face

be comforable

This was supposed to be our topic for the day

but when i looked back i came intersting narritve that is resoved as a result of praying and fasting.

The 2nd instance of fasting recorded in the Bible

ME

when i worked for the TSA i had lot of instenses where i had people work for me, from entry level officers to leads. lead were particular because it was a promotion from a entry level, it came with a boost of pay and resposiblites but one of the main distinguishing facts from any promtion was that they were now resposible for theu fellow officers or the one that were in their working.

one way i could alway spot a good lead was they had a high sense of accountablity

too often i have found that people want the position, the power but they dont want to be held accountable.

Accountable means being responsible for your actions and willing to explain or take ownership of them.

There needs to be Relationship or Understanding

Fear of Judgment – People worry about being criticized or condemned, making them avoid situations where their actions are scrutinized.

Pride and Ego – Admitting mistakes requires humility, which can be difficult for those who want to maintain control or appear flawless.

Desire to Avoid Consequences – Accountability often involves facing uncomfortable truths or the repercussions of one’s actions.

Fear of Vulnerability – Being open and honest about shortcomings feels risky and can expose people to discomfort or rejection.

why its so important it helps hold people to a standard

this is something found not only in the work place but also in the church

Jesus only spoke about the church 2 times that we can recount in actual scripture , the first is pertain to peter

the second is in pertaining to church discipline

Matthew 18:15-17 "If your brother or sister sins, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over. But if they will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’"

This passage provides a model for addressing wrongdoing within the community of faith.

Step 1: Personal confrontation:

“If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone.”The goal is to resolve the issue privately and restore the relationship without public humiliation.

Step 2: Involve witnesses:

“Take one or two others along with you.”If private efforts fail, witnesses are involved to establish facts and ensure fairness, as outlined in Deuteronomy 19:15.

Step 3: Bring it to the church:

“Tell it to the church.”If the issue remains unresolved, the matter is brought before the local assembly of believers, symbolizing communal accountability.

Step 4: Treat them as an outsider:

“Let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector.”If repentance is still absent, the unrepentant individual is treated as an outsider—removed from fellowship while still being treated with the hope of eventual restoration.

The primary aim here is reconciliation, not punishment. It emphasizes the importance of resolving sin and maintaining the unity of the church.

2. Binding and Loosing (v. 18)

“Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”This refers to the church’s authority to make decisions regarding discipline and forgiveness, in alignment with God's will. The actions taken by the church are recognized in heaven when they are consistent with God’s Word and character.

"We are not meant to do life alone.

Accountability is God's gift to keep us grounded in truth."

"As Christians, accountability isn’t a burden; it’s a blessing that keeps us aligned with God’s will."

"Iron sharpens iron, but it takes humility to allow others to hold us accountable."

"God calls us to bear each other’s burdens, and accountability is how we walk that out."

Transition: ”True discipleship cannot exist without accountablity."

GOD

Context Judges 20

This biblical narritive takes place in the book of judges

The people enter the promised land

joshua divides the land

after joshua and his bishops die the land fall into complete idolitrty

the become divisve

the only way God could get his people to turn back to him was by sending a nation that would dsicipline them.

they would turn there hearts back to God and repent

Then God would raise up a judge who would command a armry or fight on gods behalf.

then they would fall into idolarty again

it was A visicous cycle of sin

The leviate and The concubine

As the travel back home then men in the town of gilbesh almost breakdown the door because they want to sleep with the levite.

The leavite offers his concubine the men to save his own life where man so the abuse her all night until the sun came up and left her for dead.

Does this narritive sound familar? Sodom adnd Gomarah

The people of God have strayed away so far the the design that the lord had for them that now they resemble the people that they were insructed by joshua to drive out.

This is a warning to us to keep our hearts pure , to ring it out, to repent and turn away from the mindsets and behaviors that keep us bound that might even keep our friends .

if we dont even with all of our good intensions, we can find ourseleves look ing no diffenernt from the world.

So The levite cuts her us into 12 and sent her to the tribes of israel with this message

“I came to Gibeah that belongs to Benjamin, I and my concubine, to spend the night. And the leaders of Gibeah rose against me and surrounded the house against me by night. They meant to kill me, and they violated my concubine, and she is dead. So I took hold of my concubine and cut her in pieces and sent her throughout all the country of the inheritance of Israel, for they have committed abomination and outrage in Israel. Behold, you people of Israel, all of you, give your advice and counsel here.”

He was the one who gave her to them.

he paints himself as victim but he wanted to stay there , even tho jeruselsum was safer

than the city where those who looked like him were

And all the people arose as one man, saying, “None of us will go to his tent, and none of us will return to his house. But now this is what we will do to Gibeah: we will go up against it by lot, and we will take ten men of a hundred throughout all the tribes of Israel, and a hundred of a thousand, and a thousand of ten thousand, to bring provisions for the people, that when they come they may repay Gibeah of Benjamin for all the outrage that they have committed in Israel.

” So all the men of Israel gathered against the city, united as one man. And the tribes of Israel sent men through all the tribe of Benjamin, saying, “What evil is this that has taken place among you?Now therefore give up the men, the worthless fellows in Gibeah, that we may put them to death and purge evil from Israel.

This is beautiful

this was a time of great division and chaos

and after years of conflict there is finally a common goal

This was important because the people were scattered and not united but chose to unite against sin.

There was this rightous anger that arose to bring justice on behave of God. These people were under the law , so they were well within there right to act the way they did

400 ,000 surround the city reading to repay gibeah for this sin.

” But the Benjaminites would not listen to the voice of their brothers, the people of Israel. Then the people of Benjamin came together out of the cities to Gibeah to go out to battle against the people of Israel.”

When you hold people accountable it should move them to repentance, it should pull them away from their sin and back to the father.

israel had a clear under standing of what right

The problem was that Benjamin didn’t address the sin

Benjamin held to the idolatry of being bound to country

They would rather go to war than hold the people accountable

They valued loyalty or truth

They valued loyalty or justice

The chose to Compromise on Gods law

they were aware of the law

The same thing happens us sometimes when we know what god has said but it comes to close to home

a spouse

a family member

close friend

When they still stand against the word of God you still stand for God

What could have come out of Benjamin

Sin and Moral Decay

"Where there is no guidance, a people falls, but in an abundance of counselors there is safety." (Proverbs 11:14)Without accountability, individuals are more likely to stray into sin and moral failure.

2. Broken Relationships

"If your brother or sister sins, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over. But if they will not listen, take one or two others along..." (Matthew 18:15-16)Ignoring accountability can cause unresolved conflicts, leading to fractured relationships.

Division and Chaos

"In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as they saw fit." (Judges 21:25)A lack of leadership and accountability results in disorder and societal breakdown, as seen in the period of the Judges.

4. Pride and Spiritual Blindness

"Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall." (Proverbs 16:18)Without accountability, pride can grow unchecked, leading to poor decisions and spiritual downfall.

5. Hardened Hearts

"But encourage one another daily... so that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness." (Hebrews 3:13)When no one holds us accountable, sin can deceive us and harden our hearts toward God and others.

6. Missed Opportunities for Growth

"As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another." (Proverbs 27:17)Without accountability, individuals miss out on the refining process that helps them mature spiritually and emotionally.

7. Judgment from God

"So then, each of us will give an account of ourselves to God." (Romans 14:12)Failing to hold ourselves accountable to God and others can result in judgment, as we are all ultimately answerable to Him.

While israel is ready to hold the tribe accountable the people have this false sense of pride.

26,000 men

some of there pride is due to this Special ops unit they had

The lose and are humiliated

The tone changes after the first loss

There’s weeping, they are there brothers

God is crushing them for a person

2nd battle they loss 18,000

English Standard Version Chapter 20

26 Then all the people of Israel, the whole army, went up and came to Bethel and wept. They sat there before the LORD and fasted that day until evening, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the LORD. 27 And the people of Israel inquired of the LORD (for the ark of the covenant of God was there in those days, 28 and Phinehas the son of Eleazar, son of Aaron, ministered before it in those days), saying, “Shall we go out once more to battle against our brothers, the people of Benjamin, or shall we cease?” And the LORD said, “Go up, for tomorrow I will give them into your hand.”

The whole nation are weepy and fasting and sacrifices

You see a intensified level of humility and seeking

God is teaching them that there’s not something just wrong with Benjamin but with themselves as well.

The entire nation was in idolatry

Burnt general to reconciled by God, forgiveness, concecrated by God.

Do you think i’m going to partner with you to take a spec out your eye

He is disciplining the entire nation

They wanted god in every step

God partners with the humble

The battle was hard

Was difficult

I’m going to give you the victory

Believe him and endure

I’d rather live a hard life for God than a easy one with out him