Discovering The Spirit-Filled Life X, The Powerful Mystery Of Church Discipline

Come to Bethlehem and see, in whose birth the angels sing. Come adore on bended knee, Christ the Lord, the newborn King. Gloria in excelsis Deo. Gloria in excelsis Deo. In excelsis Deo. Gloria in excelsis Deo. Sing, choirs of angels, sing in exultation. Sing, all ye citizens of heaven above. Let us adore him. Come, let us adore him. He brings us to be. He has appeared. Let us adore. Let us adore. With all the integrity that we have as men and women who stand here, because of you, and in Christ, we adore you tonight. For it is by your word, and by your power, and by your authority, that released life to every one of us that we stand here tonight. And so we stand here, Lord, as brother and sister in Christ, in your presence, saying to you, Lord, prepare us to be a vessel that you can use and pour your life through to this hungry generation. There's no greater joy, king of king and lord of lords, as a vessel to bring life and birth. For you have been given the name above all names, and we worship you. Yes, we worship you. You have been given the name above all names, and we worship you. Yes, we worship you. We are your people, made for your glory, and we worship you. Yes, we worship you. We are your people. We are your people, made for your glory, and we worship you. Let's worship him together. Yes, we worship you. If you want to bow down before the Lord, feel free to do that tonight. You have redeemed us from every nation, and we worship you. Yes, we worship you. You have redeemed us from every nation, and we worship you. Oh, we worship you, Lord. Yes, we worship you. You have been given the name above all names, and we worship you. Yes, we worship you. You have been given the names, and we worship you. Yes, we worship you. Yes, we worship you. We worship you, oh God. Yes, we worship you, for you are worthy, Lord. Yes, we worship you. Who sits on the throne and unto the Lamb? To him who sits on the throne and unto the Lamb. Be blessing and honor and glory. Be blessing and honor and glory and power forever. Be blessing and honor and glory and power forever. Be blessing and honor and glory and power forever. Be blessing and honor and glory and power forever. Lord, I pray that the fullness of that heavenly promise, Lord, as most of us today read in Revelation 21, the heavenly city, Lord, that you're preparing for us. Lord, we thank you today as we sing of blessing and honor and glory and power forever. Lord, it's not just some mythical hope, but Lord, it's established on the resurrection of Jesus. We just thank you tonight that we can rejoice in advance with great and exceeding joy for what you've already prepared for those who love you, Lord. We bless you tonight and pray that now obedience and faith would mark our walk tonight, Lord, so that we can be suitably prepared for that heavenly dwelling. In Jesus' name. Everyone sit. Amen. Praise the Lord. Tony, give someone that you don't know. This is really tough tonight. Give someone you don't know just a hug and say, I'm glad I'm here tonight to worship the Lord with you. Tell them that. Give them a hug and be seated. Be seated then. Quickly. Tom? Okay, we're going to allow the children to stay in a few extra minutes to see. Kids, wouldn't you like to see what the senior hires did on their trip to Florida? I thought so. Alright, so folks, we've got a lot of people tonight over in the corners. Ron Charlton, I recognize you from the other day. Would you help the people who can't see to get up and just slide over now and get seats more in the middle? And over here, likewise. I don't know that you can see way in the corners. We only have one screen for the slides. We'll need to turn off the lights, Fred, please. About a week and a half ago, the senior hire took a trip to Florida. It was an event-filled trip. We made it in four days. In those four days, we visited New Smyrna Beach, we spent a day in Disney World, and we climbed a mountain, as you'll see in the pictures. And we took one day trip back. It was a fantastic trip that just united a lot of kids. We saw relationships form. We saw kids' lives recommitted to Christ and kids coming to Jesus Christ. And we're just really excited about the things that God did in the youth ministry, the senior high youth ministry, over that four-day trip. We wanted to share that with you tonight. Joe and Jared Welch took all the pictures that you're going to see. And Joe put together the program with the help of his brother Jared. And we're just really thankful for that. And we're really excited about the trip. But we just want to share it with you tonight. Joe? Florida. And I survived it. That's the greatest miracle of all. That was really a mountain that they climbed. And it was a real challenge. And we want to thank each one of you that helped the kids out to go and prayed for them while they were gone and prayed for all the staff while we were gone. Because those things really unite groups. And we're just really thankful for that trip and for all the prayers that you put up. And we're just looking to be on the road again. Okay. Anyone else notice that Tom wore the same clothes every day? That kind of stood out to me. All right. Well, kids, are we ready, Sue? We have our cards? Yes, here we go. We're going to get organized. All the card-carrying members of the Children's Ministry of Wednesday and I get up here in a hurry. Kids, we're going to pray, and then we're going to send you right out with your teachers. Some have already passed out up here in the front steps. All right. Let's pray together. Heavenly Father, we thank you for this evening's opportunity to bring our hearts before you and bring the kids before you, Lord, and to thank you in advance for the fact that they, too, are hearing the Word tonight and finding their own hearts and spirits nourished. Lord, we just pray for a great blessing in the rest of the evening in them. In Jesus' name, amen. Okay. You want a mic? We'll fix you right up here. Hold on. Okay, 5th and 6th grade boys, go ahead over on that side. 5th and 6th grade girls. Where did they go? 3rd and 4th on this side. Girls on this side. 3rd and 4th grade boys. 3rd and 4th grade girls. I'm starting to get this now. It's all boys and all girls. You didn't used to do that. 1st and 2nd grade boys. 1st and 2nd grade girls. Okay, 4th and 5th year olds over on this side with Ms. Denise. 2nd and 3rd year olds over there on that side. Alright, 40 and 50 year old guys on this side. I don't want to go back to that funny man again, Mom. Alright. Well, praise the Lord. I want us to stand for just a moment and we're going to go right into the brief teaching tonight and then we're going to have our banquet preparation time. Here's what I'd like you to do. I'd like you to find, and by the way, if you're a visitor tonight, I really want to welcome you. Last week, you've caught us, if you were visiting last week or this week, on our two most unusual Wednesday nights probably of the whole year. And folks, this is not exaggeration. I met, personally, five first-time visitors last Wednesday night. I couldn't believe it. They walked in there and said, what kind of a goofy place is this? You know, we were crafting and all. But if you came tonight as a visitor, we want to welcome you especially and I hope you'll be able to connect with our float tonight. But all the rest of you, along with our visitors, I'd like to ask you to find one or two people at the most, because this is going to be a long time. But I'd like you just to pray for one another very briefly, ones or twos, for two things. Number one, that the Lord would just speak to your heart from His Word tonight, because we're going to look into the Word for the next half hour or so. And then number two, that you know exactly what you're to do, whether it's just to pray or to give or to be there at the banquet, but what your role is to be. Okay? Those two things. Go ahead and pray together for the next three or four minutes. Twos and threes, no more than that. All right? Twos and threes. It could be awkward for just a moment. Go ahead. I want to see Jesus To reach out and touch Him And say that I love Him Open my ears, Lord And help me to listen Open my eyes, Lord To see Jesus Let's sing it once more. Can we join a hand with someone as we sing open our eyes? Open our eyes, Lord We want to see Jesus To reach out and touch Him And say that we love Him Open our ears, Lord We want to see Jesus Thank you, Lord. Lord, as I look out upon this congregation, I recognize tonight the faces of many, many people who are in need tonight, Lord. Who come needing an answer, a direction, a healing. Lord God, who need to be touching the hem of your garment. And Father, we know that you sent yourself as the living word tonight, Lord. And Father, you have not changed one bit your commitment when you said that when two or more of us gather in your name, you are here in the midst. Lord, I pray tonight as the word is broken and as we receive from its life, Lord, that you would answer those prayers. You would touch the ones, Lord, who need direction. You would speak to the ones, Lord God, who are confused and in turmoil. That you would give clear guidance to those who are seeking direction in their future. And likewise, Lord, that you would be also the living word of healing and deliverance to all who come tonight, either afflicted or bound up, Lord. And God, we know that by faith, right now, people can receive those very things from your hand. And so by faith, Lord, I speak it and by faith those who have ears to hear, hear it tonight. That our God is available tonight. He yearns for you to come and bring your need to His throne of grace where you'll find mercy to help in your time of trouble and grace in your time of need. Thank you. I don't often do this, but I'm going to ask one person to come up that I have... I believe the Lord wants to speak to you and that's Chuck Dorn. I want you to come up, Chuck. Yeah, I know. Come on up, brother. I've known this man for a good ten years. He's walked faithfully after the Lord. Don't tell anyone. Fifteen, okay. Why don't you release hands and extend it toward Chuck as I just share this word for his life right now. Lord, I so clearly saw the Holy Spirit just moving over this man and I pray in the name of Jesus right now that this word that I would share, Lord, would literally be from your heart to His, Lord. My son, know with certainty that I am your right hand. I am the arm of your deliverance. And I have... It has not gone unnoticed by me those things which have come upon you. In fact, I have allowed them to come that you might draw near to me in these days. And know for a certainty that that which has come upon your life is not for your destruction. It is not meant to even bring discouragement, but rather it is meant to bring building in your life, a strengthening of your character, a release of the anointing that I've put upon you. And so I say to you this night, speak in praise to me for I am the God who directs your paths. Have I not told you clearly in my word that when you walk through the waters, you would not drown? And when you walk through the fire, you would not be burned? And as you walk in these next days, look unto me and I will direct your steps for I have even a better plan for you. For you have passed the test that I have put before you and the next step will be more glorious and more rewarding and more fulfilling that I have ordained for you. And I say I am pleased with you and your faithfulness over the years for you have been a man after my heart and surely I will reward a man after my own heart, says the Lord your God. Bless the name of the Lord. Thank you, Jesus. Bless you brother. I'll just take a couple minutes. That's powerful. Some of you who've known me, well, you can sit down. Do you want to sit down? Good. Jay, you're blowing me away. I mean, the Lord's blowing me away. I didn't really come to share. I came to find out about the banquet because Henry and I were, you know, it was like we were sitting around a table. Who's going tonight? And the kid said, Daddy, you stay home. And the kid's changing his mind. No, Daddy, you go. I said, okay, I'll go. What I've gone through the last three months has just been, I think, the roughest three months of my life. So that word is good because I really felt like I've been devastated and wiped out. What I did was about two years ago I started praying. I said, Lord, what's your direction for my life? And many of you prayed with me on that. And we prayed and said, Lord, teaching must be it. I really have a peace about that. You know, you pray and you put out these fleeces, so to speak. Lord, if you want me to be in this, help me to pass this test. So I took my occupational competency exam and passed it. Ah, the green light, go! And I said, okay, now we're going to go to college. Yeah, okay. I'd never gone to college. I barely made it through high school. So we're going to go to college and get some courses to prepare for teaching. So I did that. And I'm carrying a 4.0 average. And I'm going, wow, I've never done that before. It's got to be God. And this fall, he opened up a door to teach. Well, I went down there, and the high school kids just went, they just, wow. I worked with youth with Jay, what, 15 years ago, back in Memorial Park. Maybe it's not that long, 14. Well, shh, stop that. And, you know, that was okay. You know, youth people were kind of neat. But these high school kids just blew me away. And after four days, I come home saying, God, you've got to be kidding me. This is unreal. I can't go back there. But the Lord turned my heart around, and I went back. And it just, it really got worse. And I resigned today. It's my last day. Because of several reasons. One, I think I blew it. But, you know, there's a lot of other things that entered into that. So I really appreciate that word. You know, I come home today saying, man, I must have really blown it, Lord. Where did I miss it? You know, where are we going wrong? And it's like, wow. So thank you, Lord, for that word tonight. And, Lord, that's been my prayer. You know, Father, I appreciate that, and as I share this with you, let it be a word of encouragement, that everything I wanted in life, I've gotten already. And now it's Philippians 3. Now anybody ask me, it's Philippians 3. Now, if you haven't read that chapter, read it. But that I might know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his suffering. And when I look back over my life, that fellowship of that suffering happened. You know, because in many respects, I feel very rejected in this job situation. Because depending on how you look at it, I could have been kind of kicked out because they wanted somebody else in. And everything that I tried to do didn't work because, you know, I can't say that for sure, but it could have been some of that. But see, the Lord is saying tonight, he knows exactly what's happening. And then I come to prayer on Tuesday, and Jay said, what's happening? And I'm going, oh, I'm having, you know. And I said, Lord, he was 11-6. I've been thinking about and praying, and he's a rewarder of those who diligently seek him. Come to prayer. I looked in the paper. I'm an auto mechanic by trade. I looked in the paper. I even called one place, and it's one of those phone things where they give you a list of jobs, and they didn't even have that one listed on the list. And I'm going, Lord, what's going on here? And I come to prayer, talk to Jack Irwin, and so happens that they need a mechanic at their place. I went out there and talked to the guy, and he hired me. So all I got to do is call him and say, hey, I'll start Monday. And so the Lord's worked that out. But I'm still available. Praise the Lord. Thanks. That's great. Thanks. Thanks. All right. Well, let's look together in the Word tonight for just the remaining minutes, which aren't many, in 1 Corinthians 5. 1 Corinthians 5. And we're looking this evening very briefly, finishing the teaching on church discipline, but not really finishing the subject. I want to underscore that. Are we ready, gals, in these overheads? Let me review where we were last time, which was two weeks ago. And we said, number one, that church discipline, and by the way, if you're wondering what that is, church discipline is the process, really, of bringing our lives in accordance with the Word of God. And that's what we're talking about. As a corporate people, we don't live individually, but as a corporate body, when we say that church discipline is necessary, number one, when contemporary thinking has more impact than biblical teaching. In other words, when people begin to be led more by what's happening out in society than by the Bible, you find that eventually they come to the place of needing to be disciplined, i.e., corrected, i.e., instructed in a better way to go. If you're a parent, you know exactly what I'm talking about. How many of you are a parent or had parents? All right. So you all know what I'm talking about. You've either been a giver or a receiver of discipline. Number two, discipline is also necessary when the volume, i.e., the decibels of contemporary thinking drowns out the voice of the Holy Spirit. And I talked two weeks ago about the fact that you can just bombard your mind with current media, music, television, movies, and all that, and you'll begin to just take on that value system if that's all you listen to and that's all you expose yourself to. New Christians, beware of that. Don't think that you just can walk into the Lord and just keep doing everything you were doing and not find yourself going through a tremendous battle because you will, because you've got to begin to renew your mind, Romans 12, 1 and 2 says. Number three, you'll find church discipline is necessary when contemporary thinking lowers the lordship of Jesus Christ. I hope you caught that phrase. In other words, it makes it just anybody can fit in here. That is, whatever you feel kind of like doing, we can find a church where that works. And I'll talk in a little bit about the fact that it's very easy to just hop around in churches. Now, then we talked about the purposes, the purposes of church discipline. We said, number one, that it was to restore the offender. The only reason why we would exercise church discipline would be that the person who was wandering away from the Lord, wandering away from their walk, would be restored. No parent in their right mind disciplines their child just because they're angry, even though that happens from time to time, or just because they want to hurt the kid, they want to restore them. They want the child to know the right path. Same thing with church discipline. Number two, to remind the careless. How many of you know when Ananias and Sapphira went down, the whole church kind of woke up? Remember that story in Acts 5? And when discipline is properly exercised, obviously that's the extreme, the whole church wakes up and realizes that there are standards. This isn't just some game that we're fitting in here. Number three, to revive the church. And in fact, you see, when people love one another enough to help direct one another on the path that God has spelled out for us, it is attractive. People are looking for that kind of reality. So these are some of the things we talked about. We spent the whole 30-minute or more chunk on that two weeks ago. You just had it in three minutes. Why do we do this? Well, you see, we believe that if we're going to be people of integrity... You know what's interesting? We're talking about truth on Sunday mornings right now. Well, church discipline has to do with living in the truth, living in the light, and helping one another to discover that and walk in it. And I know if you're like me, many times, you wonder, well, what difference is it going to make? Let me give you five reasons why we tend to not ever do this. Don't put up your hand, but if I would ask you right now, how many of you have ever been involved in bringing discipline to a wayward Christian? Think about it. My guess is very few of us. It is not something that we tend to even get interested in. In fact, I would venture to say if I asked for... In fact, I will ask for a show of hands, because this is a safe one. How many have ever had a thorough teaching prior to this on church discipline? How many have not? All right, see, that's the great majority. That's probably about 65%. Why? All right, here's five reasons. Write them down as I read them to you. Number one, we don't think it's going to do any good. Why should I know how to help someone be correct? Here's the thing. Here's what happens. You see, if somebody commits their way to the Lord and begins to walk in fellowship, and something goes wrong in their life... And by the way, when I'm talking, I'll talk a little bit about the kinds of things that are involved. If you begin to approach them about that, what do they generally do? They flee. Well, I don't like it in your church. I'll go down the road to Brother So-and-so's church. And I happen to know for a fact, because I've been here long enough now, as Chuck told the whole story, 15 years or so, that I know the other pastors in the North Hills fairly well, and I know that some people leave their churches to come here, and some people leave this church to go there. They hear something they don't like. You know, the Lord just begins to touch an area of need in their life. Someone begins to speak to some kind of real problem, they say, well, who do you think you are? And off the road they go. Pick up somewhere else. So, will it do any good? Big question. Number two, what sins count for this? I mean, when is church discipline necessary, and when isn't it? I mean, you see, we're not really sure what offenses really matter when it comes to church discipline, and I will talk about that for just a few minutes, a little bit later. Number three, we don't want to get into church discipline, because as I said, I think it was last Sunday morning, people prefer for things to be nice and peaceful, don't we? I don't want to upset anybody. Do you, Kent? No. I like there to be peace. How many of you prefer peacekeeping, the truth telling? Of course. I don't want to rock the boat. And so, if my brother didn't sin, well, that's his problem. I'm not going to push him on it too far. Number four, people associate discipline with excommunication, courts, and just basic intolerance. So, if I were to talk about church discipline, the first thing that comes to your mind is, you know, the elders gathered around and the gavel dropping, and people being drummed out of the core. Well, that's the extreme. That's not it, okay? We're not talking about judgmentalism here. Church discipline is a very clearly defined thing, as we'll see in a moment. Number five, the reason why we rarely do this or think about it is that there are few positive models. It's very difficult for you to say, well, I remember when this happened, and it was effective, isn't it? I remember when a church that I was part of in another part of the country, another part of the city, when they did this, and the brother or sister was restored, and things got better. It's very rare. We can find models for healing and models for evangelism, models for missions, but to find a model where someone has exercised church discipline, well, that's not that easy, all right? Now, before I just tie this all together in 1 Corinthians 5, which is where we've been studying, I want to show you how we would go about doing this, all right? Let's just say that you know a brother who begins to get involved in immorality, and you know that this brother is involved in immorality. What do you do about it? Well, someone just call Pastor Jay. Wrong, okay? That's wrong. Let's talk about what we do. Let's turn now, put a piece of paper or your left hand in 1 Corinthians 5, and flip back to Matthew 18, would you? Let's look at the very specific teachings of Jesus about how to restore someone who is wandering off. Matthew 18, are you there? Matthew 18, and I'll begin reading for you in verse 15. If your brother sins against you, go and show him his fault just between the two of you. And if he listens to you, you have won your brother over. So the first step in the exercise of discipline, and by the way, discipline is not just what the pastors or the elders or the leadership... Discipline is what we do for one another. Now, this is where the analogy of the home kind of breaks down, isn't it? Because how many of you know you don't tell your teenager to discipline your 11-year-old? It's the parent's job, and that's why I have to say rather delicately here, as Christians, we need to be caring for one another. But it takes some measure of maturity to discern this. So, if you're a new Christian, don't jump out and expect yourself to understand all this or get involved in the process right away. It's really for people who've walked a while in the Lord and understand the things of God. But the first thing they should do, according to Jesus, is personal confrontation. Literally, literally this. I know more trouble that's been stirred up, more trouble stirred up, because people talked about somebody, spread things about somebody, raised questions about somebody. Take the illustration I just made up, but I really wasn't making up, about a brother in immorality, and I got a phone call. Someone said, you know, brother so-and-so is getting involved immorally. Do you want to know who it is? They didn't tell me the name. No, I don't want to know who it is. Why don't you want to know? Because, listen, the first person to go to them should be the one who knows, because it might not even be true. And just think for a moment, what happens in my mind, folks, if you call me and say, do you want to know who's involved in immorality? And you tell me their name. And what if it's not true? Well, then what's in my mind then? That person and some association. Now, it may not be immorality. Maybe it's something else. Maybe it's just laziness. Maybe it's bitterness in the heart, something like that. Maybe they have a problem with drinking or something that they've slipped into. Before you start talking about it, before you call an elder or pastor, you can go to a leader and say, what should I do? And they should tell you what I'm going to tell you right now. Number one, go to them. You say, oh, that's too hard. I could never do that. I couldn't do that. They'll think I'm judging them. Well, dear ones, it's time for the body of Christ to learn a little bit of maturity. There's far more destruction by people who go around back and talk than there is from people going to the face and saying, brother, forgive me if I misunderstand the situation, but this is what it appears to me. Is this so? And if it is, I'm calling you before God to come to terms with this. Now, that's a heavy thing. But that's exactly what Jesus said that we should do. That's exactly the words that we read here. And he says, look at the end of verse 15. If he listens to you, you've won your brother over. You've won your brother over. You've made it. A tremendous blessing has taken place. I saw a hand. Did you have a question, Jean? Okay, I would say this. Based on this passage, which I think gives the methodology of approach, it says here very clearly, in this particular translation, sins against you. In some manuscripts, it does not have against you. Does anyone have a Bible that says if your brother sins? Okay, you see, in some translations, it's not there, okay? So the Greek leaves room for both. In my Bible, there's even a note there that says that. That's why I'm so smart. You see that? Okay? But when I link that together with 1 Corinthians 5, I know it's talking about... Now, let me just jump in here and say, because I sense some of you are thinking, well, how do I know when I should say something? Maybe you see somebody that's doing something that you just don't understand. You don't think a Christian should do. Maybe it's eating five gallons of ice cream a day. I don't know. I'm trying to think of something that isn't necessarily sexual or money related. But they're throwing their body away, basically. Let me tell you this. Number one, be patient with people, but when you see that sin becoming a pattern, that's when you should be alarmed. When you see it becoming a pattern. Now, there may be a time when you see someone do something one time that just really, really grieves you and hurts you. Then ask the Lord, should you step in? Should you say, you know, brother, I don't understand why you allowed that to happen. And if you sense, and if a person's heart is soft, they won't be offended by that. They'll just confess, you know, I really blew it and I'm sorry. But we're not talking here, and if you're a new Christian, don't be afraid. People aren't, all of us, how many of you know, all of us are going to stumble now and then? Believe me, folks. All of us do. I'll say things up here I wish I'd never said. I always have some people tell me that. Okay? You will do something, you may get angry, you know, lose your temper, you may, but, what we're talking about here is someone who, as we read in 1 Corinthians 5, remember the story? It was somebody in gross immorality in that case. But the situation with you may just be that you're with somebody, maybe it's a home group member that you're with, maybe it's a person in cutting edge that you see just continually doing the same thing. Well, at some point you need to recognize you have a responsibility to love them to a point of confronting that in their life. Do we love one another enough to say, even if you reject me, this is the truth. Now, secondly, if the brother doesn't listen to you, the second thing Jesus says, right here, if you will not listen, take one or two others along so that, as it says, every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses. Can I tell you, I have found that to be very effective. If the person won't listen to you, it's very likely that they're just kind of saying, well, who are you to talk to me about this? And you know, I understand that. But when you go with another brother and you say, we see this, I want to tell you, that is a powerful moment. And most people, God values holiness. And when a person, let's flip back over to 1 Corinthians 5 and we'll finish here. When a person professes to be, let's all look at it, a brother. Verse 11, a brother. When a person says, I am a believer, now look what it says, I want you to catch this. Verse 12, it is not our business to judge those outside the church, that's up to God. We are to judge, verse 12, those inside. Do you all see that? In other words, we can't walk into a bar and say, well, you're in this, and you're this, and you're this, and that's not for us to say, is it? But God says, in the church, in the family of faith, we need to love each other enough that we'll bring discipline to help encourage the wayward brother or sister back on the path. Because I know of nothing sadder than to see a Christian who gets caught up in sin, whether it's bitterness, or immorality, or indulgence, or addiction, and nobody cares enough to confront them. I think it's a sad moment. And it's difficult, and it's tough, and it's not really fun, but I've seen God use it very wonderfully in lives. I told you two weeks ago, there's a brother in our church, many of you would know him, just stumbled a few years back, and the process of restoring him was really profound, really profound, and he was restored back into fellowship, back into ministry, back into the life of the church. And no one really knew about it except the direct people involved. And I stood and I said, that's the way it should be. That's the way it should be. You see, our goal is to make it together. Turn to someone right now and tell them, I want to make it with you to the Lord's gate together. I want to make it there with you. I want to be there beside you when we get there together. I need to conclude, but I don't want to leave any uncertainty here. Discipline is a responsibility. Let me encourage you in this way. One way to get prepared together to be able to help one another in this is to practice confession one to another, as James 5 says, in prayer circles and in times of prayer together. It's a healthy thing for us to pray as w