Chapter 1: Defining true fellowship

Amen. Thank you, David. Okay, here we are. What is discipleship? This is a relatively new phenomenon, if you will, in uh the evangelical churches as a practice. My old affiliation, David’s old affiliation, discipleship was a flagship doctrine for them. the the entire church was kind of built on it. So in that we have the two of us and also with Sasha and a couple others Tim and this group who have the same background uh have a great deal of experience in this. But as I was growing up in in the church and studying the Bible with literally thousands of people on college campuses, everyone I talked to had never heard of this this practice of discipleship.

Then it was about oh, I don’t know 20 years ago, maybe 15 years ago, I started hearing other churches not affiliated with our group talking about it and exploring it. So, it’s it’s become it’s it’s become a bigger deal in in today’s evangelical circles. And so, I I wanted to jump into this and talk about it and and talk about how we might realize this practice within our little group here somehow. How that’s going to unfold, I don’t know. We’re going to figure that out. But let’s just let’s just jump into our our discussion. While discussing this topic last week over dinner with David and Glenn number two, Glenn was puzzled.

Amen. By what we meant when we said discipleship. When David and I began to try to explain it, he responded, “Oh, you mean fellowship.” And in truth, he was correct to make that connection between discipleship because discipleship is biblical fellowship in its purest form. It’s the kind of fellowship that has largely been forgotten in many evangelical communities. And this morning, I hope to show you how scripture presents this fellowship as a committed, accountable, life-shaping relationship in which brothers walk together, speak truth to one another, and continually point each other back to obedience to the father. So discipleship versus fellowship.

Chapter 2: Discipleship vs fellowship

discipleship is fellowship but more than fellowship as it brings with it this ironing sharpening iron element to the relationship. Fellowship has become nothing more than believers spending time together. maybe before or after a worship service where they chitchat about their week and their life or their whatever just fellowship. That’s what fellowship has become. But biblically, when you look at take a hard look at fellowship, at discipleship, you’ll see that there was always supposed to be more to it. that being this ironing sharpening iron element that has lost and we’re going to discuss what that means. So from the start, let’s look at the word coin coinosis.

Coinosis coinos. How do you say that Glenn? Coinosis. Coinos. It’s in. Yes. Fellowship in the Greek is that word. It’s participation, social intercourse, uh pecuniary benefaction, communication, communion, uh contribution, distribution, fellowship. And that’s not a shocker to any one of us because I think we would all say that that’s the case. discipleship is the process of learning, adhering to, and imitating the life, teachings, and character of one’s teacher or master. Biblically, it describes a relational pattern in which the learner submits to the authority of the teacher with the goal of becoming like him. Okay, it might surprise you to know that the word fellowship is not in the Old Testament.

Likewise, the word discipleship is not in the Bible at all. True. So what are we talking about here? Well, many theological or ministry related terms are what they call post-biblical summaries or terms of biblical realities. To give you some example, the word monotheism isn’t in the Bible, but we understand that God is one through everything that the scriptures tell us. The same is true for the words omnipresent or omniscience. The these words don’t exist in the scriptures, but we understand from what the scriptures do tell us that this is what’s happening. That God is omnipresent. Same thing with the word incarnation.

That’s not in the scriptures. And yet we know what it means from what it tells us. And the same is true of the word rapture as we know it. the the Greek is rapiso or raptismo and it and it means to gather basically. So discipleship is like that. It’s not a term that we see in the Bible but we can see it unfold within the scriptures. And so giving it that name, I don’t even know who gave it that name, but that’s the name that’s been given in the Strongs. The Strongs gives this definition for the word disciple. the mental effort needed to think something through properly.

A learner, a disciple, a follower of Christ who learns the doctrines of scripture and the lifestyle they require. Someone catechized with proper instruction from the Bible with its necessary follow-through or life applications. Interestingly enough, Strong also has a definition for the word discipling and it’s to disciple. It’s a verb helping someone to progressively learn the word of God to become a matured growing disciple literally a learner a true Christ follower to train develop in the truths of scripture and the lifestyle required I.e helping a believer learn to be a disciple of Christ in belief and practice. So what do we see here?

We see these words, these definitions. And on one hand, to be a disciple and then to make a disciple is what we’re talking about in the practice of discipleship in the short time short-term definition of discipleship. We’re going to look at its long-term definition as we move along here in the lesson. But we see, I think it’s commonly understood that if I’m going to make a disciple, I should be a disciple already. And so that’s what Strongs here is trying to tell us in these definitions. One is to be and one is to make. A quick note on the word

Chapter 3: The role of the spirit

fellowship not being in the Old Testament. Uh and this is something that I I learned just this week as I was trying to understand uh these things. The reason fellowship appears as a distinct idea only in the New Testament is that the shared life of God’s spirit among all believers did not exist before the new covenant. In the Old Testament, relationship with God was external and mediated. God’s present dw presence dwelt among Israel in the tabernacle in the temple, not within the people. The people related to him through priests, sacrifices, and covenant law, not through shared indwelling. We know that the prophets told us that the day was coming in Jeremiah 31 that his spirit would be within us that his laws would be written on our hearts.

We saw that prophecy or those prophecies fulfilled in Acts 2 at Pentecost when the spirit was poured out and believers became one body through one spirit as Paul and John teach. For by one spirit we were all baptized into one body. Truly our fellowship is with the father and with his son Jesus Christ. Sorry, I turned my phone off. So this marks the first time that people collectively shared God’s indwelling presence, the foundation of true coin coinoia coinia. Say it, Glenn. of true fellowship. So that’s just a little side note that I wanted to include in our discussion here. So

Chapter 4: Biblical model of disciples

what are we seeing on the screen here, Glenn? Number two, from your Bible or David, what do you I mean includes you in this. What what are we seeing here? What what story are we looking at from the Bible here? Yes. Yeshua calling his first disciples and they were on a boat. They were fishermen, right? You remember this from Mark 1. In Mark 1, we can see Yeshua calling Simon, Peter, Andrew, James, and John to follow him and to be his disciples. And we all know the verse, follow me and I will make you fishers of men. Right? So the purpose of their calling from Yeshua wasn’t just to, you know, follow him around town for as long as he did.

No, there was a purpose in following Yeshua and that was to become a fisher of men. To be called by a rabbi was something that these men understood as it was it was not uncommon for rabbis to call who they thought were exceptional students to follow them. Paul was most likely one of those types of people where a rabbi sought him out and uh and asked them to follow him. But that was rare. What was more common was for the student to seek out the rabbi based on what the rabbi stood for and what the rabbi taught. That student happened to agree with it.

So they would seek out the rabbi and follow him. But it was not uncommon for rabbis to do it. So they knew what was happening at this moment. But they were no doubt surprised that it was happening to them. After all, they were unschooled, ordinary men and not the caliber, if you want to use that word, of individual of Bible student or scripture student that a rabbi would seek out because they were not catechized in proper instruction, were they? I don’t even know what catechized means. taught, trained, okay? They they were not in in the Hebraic early Hebraic world and even today there is Torah school for young children and there’s levels of Torah school.

Many of them don’t make it past what would be considered elementary Torah education. These men were more than likely of that caliber of individual. So they knew of the Torah. They knew some of the Torah. They had been taught at some level in the scriptures, but they were unschooled, ordinary men. It would be through their discipling relationship with Yeshua that they would become faithful disciples. Many lessons they learned while watching him teach and heal the people. But other teaching in the scriptures was only for them. Remember our definition of discipling. This process of being catechized or trained or taught the the deeper truths of scripture.

And as I said, some of it was direct teaching and some of it was stuff that they saw him do. Some of the direct teaching was things like this, the authority and mission of the 12 when he sent them out, where he directly commissioned the 12. The times where he privately explained the parables that he was teaching, that was direct teaching. He he they were actually getting both but the direct teaching their instruction on servantthood and humility in private discussions among the 12 in those verses teaching on forgiveness Matthew 18 was addressed to the disciples. So this ongoing process of direct one- on-one teaching of the 12 and the indirect teaching that they were learning just by seeing what Yeshua did, how he walked and what he said was discipling their hearts was teaching their hearts.

And of course, we can’t forget the very last commandment that Yeshua gave where he commissioned them and empowered them. And this was only for the faithful 11. Of course, by this time, Judas would was was would be gone. And it’s there that we really want to start our discussion.

Chapter 5: The final commission

So, all of that stuff I just gave was kind of a baseline information for us to have uh as we kind of jump into Yeshua’s final command here in Matthew 18. In Matthew, I’m sorry, Matthew 28. I said Matthew 18, didn’t I? Matthew 28. Then the 11 disciples went away into Galilee to the mountain which Jesus had appointed for them. when they saw him, they worshiped him. But some still doubted, which I just blows my mind every time I read that scripture. I have read that scripture a thousand times. But every time I read it, it just blows my mind that among the 11, there were some there that still had little seeds of doubt in in their heart as to who he was.

Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to obey all things that I have commanded you. And lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. So within this final command of Yeshua, we can see all three of the elements of discipleship that we have talked about thus far. B obviously these guys were disciples by this time, right? that at the climax of his ministry, the moment before he lifts off and disappears into the clouds, they were disciples.

Make the command was for them as disciples to go and make disciples of all nations. discipling or discipleship, the process of teaching them to obey all things that I have commanded you. So here in this one verse or several verses here at the end of Yeshua’s ministry we can see the pattern to be a disciple to make a disciple and to disciple these disciples or to enter into a discipling relationship or a relationship of discipleship in teaching them to obey. So what is he doing here? Yeshua is commanding them that what I did with you, I want you to do with the nations.

What did he do with them? Well, he spent his entire ministry directly teaching or indirectly teaching them what it meant to walk in the spirit, what it meant to follow a rabbi, what it meant to be obedient to scripture. So now he’s going to them and basically saying, “What you saw me do, I want you to now do with the nations.” Does that mean that they were supposed to make disciples? Yes. Does that mean that they were supposed to teach them to obey everything? Yes. And we have to talk about that teaching them to obey thing here a little bit because it’s not a one-time thing.

This aspect of Yeshua’s final command is really at the heart of discipleship. Not a one-time thing. We don’t just teach something once and never teach it again. If you’ve been a part of this group for any length of time, you can attest to the fact that I will at times come back to certain things and teach again what I have already taught. As human beings, we need that. We can all probably attest to the fact that we’ve listened to lessons, sermons, teachings, and then within a few hours, someone says, “What was that sermon about?” And you’re struggling to remember it unless it really, you know, hit home with you.

So, no, this process of teaching them to obey all things is not just a one-time thing and you send them away. It’s an ongoing thing that you do. In fact, 10 times the authors of the New Testament call us to be reminded of what we have already been taught. So the process of discipleship is a reminding and encouraging and admonishing and sometimes a rebuking that’s meant to help the believer on his or her path of obeying all things that Yeshua taught. We can emulate what we see Yeshua doing, but we can also understand this thing called discipleship. by looking at the quote unquote one another verses in the scriptures.

And that’s what I want to do this morning. One another true fellowship.

Chapter 6: One another commandments

Obviously, we can look at the love verses, right? This is the first thing that we should look at when we’re talking about discipleship. John 15, these things that I command you that you love one another. None of this is new. We know these things. First Thessalonians, may the Lord make you increase and abound in love to one another. 1 Peter 1, love one another fervently with a pure heart. So, first and foremost, in true fellowship, in discipleship, one another, love is supreme. Love sits at the top. Everything that you do, everything that you say, everything that you teach, whether you encourage, admonish, correct, or rebuke, it needs to happen from a heart of love.

We see it when it comes to unity, peace, and humility. Romans 12, be of the same mind toward one another. Let us not judge one another. Galatians 5, let us not become conceited provoking, not provoking one another, not intentionally doing something that you know is going to rub sister A or brother B in a wrong way. Certainly not judging one another, having the same mind, the same goals. What is the goal of discipleship? Well, I’m getting ahead of myself, but that’s okay. The goal of discipleship is to help one another finish the race. Is to help one another be more like our rabbi.

Is to help one another in our devotion to Christ. So our that’s the same mind that we need to have when considering discipleship. And of course encouragement. Beware, brethren, lest any of you have an evil heart of unbelief and departing from the living God. But encourage one another daily. Why should we encourage one another daily? Well, otherwise we can become hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. We c we can be led away from the deceitfulness of sin. Even the most devoted committed one of us has the potential of drifting from the shore. So what’s a a physical manifestation of what I’m talking about here as it pertains to encouragement?

Well, Glenn and number two and I are sitting on a boat and we’re close to shore and we got our lines in the water and we’re just having a good old time. later, we look up and now we’re 20 ft from the shore. Our boat has very slowly moved away from shore. my efforts to get us back or Glenn’s efforts to get us back closer to the shore either by paddle or by a stick in the mud or whatever or by engine is that encouragement of getting us back closer to the shore. And so that’s why the author of Hebrews is saying this should be a daily thing.

Now some of us don’t have daily interactions with other believers. Sometimes it’s just your husband. Sometimes it’s just your wife. Are we encouraging one another daily in this regard? That’s something that we all have to be reminded of doing on a regular basis. But then what are we looking at? What are we looking at here on the screen? Lumber number two. Look at it. Iron sharpens iron. And what else is happening? Sparks. Sparks. This ironing sharpening iron element that I was talking about we see in the book of Proverbs as iron sharpens iron

Chapter 7: Iron sharpens iron

so a man sharpens the countenance of his friend. This picture is intentional because what we are seeing here is as Glenn said ironing sharpening iron but if you’ve ever tried to sharpen iron with iron there are sparks. How does that manifest itself in a relationship between two brothers? Consider the imagery here as we’re talking about this. Proverbs 27, faithful are the wounds of a friend, but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful. Faithful are the wounds of a friend. What do you think that means, Glenn? Number two, honest. Okay. Honesty. David, what do you think? Trusted failures. Oh, okay. Hey, so let’s Yeah, I mean this is great that we’re talking about this.

Faithful are the wounds of a friend. What does that mean? There are times in your discipling relationship where you have to say something to this brother that’s going to hurt him. It might initially hurt his feelings. It might initially challenge him. It might in some way make him feel wounded. It might be a rebuke. And we’re going to learn the difference between admonishment and rebuke here in a moment. But in that relationship, there is a spark because one brother felt compelled in the spirit of love to say something to the other brother that he knew might initially hurt him. But faithful are the wounds of a friend.

In the end, personal story here as I was learning myself to become a disciple of of of Jesus back then, I didn’t know anything about Yeshua. Uh I there was a brother in in my ministry that was helping me along. He was teaching me. He was, you know, was trying to he was being he was being that mentor person. And I’m 6’4 and this friend of mine was about 5 foot four, five foot, just a little guy, right? I looked down at him, but he was further along in his faith than me. And he was trying to teach me something.

And quite honestly, I was being defensive. I was being argumentative. I wasn’t listening to what he was saying cuz he was saying some things that hurt me, that made me feel like I wasn’t adding up or measuring up. I don’t really remember the talk. I I just remember the feeling. And our natural reaction to those types of talks is to defend ourselves and this is what I was doing. So much so that at some point he waved his hands in front of his face and said, “Ed, stop. Stop.” And I stopped. And he looked me dead in the eye. He looked up at me dead in the eye.

and he pointed his finger at me and he said, ‘ Ed, do you want to change that question stopped me in my tracks because I realized in that nanocond that how I answered that question was pivotal in my growth. If I wanted to be prideful and defensive and say no, well, what does that say? that backs me into a corner and makes me look arrogant, stupid, prideful. Or I could just say, “Yes, yes, I want to change.” So I in that moment, I looked at him and said, “Yes, I want to change.” And then he said, “Why don’t you let me help you?”

And I I I didn’t know what to say. I ended up getting in my truck and driving away to my grandmother’s house, which was about drive. It was nighttime and I was getting on the freeway. I literally remember this like it was yesterday. I was on the entrance ramp of the freeway when I began to pray. And in the first words of my prayer, I said this. Father, I’m trying so hard to change. Those were the first words that were coming out of my mouth. And I had to stop midsentence and realize that I was getting ready to lie to God.

Because the fact of the matter was I wasn’t trying that hard to change. I wanted to protect myself. I wanted to defend myself and I didn’t want to let this brother get close enough to me to help me be different. Needless to say, by the time I got home, I had prayed. I had humbled out, picked up the phone, called him, apologized to him, and he and I went on to become great friends. He was my best man in my wedding and I was his. Faithful are the wounds of a friend. And this is what we need to understand when it comes to this ironing sharpening iron element in a discipling relationship.

Chapter 8: The role of humility

Like an earring of gold and an ornament of fine gold is a wise rebuer to an obedient ear. Not just any rebuer. Anytime that you feel the need to rebuke a person, it better be with wisdom and not just because you’re losing your patience. Proverbs 9, rebuke a wise man and he will love you. Give instruction to a wise man and he will be still wiser. That’s a fantastic passage. The question is, when you think about somebody challenging you or rebuking you or calling you out on some sin, do you welcome it or do you reject it? Here in Proverbs, it says a wise rebuke a wise man and he’s going to love you for it.

Ironing, sharpening iron. Romans 15, you also are all full of goodness, filled with all knowledge and you were are what? you are able to admonish one another. So here Paul in his lesson or his letter rather to the Romans is saying what he’s saying that as believers we are able to admonish one another. What does that mean? That we have the ability to do it? No. That means that we have the love to do it. We have the the genuine heart behind it. We have the teaching to do it. After all, there is one standard and we’re all trying to reach that standard.

So, like the image that I showed at the beginning of one man helping another up a cliff or a mountain, that is the spirit behind admonishment. In order for any of the above to work properly, one thing is absolutely necessary. But that word is humility. Humility is essential in a brotherly sharpening relationship because scripture shows us that only the humble can receive correction without being defensive. A proud heart resists rebuke, but a humble heart welcomes it as an act of love when it’s given in love. True fellowship that challenges and strengthens one another’s one another requires a willingness to listen, to yield, and to grow.

Without humility, the sharpening that God designed between brothers becomes impossible. After all, the scriptures teach us that a friend loves at all times and a brother is born for adversity. Many of us know that to be true on a purely physical level with the brothers that we have in our life that were born to us or the sisters that we have in our life that were born to us. But it’s also true within the brotherhood of the Lord. The adversity is sometimes unavoidable. And so it is paramount that we as believers have a heart of humility.

Chapter 9: Wisdom in correction

Humility in discipleship. Let’s take a look at some of the verses that talk about that. Whoever loves instruction loves knowledge, but he who hates correction is stupid. That’s a strong passage right there. race. It it I mean it is uh we can all probably share stories about people that we tried to correct in one way or another and we got nowhere. Some of us can share stories about when someone tried to correct us like I just shared with you a moment ago and we got nowhere until one person humbled out. Now in the case I shared it was me. I had to humble out.

But as believers and followers of the way, we ought to love instruction. We ought to love knowledge. But guess what? We don’t know every darn thing in the Bible. We’re not arbiters of absolute truth. There is only one that has that. And as soon as we realize that and recognize that that we need help in seeing things through a different pair of glasses sometimes, then we’re not going to be willing to be corrected. And the Bible says we’re stupid. It’s hard. Proverbs 13, a wise son heeds his father’s instruction, but a scoffer does not listen to rebuke. I love the fact that we’re in Proverbs today.

There’s so many of them. Proverbs . Harsh discipline is for him who forsakes the way, and he who hates correction will die. A scoffer does not love one who corrects him, nor will he go to the wise. Let’s give that one some thought for a moment. How do you feel about somebody who’s trying to correct you? Are you loving him at that moment? They need to mind their own business. Or or are you doing what Glenn just said? Why don’t you mind your own business? Or we pull out the famous stop judging me in our prideful defense. That’s not humility.

Especially if the individual is not judging you. He’s just trying to help you learn something. He’s trying to teach you something that you don’t already know. Proverbs , “Rebuke is more effective for a wise man than a hundred blows on a fool.” Wisdom. Isaiah 30. This is a rebellious people. Who’s he talking about here, Glenn? Number two, he’s talking about Israel, right? Lying children. Children who will not hear the law of the Lord. who says to the seers, the prophets, don’t see. And to the prophets, don’t prophesy to us right things. You read this and you can’t help but think, man, were these some prideful people?

But do I have this in my own right hand? As Isaiah says later on, am I not guilty of these things? Am I the one telling somebody else, “I don’t want you to see something in my character that needs to change. I don’t want you to challenge my pride. Don’t tell me about quote unquote right things. That’s just pride. That’s just arrogance. That’s just a lack of humility.” All the above examples are quote brothertob brother interactions and not between Israel and a gentile. I thought that was important to make that point. When you read these things in Proverbs, he’s not talking about talking to pagans.

He’s talking about interacting with brothers. We see in Proverbs 9 that he who rebukes the wicked man only harms himself. So throughout scripture, we’re we’re taught to not rebuke the nations, so to speak, the way we would rebuke a brother. One, because they’re not going to understand it, and two, unless they’re seeking with all of their heart, they’re not going to appreciate it. So we have to take notice of the words used by Yehovah in dri in describing one who will not be corrected in unity. Look at the words I just highlighted in red. Take notice of the words. What is it telling us?

That person who cannot be corrected is stupid scoffer, lying, rebellious fool who forsakes the way. How ought we to be in our one another one onone relationships to another? Especially if we’re in a discipling relationship with each other. Glenn and I I would say that Glenn and I are in a discipling relationship. He I can tell by the things he does and the things he says gives me the respect of being quote unquote the teacher, but I give him the respect of being my elder brother and someone who’s walked in the way for 50 plus plus years. So we have this mutual respect going on, but we are in a discipling relationship.

I would say the same about me and David, my brother-in-law. We’re connected by blood, but we have this discipling relationship and we allow ourselves to be corrected by one another. I would said the same thing about me and Tim Snow. Okay? I don’t want to be that stupid, scoffer, lying, rebellious fool who forsakes the way. I want to have a teachable heart. That’s why at the end of every lesson, you’ve heard me say that I want to hear your responses, your thoughts, your rebuttals, your rebukes, that I’m open to all of them because I truly am open to all of them.

And there have been a couple of times when some of you have challenged something that I have taught. You’ll notice that I never defend my position, unless of course what you’re saying is just heresy, and we’ve yet to have that on this group so far. So we have to have humility in our discipleship adversity. So let’s look at this for a moment.

Chapter 10: Admonishment and rebuke

Biblically there are four adversarial exhortations in scripture. Actually there’s a lot more that are reserved for corporate discipline but four for what I call interpersonal interactions. What are they? Encouragement is one of them. Now wait a minute. You might be saying, why is encouragement considered an adversarial exhortation? Well, there’s two different kinds of encouragement, isn’t there? You can encourage somebody to do something good or you can encourage something to someone to change something bad. Either way, it’s it can be adversarial, but we I just want to look at the rest of them. Correction is a lot like admonishment. They are used separately in scripture but sometimes synonymously.

So cor encouragement, correction, admonishment and then we see the rebuke in scripture. These interactions between individuals. Let’s just take a a brief breakdown of all of them. What’s the difference between an admonishment and a rebuke? Uh let me ask David number one there. David, how would you answer that question? What’s the difference between an admonishment and a rebuke? I think a rebuke is stronger. Both of them are a sense of, you know, both of them are an element of of correction. Uh I think that one is is stronger than the other. Yeah, I I would say that’s true. Admonishment, the meaning is to warrant, to counsel, to correct through reasoned instruction.

is gentle but a clear appeal to the mind of the conscience. Of course, the goal is to prevent further error or to redirect someone before sin hardens. Admonishment assumes the person is approachable and willing to listen. The tone is corrective. Exhortation, but as I said before, always rooted in love and care and not just impatience. Where do we see that in scripture? Well, we can see it with Moses admonishing Aaron in Leviticus 10. We can see it in Eli admonishing his sons in 1 Samuel 2. In the New Testament, you might think about Priscilla and Aquilla in their interaction with Apollos, gently admonishing him, correcting him on his knowledge of Yeshua’s baptism.

So, we can see this in scripture. The rebuke is to censure, to reprove, to charge sharply. As David said, it’s a little stronger. Strong confrontation meant to stop a wrong action or expose a sin already committed to halt sin or false teaching and bring conviction. Rebuke is corrective when admonishment has failed or when the sin is serious or destructive. It’s directive rather than suggestive. And where do we see this in scripture? Well, we can see it in Samuel’s rebuke of Saul. We can see it in Paul’s rebuke of the sorcerer. Another place that comes to mind in the Old Testament is Nathan’s rebuke of David when he confronts him about Bashibba, right?

There is a strong rebuke. So, we see these things in scripture. Let’s take a look at some of them individually on along the lines of encouragement. Deuteronomy 3, but to command Joshua and encourage him and strengthen him. 1st Samuel 23. Then Jonathan Saul’s son arose and went to David in the woods and strengthened his hand in God. That’s not the word encouraged, but it’s the same thing where you’re strengthening someone’s position that they might be feeling weak in. Hebrews 10, uh, let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works or to encourage love and good works, not forsaking the assemblies of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but encouraging one another, and so much the more as you see the day approaching.

So, we see encouragement all throughout scripture. Same thing with correction. Colossians 3, let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another. Okay, so uh he’s not just talking about people who have some type of office or quote unquote higher position in the body like an evangelist or a church leader. There’s a common misunderstanding that these types of relationships are only limited to those individuals. Well, we can tell from Matthew 28 that’s not the case. To teach them to obey everything that Yeshua taught them would have included that final command. Right? If I’m supposed to teach these people everything that Yeshua commanded me, that includes this final command.

So, this spirit of discipleship that I’m talking about isn’t just limited to brothers in leadership or brothers who have offices or higher callings. No, Paul says that we have the ability to and should teach and admonish one another. 2 Thessalonians 3, if anyone does not obey our word in this epistle, note that person, do not keep company with him that he may be ashamed. Yet do not count him as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother. Ecclesiastes 4, better a poor and wise youth than an old and foolish king who will no longer be admonished. Now, I have to say something about this verse because there’s a scary reality to be learned in this.

Something that my wife pointed out to me is early as this morning. better a poor and wise youth than an old and foolish king who will no longer be modest. What does that mean? That means sometimes when we get older, we get to a point where we’re no longer teachable and we’re certainly no longer correctable. And that’s one thing that I that drew me to Glenn almost immediately after meeting him is because I saw inside of him a childlike heart. He wasn’t standing on everything that he believed to be the truth and would not move off it. And as we grow older, we have to make sure that we don’t act like this foolish king who knows it all and cannot be taught something by somebody younger than us.

Consider for a moment Paul’s words to Timothy who at the time was an teenage evangelist leading a church. And he said, “Don’t let people look down on you because you’re young.” Why did he say that? Because sometimes as we get older, we do. And we can’t. We have to be willing to be admonished. Let’s look at rebuke real quickly. Leviticus 19. You shall not hate your brother in your heart. You shall surely rebuke your neighbor and not bear sin because of him. Now, let’s pause here for a second. When it uses the word neighbor, he’s not talking about our like our neighbors today.

I live in a neighborhood. I’m surrounded by 100 people that are not related to me in any way, shape, or form. They are my neighbors. This was not the case in Israel’s day. Their neighbors were Israelites. of their tribe. Of of their tribe. That’s right. Because they were categorized into tribes. You shall surely rebuke your neighbor and not bear sin because of him. Proverbs 19. Rebuke one who is who who has understanding and he will discern knowledge. Proverbs 27. Open rebuke is better than love carefully concealed. Proverbs 28. He who rebukes a man will find more favor afterward than he who flatters with the tongue.

We looked at that verse earlier. I I just want to uh add to what Ed’s been talking about so far, the fact that u to a normal human being with normal human nature, the most important thing in our life is to be right. We want to be right more than we want success, more than we want to be loved, more than we want anything. We just want to be right. And when somebody challenges us, I mean, we instantly go into a defense mode because we know we’re right. It’s just the opposite of of humility. It’s just pride. Pride. I want to be right.

I am right. I don’t I don’t just want to be right. I am right. And you’re automatically wrong. And my brain races to figure out all the reasons why you’re wrong and I’m right. And instead of listening to that person, you’re too busy in your mind thinking of all the reasons why you’re right. That’s Jeremiah 17:9. Yeah. That is the human heart is wicked and evil above all things. Yes. I like that.

Chapter 11: Peer-to-peer accountability

So, a word of caution is with anything that man touches, discipling relationships can and have been abused. In peer-to-peer discipling relationships, this is important. No one is in charge. and over another. We should, as Ephesians 5 says, submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. Here is one of the mistakes that I mentioned earlier. In our previous existence, the relationships weren’t always peer-to-peer. Sometimes they were uh pyramid in structure. Many times, most of the time, they were pyramid in structure where brother or sister so and so had two or three people that they discipled and now those two or three people had people that they like a pyramid scheme.

And way too often these individuals who had quote unquote people under them would exercise way too much authority not given them in scripture. and in doing so would hurt people. That’s not what I’m talking about when I talk about discipleship, at least not amongst us. Our relationship should be peer-to-peer. And in in doing so, we are submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ. The aim is mutual conformity to Christ. After all, this means two believers walk together in honesty, humility, and obedience so that each one is continually shaped by the word and the spirit. There is mutual edification.

Each believer builds up the other so the body grows in maturity. There is mutual exhortation. Each speaks truth to the other to prevent, as I said earlier, drifting, sin, or hardness of heart. Mutual correction. Each is willing to admonish or restore a brother when needed. Always in love, always in meekness and mutual accountability. Each carries the other’s burdens while also calling each other to obedience. And here’s that word accountability that a lot of believers simply are not comfortable with mostly because we’re prideful and we don’t like the idea of somebody else holding me accountable to anything that I do. It’s the American way after all.

No. In scripture, we are called to hold one another accountable. And one of the ways that we do that is through this. Confess your trespasses to one another and pray for one another that you may be healed. Now what does this look like? The Catholic Church has of course as we all know set up their system of confessing their sins only to a priest and that through a confessional that’s behind closed doors and secret so that the priest can’t see the individual’s face per se and vice versa. That way you’re kind of escaping the humiliating aspects of confession. However, in my life as a man pursuing Yeshua, it was difficult at first for me to be brutally honest with my life and my sin.

There was a time when I was coming to the faith that me and a handful of other brothers were in a study together talking about sin, talking about specific sin. He encouraged me to be open about my sin as he confessed how he was guilty of certain sins that we see in scripture. I was equally as honest about some of the things that I had committed in my life mo mostly because he was also guilty of it in his past. So it made me feel a little bit better about being honest. And therein guys, before I continue in my little story here is something that I think we have to discuss.

Chapter 12: Confession and guarding trust

Satan has convinced us as believers that the deep dark sin that you thought you would never utter and certainly never tell anybody in your whole life that you alone are guilty of committing it. That just you. You’re the only one. So you better keep that secret. you better keep that handy and not ever tell anybody. And we listen and we’re convinced by that lie that we’re the only one that has done A, B, or C. So, we don’t tell anybody. And now Satan has us. He has planted an anchor in our heart in a way to accuse us before the father and before ourselves for the rest of our lives.

Such was the case with me when I was going through this study, learning about sin, confessing these things, all the while in the back of my head, knowing about this one sin that I certainly was not going to mention in this group. No way. So, we finished the study and before the study was completely over, the brother who was kind of leading it turned to me and said, ‘ Ed, man, I really appreciate you being honest and open today. It’s been refreshing just talking amongst ourselves about how we’re all kind of guilty of these things and how we need each other.

And but just something that just popped into my head that I feel like I have to ask here before we end. Um, have you ever have you ever done this X X? And that thing that X that he asked me that I had done was the one thing that I would I would never tell a soul. How did he know? There’s no way he could have known. I believe it was a spirit because whatever I hide in my heart, that’s where the father is going to rake for it. And I lied. Of course, I said, “No, I’ve never done that.”

Never. I drove away and it burdened my heart so much that I had to call him later on that afternoon, confessed not only that I had lied, but two, yes, that I had done this thing. I need accountability. That brother now has my heart in the sense that I’ve I’ve confessed something to him that no one else has ever heard. And now guess what? Now in love, he is going to be able to help me with it in the future and ask me how I’m doing with it in the future so that I might be healed. This is not something that any of us are initially comfortable with on any level.

Yet it is commanded not just here but in other places where the scripture tells us how to deal with sin. So when it says to confess our trespasses or our sin, I want you for a moment, listener, YouTube watcher, person here in this group, consider for a moment what this means. It doesn’t just mean I’m going to confess the fact that I lied today or I’m going to confess the fact that I I don’t know was prideful with my wife. It means the hard stuff. It means the things you thought no other human being would ever know about you. The dark stuff, the perverted stuff, and even the illegal stuff.

I in my 40 years of being in the faith, I have heard everything under the sun confessed to me. Everything from sexual perversions to beastiality to murder that nobody knew about. I’ve heard it all. I kept it all to myself. Now, as a pastor, there are some things that depending on the states you live in, you’re required to bring to the light of the government if it pertains children. And we can talk about that more, but if I but in Arizona where I was at, that was a requirement. So if somebody came to me and confessed that they had been a pedophile, then I was required to with him or her bring that to light with the authorities.

And that happened a few times. But this is where Satan lives. And this is what Satan wants us to keep to ourselves and to keep secret that there is freedom in ering this stuff and getting it off our hearts. But this is why I said we have to be cautious

Chapter 13: Practical discipleship

when a brother or sister entrusts you with a confession. he or she is placing their wound into your hands. To repeat what was shared in confidence is to betray the very trust that makes accountability possible. Guarding another’s confession is therefore your act of righteousness. And I’m telling you, under no circumstance should you ever mess this up. Someone confesses something to you, for you to go and tell somebody else what this person shared with you in confidence, that’s big deal in God’s eyes. A perverse man shows strife and a whisperer separates the best of friends. A tailbearer reveals secrets, but only he who is a faithful spirit conceals a matter.

Debate your case with your neighbor and do not disclose the secret to another, lest he who hears it expose your shame and your reputation be ruined. We’re starting to get the feeling that God doesn’t like gossips. So lastly, I want to share these thoughts. Even the world has learned the benefit of discipling relationships in areas like sports, military, recovery programs, peer tutoring, and even in emotional and mental based therapy. I there there are times in my life where I have gone and spent time with brother in true fellowship and just confessing sin and him confessing, but I walk away feeling like I just went to therapy.

in in one sense you are because you’re getting biblical counseling. We need to know that we have people in our lives that know us, that can help us. And this is especially true in marriages. And allow me to close with this very brief example. When I married my wife, I made sure that she understood that in our marriage there was nothing off limits that she couldn’t talk to somebody but somebody else about if there was something I was doing or being a knucklehead.

She had the freedom to call someone that knew me, a brother that knew me and get him involved because her efforts were failing. And quite honestly, sometimes I needed a brother to say to me the very same things that my wife was saying. But all of a sudden, because he said, “It’s making sense.” And that included everything, even our sex life. if if I wasn’t loving her, if I wasn’t making her feel special, if I wasn’t taking care of her needs, she she knew and still knows to this day that she can call Glenn Garrison, that she can call another brother and get help.

That’s how marriages stay alive is by allowing other couples into your into each other’s lives where we can help each other. I can help say a Paul be a better husband to Lori and Lori be a better wife to Paul. That discipling in in marriage relationships is super important. And so what I want to do here is I want to end our discussion and I want to briefly just give you a chance to all respond, but I also wanted to say that Glenn and I and David have considered how we might make this a reality in this group.

There’s another group called the Donkey Stables where they’re trying to make this happen. I’ve looked at that. I don’t know if that’s something I can pull off as of right now. I’m open quite honestly to how we make that a reality in this group for those that want it. I’m not telling you that if you have to be a part of this group, you have to be in a disciple. That’s not what I’m saying. But I’m saying for those of you who feel the need that you need someone else in your life to talk to that we should help each other in that whatever that looks like and we can discuss that going forward.

But I’m done. I want to get your thoughts, your responses, your feedback, your rebukes if you think I’m wrong because I’m always open to them all. So we’ll start with Jeff Miller. Good morning. Shabbat shalom. Uh morning, very good lesson. Uh, real quickly, one thing that hit me, and I I don’t know if uh you or Glenn or uh David or anybody has studied over this, but I was under the impression that the disciples were unlearned men as far as they weren’t scholars, they weren’t rabbis, but that as a young child, they had learned enough of the Torah to to be able to handle it.

And then by the time they were 12 years old, we’ll say, because of Jesus, but by the time they were that age, it was at that time that it was decided whether they would be like their father and be a fisherman or the rabbi says, “Come with me and, you know, be a disciple of mine.” I don’t know if how true that is back in that biblical time. I just know some of the writings that I’ve seen allude to that.

Uh the other thing was a couple weeks ago I put out there uh my name, phone number and uh email address and meant to I want everybody to have it but it was on this exact same thing discipling iron sharpening iron. Uh some of us need more than others and I said if you needed anything and I can help or vice versa if I can call you if I need help. I wanted to put that out there to everybody and then it became a uh u one text with everybody on the text.

So every time one person responded, 30 people were getting that text. So I had to back off a little bit, but I still want you all to personally get in touch with me if you’d like to. Uh I just can’t, you know, have the ding going off every second and because somebody else responded with something. That being said, that was the exact reason. This whole thing that you’re saying, the whole reason I even got involved with you and all that was just for that.

I have here something I used to use uh cuz I love to cook. A lot of times we see iron sharpening iron like this. I’m the blade here. Pretty sharp blade, but I need a little correction with this butcher steel. So the little waves that you can’t see in the edge of that blade, they get taken up. This is one way of iron sharpening iron. But this is done with something that’s not that abrasive, the butcher steel.

What if I had a piece of sandpaper, a metal file? Well, then I’m going to be a lot more abrasive to this. But what if I’m trying to sharpen that side, not the blade end? I got something this dull. Well, God says he’s gonna send my friend Glenn over and Glenn is actually a very abrasive individual and he’s going to file this side down for me and make me a lot sharper. Some of us are dull like that and we need a lot of correction to begin with and then we can go on with the finetuning later on.

Anyway, that’s what I have to share and thank you so much for this. This is exactly what we need is discipleship and teachability. We all need to be teachable which includes humility. Amen. Amen. Super Samuel. Shabbat shalom. Those are some very wise words. Uh brother Jeff and and thanks to you and and um brother Luke Landis um we we started that process that that brother Ed is talking about. um with with the fellowship that we we currently enjoy um through WhatsApp.

I think that the thing though, brother Ed, is that you know we we try not to um infringe upon you and what I suggested to uh to the fellowship was that you know anything with respect to to council on serious issues should be relegated to to you and the elders in in the fellowship as opposed to just being spread out liberally within the group. But that’s something that can be discussed later. Um the the only thing I would probably quibble with out of what you shared and it’s not much because I think what you shared was was wonderful is the the understanding on um the indwelling of the set aart spirit and it pouring

in is pouring out in the word being written on our heart. That’s from a prophecy in Jeremiah. Um I believe Joel also spoke to it but in Jeremiah specifically. But that’s something that comes with the with the renewed covenant that is going to be consummated after the the wedding feast of of the lamb. Um, that’s not I don’t know if that’s true yet, but I think we’re in the process of softening the soil in preparation of the inscription of Torah on our hearts.

Um, where the father is going to teach us directly so no man ever has to turn to his brother and teach him again. I think that’s still forthcoming. if my understanding of of scripture is correct, but I’m open to stand correction. Um, you know, as as as far as what Messiah brought to us and instructed his his disciples, his tamine is something that I think is um is part and parcel of Deuteronomy 6, what we call the shama. Because within Deuteronomy 6, it tells us that we’re supposed to talk Torah, teach it to our children diligently, talk talk about it amongst ourselves.

When we’re when we’re sitting in our houses, when we lie down to go to sleep, when we walk by the way, we’re supposed to be murmuring Torah day and night so that it can set within us because all of us are supposed to be a nation of priests. We’re all deputized to bring forth that truth and that understanding and instruction to all of the nations. So that’s part of that. I think sometimes people get confused between what it means to be a disciple or to be tamaleine and an apostle.

Um, everyone isn’t called to be an apostle. Everyone isn’t called to teach like you and Glenn, too. But we are all called to disciple and to make disciples of other men and women. And that means moving from the milk of Torah to the meat of Torah. meaning fulfilling it in its fullness in terms of walking in spirit and truth. So we are earnest with respect to our desire to please the father and walking in his destruct instructions.

A a a similar process happened in the what we call the old testament or the tanakh and you see it in terms of the relationship and the bringing up of individuals who are supposed to serve a certain role. um as far as the father and the son is concerned and we first see that I think with with Moshe and Joshua and we see it also with respect to Eli and Samuel we see it with Elijah and Elisha and then in the New Testament we see something similar with Paul and Timothy so it’s it’s present and and I’ll end with this you know when you were sharing this the the one of the things that

my mind went to was the uh Rabbi by the Maliel and what’s attributed to him in terms of the four types of student you know the poor student the rich student the fish of the river Jordan and the fish of the sea of Galilee and I think ultimately what Messiah wants us to do is all be fish within the Sea of Galilee meaning that we’re sweep we’re swimming in the deep waters of Torah the fullness of the instruction so it’s a natural um progression what it just pours out of every aspect of our interaction with each other, with how we deal with with each other and ultimately with with our Messiah, with our father.

Um, so thank you for allowing me to share. Shabbat shalom. Amen. As always, Samuel. Thank you for your thoughts, brother Snow. Uh, thank you so much, Ed, for the message. Um, I was thinking about a couple different things based on my week that I had. Um, and also based on the scriptures you’re talking about, I had a lot of discussions this week. Um, and last week with everyone from pastors and I was I actually had I called a p I actually didn’t was trying to call a pastor to repent.

Didn’t even get to that far. He got really defensive when I just started asking questions. Um, and I I thought about just, you know, the fact that I didn’t I I wasn’t even trying to challenge him yet. I was just trying to just ask him, hey, understand his mindset. And he’s like, you’re judging me. And I’m like, it’s not the kind of heart that we need to have. Um, I think I think discipleship is is is it’s not optional.

I think it’s salty. You know, I I I think that we we’ve got to be be salt, you know, be light. Um right now I I see uh you know people are I think discipleship is an acid test. It’s a it’s a litmus test. Um you know we can be people try to put it’s almost like there’s a spirit out there that’s trying to put their lukewarmness on you and we’re trying to put our lukewarmness or our our our Christlikeness, you know, with the word with people.

We’re speaking the word is what I’m trying to say. And I think that it’s really important to speak the word. Um I had someone, you know, like this week that fully broke down in their sin and repentance um because of that, you know, in contrast to that other scenario. Um I had another person who was who’s saying, “Well, you know, discipleship’s not my gift or or evangelism specifically.” And I’m like, that’s that’s So I just think what am I what am I really saying?

I think that we we we are called to be ambassadors of Christ. Um I think it’s, you know, you tailor this mostly to our one another relationships within the body, which is which is awesome, but I just think that a lot of people um really not talking about people here, but but have just omitted a relationship with non-believers or like, well, I I I’m just going to let God work on them. And you know, I I I I disagree with that.

that’s, you know, just from for my, you know, my walk with God. So, I just think we need to have a relationship with the lost, you know, um, as far as, you know, seeking them out like like Yeshua’s. So, just wanted to kind of just chime in about just really my week and a couple different things that happened and what I got out of this message that struck me. Thank you. Amen. Tim, appreciate your thoughts as always, brother. Uh, David, thanks. said great lesson as always as someone who’s come like you had stated before from a from a movement that was anchored in this concept of discipleship which which I do believe in and as you’ve shown uh it is

definitely uh a biblical uh concept. I think that uh there there it I think it’s important and I don’t know if this is a future lesson or or if there’s a if if people decide that they want to engage in something like this uh as part of this group that uh somehow um we put together some type of a set of guiding principles, ground rules and make sure that everybody’s aligned uh when it comes to engag engaging in something like this so that we achieve, you know, the best possible outcomes as well as people are protected as well as people understand the purpose of what it’s supposed to be and how we need to conduct with and engage with one

another in this kind of a situation. And and the reason that I’m bringing this up is because as you stated, we have all well for those of us who have been a part of this a movement like this before, we have been we have scars visible scars and invisible scars and unfortunately sometimes some of those scars may take a lifetime to heal. Uh as much as there is benefit and and blessing that comes from something like this, it can also be extremely uh um painful and to some extent even uh impact someone’s faith uh faith in God and and faith in you know their faith in general.

Uh, and so it’s something that really has to be done in a a thoughtful way and and making sure that everybody’s aligned on how this works. Um, as as you know, Ed shared, there’s a lot of people here in in this audience or part of our group that that uh that can in addition to sharing what what to do and how to do it, also can share with you a lot of situations of what not to do um by situations where we’ve been exposed to it or to be completely honest that we’ve done to others as well.

Uh and so that’s just something that we really have to be uh cognizant of as as you engage in something like this. Um and and I think uh again it’s something that maybe it’s it’s important if you you know when you decide to engage in something like this just make sure that there’s alignment mutual understanding. I think one of the key things uh there’s a couple things just kind and you said the then the the one most important thing was humility which I agree with wholeheartedly I think two other important components are love uh which is the foundation of everything uh right love for one another love for God love for the word and the second thing is also the

foundation has to be Torah the foundation has to be The word of God back to that point that we have experienced scars is that in many situations people were trying to teach, correct, rebuke, admonish not based on the word of God but based on rules and structures and traditions created by men. And that’s where things go off the track. So that’s my uh my in Man, I couldn’t I couldn’t give a hardier amen to that than that’s very true.

Everything has to be measured by the scripture. Thank you, David. Okay, David Mero. Hey, awesome teaching. Um, one thing I was going to piggyback on, Tim, um, and I felt this way in my life, you know, where I didn’t feel that I was ready. It seemed like every, you see it in the chat, you see it in this group, I see it in people that I talk to. on a daily basis. It seems that every time you think you know something, you know, you go and read the book of Isaiah again, you’re like, “Wow, I never saw that before.”

Or you read Exodus, and you’re like, “Oh, man.” And I came from an under like to me personally, I come from an understanding of, you know, the great commission was given to Israel the same as it was to the disciples. And he says to do these things and you will become a light on a hill and people are the nations are going to come to you. You know, obviously Israel didn’t do the best at that at the time, but that is from what how me and my wife have lived our lives has been uh so fruitful to other people for some reason.

And all we’re doing is trying to learn, right? Because I agree, Tim. I’m of the understanding where when I open the Bible and I see some I have some new understanding of something that if I would have just went and told somebody that, you know, I would have been probably wrong 99% of the time. I look at it like the, you know, the reason you don’t eat fruit off of these fruit trees until they’re 3, four years old in the Torah because that fruit’s not that tree is not ready to produce good fruit.

And I feel that way in my life. I wasn’t really ready to produce good fruit yet. But the way that we could do that, and I guess I’m just talking to people that think that way of I’m not ready to do that yet. I’m not ready to teach. We teach every day by the way we live our lives. We teach every day by the way that we follow Yehovah’s commands and his his Torah and the way that we love our neighbor as ourselves.

And that is discipleship as well. Um, and we’ve seen, I mean, for example, uh, I had an atheist bisexual person call me yesterday and ask me if Jesus was real and to explain to her why the church today makes it so abrasive um, with religion, you know, and obviously I’m going to share the truth with her when she comes and eats dinner with us, but it’s just one of those things. She she sees the way that we’re living as different than everybody else.

And and she came to us for understanding. And I don’t know if I’m ready to teach, but I’m going to pray about it. And uh hopefully with what we what we’re able to talk about, we’ll we’ll glorify the father. You know, I just think it’s so important that people understand the way we live our live our lives is discipleship as well. And I mean, I know most of the people here know that. I just it’s very fruitful to us.

And uh yeah, it’s awesome. I just love it. Matt, thank you for the time to talk. Well, amen, David. I appreciate those thoughts. And uh let’s see. Mria had her hand up for a second, then she took it down. Um well, I want we’re running kind of out of time here, so I want to give Glenn number two a chance to share. Um Glenn number two, what are your thoughts? I think it was a great great lesson and we you know this is one that we can listen to again and actually look up the scriptures and try to pull everything into context because what one of the problems whenever we’re we’re trying to teach is we we pull we can

pull the scripture we can read the scripture but to then bring that scripture into context uh we just don’t have time to do it. But we all have time to go back and listen to this and and pull everything into context. Uh especially James 5 if you if you look at what’s being talked about there, you know, share your um share your trespasses with one another. Uh and and it’s regard to healing. Well, healing has to do with being made whole.

uh if you look at all all the other places that that word is used, it it has to you know it it makes whole what’s what’s being healed is a relationship. Now if if I um have a trespass against David and then I go and I tell Ed about it, that didn’t heal my relationship with David, right? I have to confess to David. This is what I this is what I did. Matthew 218. And so that’s that’s you know that’s super super important.

Uh who are who are you confessing to and why are you confessing it? Uh I want to uh add some weight to what Samuel warned against. uh the people that are in positions of uh uh teachers, pastors, etc., they’ve had some training and they’ve had some experience and they can be trusted with bearing uh burdens that other people really shouldn’t be trusted with. Um, just because I see your face, um, and I love you all, but just because I see your your face week after week, I I still don’t know you.

I don’t I don’t know whether you could handle my sins. I don’t know whether you u whether I don’t know that sharing my sins with you wouldn’t mess you up more than it would help me. There’s actually a scripture that talks about being careful when you’re dealing with someone’s sin that you don’t you may not fall into it. Yep. Yes. Yeah. So, I I would just throw all all those warnings in there. Um I I think there’s a lot of benefit just as the scripture lays out, you know, if you’ve got a confidant that you can trust and and you know, you’re you’re in a safe situation where you can really, you know, just

share everything. I think that’s great. But to take uh James and then go go spread your dirty laundry over people you don’t know very well, I think there’s a lot of danger in that. Can I add on to that real fast? There there there’s more truth to this than than I think many people realize. there in and again in my 40 years of of living in this world of confessing sins to one another there’s been times where I have encountered certain and this was usually men maybe always men who got some kind of thrill out of confess confessing their perversities.

Obviously, we know biblically that that individual is a tear. He’s not wheat. And that stuff is going to happen from time to time. So, the person involved in these relationships needs to have wisdom. And it’s awfully obviously something that we’re going to have to discuss a lot more in the future and and we will. Um so, um I we have one hand left up. Carl, if you can be brief, brother, go ahead and share because we are running long.

Brief. You ought to know me. No, sorry. Um, no, I I listen, I it was great. Obviously, I don’t know if you saw my emails, it’s not what I expected, but it was awesome. Um, and uh there were some good points there. Like, so as a pastor, if someone’s talking to me, if in the capacity of a capac of a pastor, I can’t say I can’t even be compelled in court to say things. So there is that that part that was brought up where there is a safer place to be.

Um but I did want to point out I think we lose track of the fact that we’re supposed to move from being you know taliden disciples to being teachers and and in that part that’s where that knowledge component comes in. And I know you know the saying right whenever you get a a new hammer everything looks like a nail. And when you get a new Christian to them, everything looks like that, you know, it’s going to need a lot of fixing and they’re the ones that can do it.

And so I I think there’s a an element of caution in there. And I think we should be well aware of the fact that we’re not called to be uh we are called to be disciples, to learn, to be right, to be um to to be apprentice, right? To learn everything he taught us. Then we’re supposed to take that and and go out and be uh become the you know the moair the the teacher uh to teach other people. So the the role changes and then the ones that we raise up are supposed to go on and do something else.

We’re never really called to be in this big church other than as you point out here, you know, for the fellowship portion of it. Um and so I think there’s something to look at and maybe that’s a future a future lesson. Um you know, deep dive into that a little bit. And and and I think within our, you know, the church community today, we really don’t have many pastors. Most most people call themselves pastors are really just evangelists that are sharing the good news and and only the parts that seem good and fluffy.

Uh kind of selling emotional comfort verse, you know, the the the whole authority of God. And I’ll leave it at that. Amen. Thank you, Carl. Well, guys, we will talk about more of this stuff. um break it down into into smaller bites, I think. But uh as always, thank you for coming. I hope you guys have a fantastic Shabbat and a wonderful weekend. And we we will be together again next week. Shabbat shalom. Shabbat shalom. Thank you so much.

Great teaching. Okay, so Pussycat. Shabbat shalom. Hour and . I hate saying goodbye. Goodbye. Shalom.