Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed

-Apostle James

It began in the garden, the finger pointing. Face mask wearing is not new.  The putting on of masks to coverup accountability to sins/misses is not a new thing.  It began with Adam pointing the accountability finger to God.  Adam said to God, it was the woman YOU gave me, as he deflected responsibility.  Eve pointed the finger to the serpent as she deflected accountability of her own free will decision.

Adam was given dominion but failed to take accountability.  He chose rather to point the finger to Eve.  Eve was equal, eye to eye with Adam and understood the stature she carried, rather than admitting, “I believed the lie and deception told to me”, she chose to deflect accountability and blamed the serpent.  The consequences of the finger pointing of Adam and Eve are well known.  All the consequences can be summed up in one word, death. Death to walking in the garden, death to walking alongside God, death to intimacy and to relationship.

Many believe that the story ends there.  Few, however, realize that this same scenario still plays out today.  Fewer still realize the same consequences are in effect when they regard not the body of Christ.  Many throughout the body are walking in illness, in brokenness, and many are dead cause they rather die over submitting to one another and take accountability for their own misses.  Psychologists call this “Self-awareness.”  The scriptures simply call it pride.

At its core, at its root, one finds selfishness.  It is what drives this pride.  Because of pride, one finds it much easier to deflect and do the finger pointing.   It is far, far easier to blame someone else. It is way less revealing of one’s own heart and wounds to blame a certain circumstance rather than take ownership for faults and misses.  Admitting one is indeed guilty and responsible that one believed and participated in the deception and lies of the enemy is far more difficult.  It is harder to submit to correction and the needed discipline that it will bring over deflecting and taking accountability for the injury and for the injury inflicted on others because of one’s misses.

Accountability is a fruit of maturity.  Children point fingers to other people or to circumstances for the reason why things happened.  Mature, manifested sons and daughters, first take the log out of their own eye before even considering helping a fellow sibling remove a tiny shaving out of their brother’s or sister’s eye. 

Isaiah was called up unto heaven, he was in the throne room, yet even then he said this:

Woe is me, for I am ruined!

BECAUSE I am a man of unclean lips

AND
I live among a people of unclean lips

See what the prophet did?

He not only took ownership of his own sin but also for being part of the sins of those whom he lived among.  He didn’t point fingers nor tried to justify his life, actions, and heart by pointing to circumstances or to other people.  He took responsibility for his own mistakes and misses and for the misses of those around him.  

Many read of this encounter and skip over the prophet’s response.  They rather focus on the experience over the response that allowed him to have the encounter.  This encounter has become a rallying cry for many seeking the more of God.  Many seek to enter “the throne room” and to have a one on one encounter with the Living God just as Isaiah did.  Worship and prayer services are filled with cries and voices “Show us Your Glory, Lord!”  Yet few really understand what they are really asking for.  The truth is that very few really want to bear the burden and responsibility of their own misses AND the misses of those that are around them.

God, in His infinite grace and mercy, restrains Himself from answering their cries.  For He knows where our heart, mind and thoughts are. He knows that most people would not respond as the prophet responded.  Isaiah was granted permission into the throne room, he was qualified by God to be able to enter in but even so, he recognized the misses and uncleanliness of those around him was in part because he was also part of them.  He recognized that the only thing to do was to walk in honesty, transparency, vulnerability and in truth.  Such transparency and ownership of fault hits differently when faced with the holiness and righteousness of God.  No matter the level of qualification one thinks one has obtained or the level of purity one believes they have achieved, when compared to the holiness and righteousness of God, it is nothing but filthy rags! WOE is me indeed!

Accountability is a willful surrender to be naked, transparent, vulnerable, honest and open to correction and rebuke.  It is not something that infants and toddlers do.  It is however something that mature children willingly enter into.  Jeremiah said it best, “the heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked who can know it?”  Certainly not oneself, for how can anyone look at themselves except unless they have a mirror? It is written “iron sharpens iron, and faithful are the wounds of a friend”.  But how could people mature, improve, or correct things unless we become that mirror to them, and ourselves walk in truth? In turn, we also need that someone to be a true mirror for us and show us how we truly look.

God designed us in such a way that we need each other to be that mirror.  This willful surrender to submit to one another is what allows us to surrender our pride, our will, the deceit of our own emotions, and heart.  It allows us to recognize God’s heart and will.  It is not an easy thing to do.  However, recognition that one can easily be deceived, especially when there is unhealed trauma, injury or unforgiveness, is a character of maturity.  The enemy knows this and is always watching for a way to bring in doubt to what God has already declared.  He did it in the garden, and still does it today.

Did God really say?  “You won't die,” He told Eve.  You see the deception is not in an obvious lie, but rather in twisting what God really said.  The end of times will see this same deception and twisting of what God has declared.  It will still be occurring, and so deceiving that even the elect would be deceived that God has to shorten the time of earth.  Paul when writing to Timothy, prophesied this would occur:

For the time will come when they will not endure the sound doctrine; but, having itching ears, will heap to themselves teachers after their own lusts.

Heap, gather, seek out, is what the deception will cause many to engage into.  Indeed, the pride of life, lust of our own desires, will drive us to justify whatever we decide to believe or do.  So subtle and strong is the deception that many will publish deceitful words as “true prophecy, and accurate words.” And their posts will cause millions to come into agreement with them.  Indeed, the human heart is wicked and deceitful.  Thus is the reason why we need each other.  Jesus' prayer was that we may be one, that the world will know us by our submission and love for and to one another. The world will not know that we walk with God, by our giftings, great Sunday speeches, demonstration of spiritual gifts, tremendously moving songs.  Nor will they know by our weeping in prayer sessions and public lamenting in meetings when misses are “found out”.  Jesus said it plainly it will be by our love, our willful choice to submit to a higher way of living and walking in grace and forgiveness towards one another.

The weightiness of accountability is great indeed.  Of such importance and criticality is the protocol that Paul lays out to the Corithians, the results of many having not rightfully regarded the body, the people we are to submit to:

Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord.  Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup.  For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself.

That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died.

But if we judged ourselves truly, we would not be judged.

But when we are judged by the Lord,

we are disciplined

so that we may not be condemned along with the world.

A ligament can not be a bone, a bone can not be a blood vessel, and a muscle can not be a kidney.  It is the pride of life and the arrogance of self-righteousness that makes a declaration to others and of others in the body, “I don't need you.”  The modern terminology of this heart condition, is often referenced as “canceling” someone.  But as we read, Paul addressed this “cancel culture” at the very early start of them following “The way” of The Kingdom.

Upon reading Paul’s warning, did you catch the Kingdom’s response to them not discerning the body correctly.  It is the Lord himself that brings discipline.  In an age and teaching of “Hyper Grace,”  many believe that repentance is private and asking God for forgiveness is the only thing that is required of them and by doing so, all the consequences will be nullified.

The kingdom sees this vastly differently.  How is it different?  One may ask.  One only needs to look at Moses.  God Himself called Moses His friend.  Moses STRUCK the rock, rather than speak to it, the discipline and consequence was that Moses couldn't enter into the promised land.  In the age of post resurrection, many calling themselves by His Name, often forget that God is NOT a man and He changes NOT.  It is not that we are to walk in condemnation but rather in surrender humility and awareness that God is a good father, and he WILL discipline those whom He loves.  It is a very frightful thought that someone has no fear of discipline nor of the consequences for their disobedience.  Such condition of the heart points to a heart seared and walking in deception, pride, witchcraft and idol worshiping.

This is what happened to SAUL.  So seared was his heart that though he had operated within the prophets, he sought another prophet out to hear from God for him.  God in His infinite grace and mercy still gave Saul direction.  And though Saul got direct, detailed and explicit directions, Saul chose not to regard the instructions.  He chose to disregard the function of the prophet within the body, that is The Kingdom.  Saul rather, chose to interpret the instructions out of his own heart.  The result was that his interpretation came from unhealed wounds and unresolved trauma.  And just as Jeremiah noted the heart is deceptively wicked.  Through these filters, he chose to justify his blatant disobedience.  99% obedience, is still 100% disobedience.  The consequences?  Saul lost it all.

Notice what Saul did, when he was unmasked.  He failed to take accountability for his actions and responded with “it was the people, they were leaving, I had to act…IT was YOU Samuel, YOU were not “on time”... Saul chose anything possible to justify his disobedience.  He even called his actions an act of worship to God, for what can be wrong with holding a prayer meeting?  What could be wrong with gathering together and “Worshiping” God himself?  What would have been the results had Saul chosen to repent with a contrite and broken heart when confronted with the truth?

Jonah shows us a glimpse of what might have been.  For you see, the judgment of God was declared.   The king of Nineveh and all under him turned to repentance.  Every living thing was in sackcloth and ashes.  The response was not out of manipulation or avoiding judgment but rather out of hope that maybe, just maybe, God would be merciful and forgive and maybe give them one more chance.

You see what might have been if Saul had taken ownership and accountability of his miss within Jonah’s response after Nineveh repented and God spared them.  Having prophesied destruction and it not coming, what Johan had cultivated all his life was now ruined.  Johan’s long reputation of standing among the people as a “true prophet” was destroyed.  His reputation of what he declared coming true was now gone.  Everyone now saw him as a false prophet for Nineveh remained and was not destroyed.

A whole life’s work of ministry was gone and Jonah's was fuming and angry.   All his life he had guarded and protected his calling and accuracy and now all that was gone.  Jonah was sulking as a child would, when the judgment declared did not come.  He was no longer the “accurate and true” prophet that people held in high regard.

It is in this state of heart that God comes down and asks Johan, why are you sulking and acting like a little child.  Jonah reveals why he ran away from obeying God.   He had not run away from prophesying to Nineveh because of fear, or because of people that might rise up against him.  His reply to God revealed why he had run away.  Jonah’s reply? 

“I KNEW you are a great and merciful God, and if they would repent, you would relent and they would not be destroyed.” 

How did the prophet know this?  Simple. It was because the prophet had already experienced the mercy and goodness of God.  The prophet knew the character of God because of the Intimacy he had experienced with God.  Jonah knew this characteristic of God, because of the discipline he had already experienced with God.  He knew that God disciplines those that He Loves.  Jonah knew that God is a good father.

Did you also notice, who took accountability for the transgressions?  That’s right.  The king himself.  The leader took ownership of the transgressions committed by the people he was leading, the result was that all under him were spared the judgment of God.

You see, accountability first starts with recognition of one’s own life. Jesus pointed this out:

If you are presenting your offering and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your offering there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and present your offering.

Did you see the accountability?  Jesus says your own offering is not acceptable to God, if YOU know someone else has something against YOU.  Jesus states that you have to take responsibility and ownership of the discord and anger and do what it would take to be reconciled.  Only then is the offering acceptable.  In other words, Jesus tells us to be accountable to one another.  He is not disregarding the validity of the anger of the person, the feeling of being wronged by the other party, but rather instructs us to not ignore, cancel each other out, but choose a higher way, maturity.  Jesus instructs us to recognize there is something that needs to be healed and submit to one another.

This accountability to one another, begins in one’s personal relationships and extends beyond and into ministry to others.  Such an example, Paul speaks to the Corinthians.

“Let two or three prophets speak,

and let the others pass judgment.”

Paul's direction to the Corinthians was to submit to each other’s gift and revelation and also to submit to the judgment of others of their declaration as true or false.

To be a manifested Son of God, that which the whole earth groans for, in other words, a mature son or daughter of God, one must have a heart of being open to the correction and exposure that perhaps what was declared was indeed wrong.  Many want to declare what they “see” and “hear” but don't want to submit to correction or to be held accountable to what they declare.  In today's world, posts and declarations can quickly be taken down and deleted as to be forgotten.  It is this arrogance and this pride that leads many to interpret what they might have actually seen in error.   They declare “out loud” from the filter of their own hurt, injury, pain and unhealed trauma.

An example of this might be someone “seeing” a child’s see-saw in a dream or vision but because they were injured by one when they were 3 years old, they “prophecy/declare” something like this “for i see a great danger, of up and down times for you, and if you don't avoid it, you will be greatly injured.”

But the real thing is that God wanted them to say “I see a see-saw”.  And by saying this, the person receiving the prophetic word, would have understood that God wants to restore fun, child-like faith and enjoyment back to them.

In the end times, it has been declared that people will gather to themselves people that will speak to their own itching ears.  Submitting to one another, to those that are seasoned in their walk with God, whose fruit and life is the result of brokenness before the Lord, whose family is in order, is indeed a powerful way to avoid falling into our own delusions and justification of 99% obedience.

To be accountable means to be honest that 99% obedience is indeed 100% disobedience.

To willfully surrender to the accountability of your words, your actions and to be disciplined when misses occur, is not an easy thing to do.  Children do not do this, but mature sons and daughters do.  Accountability requires transparency and willful submission to be corrected by others and the discipline of the Lord himself.  It is a process of learning or rather learning to embrace and seek out the discipline of the Lord is a process and discipline.  For it is not out of fear one seeks it, but out of understanding that God disciplines those whom He Loves.  The correction of the Lord then becomes a safe place to remain in.  It is a safe place to seek, for the one that does, understands that discipline comes not to harm but rather to keep us safe from harm.

Accountability is a protocol of The Kingdom, because it is a hallmark of maturity.  It is not an easy thing to do and certainly does not build up attendance to meetings nor build up the count of followers.  It is a sign of progression of growth and maturity of the children of God.  Humility is not easy, especially when it involves transparency and admitting of specific things missed, done and willfully entered into, at the level that the miss was declared or done. As John noted in his letter:

If

we say we have no sin (misses),

we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us.

If

we confess our sins (be accountable to one another),

He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness

Accountability is a protocol of The Kingdom,

because we need each other.

Accountability is a protocol of The Kingdom,

because we are one family.

Accountability is a protocol of The Kingdom,

because it forces us to both walk in grace and give grace,

which is a character of God Himself.