The DNA of a Dynamic Church
Titus 2 has a lot to say about what a healthy church actually looks like — and most of it starts not with programs, but with people. Pastor Mattie walks through Paul's instruction to older men, older women, younger women, and younger men, making the case that the health of a church rises and falls on whether each generation is willing to take responsibility for the one coming behind it.
And God, we welcome you in this place today. We invite your presence into this room today, Father. Would you fill us up with worship? Fill our lungs with praise today, Father. Fill our minds with thoughts of you. God, open up our hearts to receive the fullness of your grace this morning, Jesus. Would you wake us up in worship today as we sing, as we bow, we give honor and glory to your name, amen. Welcome to church today, family. Who's excited to be here? Come on, we're gonna have a little fun today. I wanna encourage you. If you wanna come down and just feel this front, we're just gonna, we have some fun songs today. So don't be afraid to dance. Don't be afraid to move a little bit. Here we go. ♪ Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah ♪ ♪ Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah ♪ ♪ There was no way until you made one ♪ ♪ Grace upon grace, hallelujah ♪ ♪ Even though I don't deserve it, you did it ♪ ♪ Even though I couldn't earn it, you gave it all ♪ ♪ Oh, who am I that you keep me on your mind, God? ♪ ♪ I'm just grateful for you, God, I'm just grateful for you ♪ One more time. ♪ All my life, you've been right here by my side, God ♪ ♪ I'm just grateful for you, God, I'm just grateful for you ♪
♪ Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh ♪ Oh, yeah. ♪ Holy, holy, is this all that you want? ♪ ♪ I give you glory for all that you've done ♪ ♪ Even though I don't deserve it, you did it ♪ ♪ Even though I couldn't earn it, you gave it all, yeah ♪ Come on, let's sing. ♪ Oh, who am I that you keep me on your mind, God? ♪ ♪ I'm just grateful for you, God, I'm just grateful for you ♪ ♪ Oh, and all my life, you've been right here by my side, God ♪ ♪ I'm just grateful for you, God, I'm just grateful for you ♪ ♪ Who am I that you keep me on your mind, God? ♪ ♪ I'm just grateful for you, oh, I'm just grateful for you ♪ ♪ Oh, and all my life, you've been right here by my side, God ♪ ♪ I'm just grateful for you, God, I'm just grateful for you ♪ ♪ Oh, oh, oh, I'm grateful and I praise you, Lord, you are good ♪ ♪ You are good, you are good, always good, Lord, always good, Lord ♪ ♪ When I, I'm lifting both of my hands ♪ ♪ Cause you gave me chance after chance, Lord ♪ ♪ When I, I'm getting all that I am ♪ ♪ Cause you gave me chance after chance, after chance ♪ ♪ When I, I'm lifting both of my hands ♪ ♪ Cause you gave me chance after chance, after chance ♪ ♪ Oh, when I, I'm getting all that I am ♪ ♪ Cause you gave me chance after chance, after chance ♪ ♪ Who am I that you keep me on your mind, God, I'm just grateful ♪ ♪ God, I'm just grateful for you, all my life, Lord ♪ ♪ All my life, you've been right here by my side ♪ ♪ God, I'm just grateful for you ♪ ♪ Oh, I'm just grateful for you ♪
♪ Who am I that you keep me on your mind? ♪ ♪ God, I'm just grateful for you ♪ ♪ God, I'm just grateful for you, yes ♪ ♪ All my life, you've been right here by my side ♪ ♪ God, I'm just grateful for you ♪ ♪ God, I'm just grateful for you, I survived ♪ ♪ I survived, laying down here to testify ♪ ♪ God, I'm just grateful for you ♪ ♪ God, I'm just grateful for you ♪ ♪ When I'm all out, you say I'm out of my mind ♪ ♪ God, I'm just grateful for you ♪ ♪ God, I'm just grateful for you ♪ ♪ God, I'm just grateful for you ♪ ♪ God, I'm just grateful for you ♪ ♪ God, I'm just grateful for you ♪ ♪ God, I'm just grateful for you, God, I'm just grateful ♪ ♪ God, I'm just grateful for you, God, I'm just grateful ♪ ♪ God, I'm just grateful for you, oh ♪ ♪ Oh, oh-oh, oh-oh ♪ ♪ Oh, oh-oh, oh-oh ♪ ♪ Ooh and I, I, I'm lifting both of my hands ♪ ♪ You gave me chance after chance after chance ♪ ♪ Ooh and I, I'm giving all that I am ♪ ♪ You gave me chance after chance, oh ♪ ♪ And who am I that you keep me on your mind? ♪ ♪ God, I'm just grateful for you God, I'm just grateful for you ♪ ♪ All my life, you've been right here by my side ♪ ♪ God, I'm just grateful for you God, I'm just grateful I survived ♪ ♪ I survived and I'm here to testify God, I'm just grateful for you God, I'm just grateful for you ♪ ♪ I'm alright if they say I'm out of my mind God, I'm just grateful for you God, I'm just grateful for you God, I'm just grateful for you ♪
♪ God, I'm just grateful for you God, I'm just grateful for you Oh God, I'm just grateful for you ♪ ♪ How wonderful you are, how wonderful you are ♪ ♪ I've been washing the water, washing the blood, I'm as good as new, oh hallelujah I've been washing the water, washing the blood, all because of you, oh hallelujah ♪ ♪ And I'm clean, the sin was stained on me, the shame was running deep, the love was spilled on Calvary, oh hallelujah I'm clean ♪ ♪ God, how can it be, I'm bristled and redeemed, standing in your victory, come on, oh hallelujah I've been washing the water, washing the blood, I'm as good as new, oh hallelujah I've been washing the water, washing the blood, all because of you, oh hallelujah ♪ ♪ Oh, hallelujah, I'm clean ♪ ♪ It's not what I have done ♪ ♪ But what You've done for me ♪ ♪ You've made it all up from that tree ♪ ♪ Oh, hallelujah, I'm clean ♪ ♪ Your love has overcome ♪ ♪ And Your mercy is supreme ♪ ♪ I'm dancing in Your victory ♪ ♪ Oh, hallelujah, I've been washing the water ♪ ♪ Washing the blood, all because of You ♪ ♪ Oh, hallelujah, I've been washing the water ♪ ♪ Washing the blood, all because of You ♪ ♪ Oh, hallelujah, I've been washing the water ♪ ♪ Washing the blood, all because of You ♪ ♪ Oh, hallelujah, I've been washing the water ♪ ♪ Washing the blood, all because of You ♪ ♪ Oh, hallelujah, I've been washing the water ♪ ♪ Washing the blood, all because of You ♪ ♪ Oh, hallelujah, I've been washing the water ♪ All right, come on, let's go. Come on. Come on, sing this, bitch, come on. ♪ You took away my shame ♪ ♪ And You nailed it to the cross ♪ ♪ You got me running out the grave ♪
♪ Oh, hallelujah, here I come ♪ ♪ Cause You took away my shame ♪ ♪ And You nailed it to the cross ♪ ♪ You got me running out the grave ♪ ♪ Hallelujah, here I come, yeah ♪ Come on. Come on. ♪ Hallelujah, here I come, oh ♪ ♪ Cause You took away my shame ♪ ♪ And You nailed it to the cross ♪ ♪ You got me running out the grave, oh ♪ ♪ Hallelujah, here I come, yeah ♪ ♪ Hallelujah, here I come, come on ♪ ♪ Hallelujah, here I come, yeah ♪ ♪ Hallelujah, here I come, yeah ♪ Come on, come on. Everybody jump, jump, jump, jump. ♪ Hallelujah, hallelujah, oh ♪ ♪ Ooh, hallelujah, hallelujah, oh ♪ ♪ Hallelujah, hallelujah, yeah ♪ ♪ Yes, I'm the wash in the water, wash in the blood ♪ ♪ As good as You, oh hallelujah ♪ ♪ I'm wash in the water, wash in the blood ♪ ♪ All because of You, oh hallelujah ♪ ♪ I'm washing the water, wash in the blood ♪ ♪ I'll be good as You, oh hallelujah ♪ ♪ I'm washing the water, wash in the blood ♪ ♪ All because of You, oh hallelujah ♪ ♪ All because of You, oh hallelujah ♪ Come on, we're not done yet.
Let's keep it going, come on. ♪ Yes, I'm the wash in the water, wash in the blood ♪ ♪ I'm washing the water, wash in the blood ♪ ♪ All because of You, oh hallelujah ♪ Come on, we're not done yet. Let's keep it going. Come on. ♪ You took away my shame and You nailed it to the cross ♪ ♪ You got me running out the grave, hallelujah, here I come ♪ ♪ Because You took away my shame and You nailed it to the cross ♪ ♪ You got me running out the grave, hallelujah, here I come ♪ ♪ Yeah, because You took away my shame and You nailed it to the cross ♪ ♪ You got me running out the grave, hallelujah, here I come ♪ ♪ Because You took away my shame and You nailed it to the cross ♪ ♪ You got me running out the grave, hallelujah, here I come ♪ ♪ Hallelujah, here I come, sing hallelujah, here I come ♪ ♪ Hallelujah, here I come, yeah, hallelujah, here I come ♪ Oh, hallelujah, here I come Come on, everybody jump, jump, jump, jump, jump Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah Ooh, yeah, hallelujah Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah Ooh, yeah Ooh, cause I've been washed Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah Washed in the blood Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah Oh Hallelujah I've been washed in the blood I've been washed in the water, washed in the blood
Because of you, oh hallelujah I've been washed in the water, washed in the blood Because of you, oh hallelujah That's my guitar. We're professionals here. This is my prayer in the desert When all that's within me feels dry This is my prayer in my hunger and need My God is the God who provides And this is my prayer in the fire In weakness and trial or pain And there is a faith through demure worth and gold So refine me, Lord, through the flame And I will bring praise, I will bring praise No weapon formed against me shall remain I will rejoice, I will declare God is my victory and He is here Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah This is my prayer in the desert When all that's within me feels dry This is my prayer in my hunger and need My God is the God who provides And this is my prayer in the fire In weakness and trial or pain And there is a faith through demure worth and gold So refine me, Lord, through the flame And I will bring praise, I will bring praise No weapon formed against me shall remain I will rejoice, I will declare God is my victory and He is here I will bring praise, I will bring praise
No weapon formed against me shall remain I will rejoice, I will declare God is my victory and He is here All of my life in every season You are still God, I have a reason to sing I have a reason to worship All of my life in every season You are still God, I have a reason to sing I have a reason to worship All of my life in every season You are still God, I have a reason to sing ♪ I have a reason to sing ♪ ♪ I have a reason to worship ♪ Yes we do. ♪ All of my life in every season You are still God ♪ ♪ I have a reason to sing ♪ ♪ I have a reason to worship ♪ Keep singing that. ♪ All of my life in every season You are still God ♪ ♪ I have a reason to sing ♪ ♪ I have a reason to worship ♪ ♪ And I will bring praise, I will bring praise ♪ ♪ No weapon formed against me shall remain ♪ ♪ I will rejoice, I will declare ♪ ♪ God is my victory and He is here ♪ ♪ I will bring praise, I will bring praise ♪ ♪ No weapon formed against me shall remain ♪ ♪ I will rejoice, I will declare ♪ ♪ God is my victory and He is here ♪ ♪ You are here, oh, You are here ♪
♪ Grace is my fruit in the harvest ♪ ♪ When favor and providence flow ♪ ♪ I know I'm filled to be emptied again ♪ ♪ This seed I've received, I will sow ♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ Let heaven come, let heaven come Let heaven come, let heaven come Let heaven come, let heaven come Let heaven come, let heaven come Let heaven come, let heaven come Yours is the kingdom, yours is the power Yours is the glory forever, amen Yours is the kingdom, yours is the power Yours is the glory forever, amen
Yours is the kingdom, yours is the power Yours is the glory forever, amen Yours is the kingdom, yours is the power Yours is the glory forever, amen Let heaven come, let heaven come Let heaven come, let heaven come Let heaven come, let heaven come Let heaven come, let heaven come Let heaven come, let heaven come Let heaven, let heaven, let heaven come Let heaven come We worship you in this place You are worthy above all Yours is the kingdom, yours is the power Yours is the glory forever, amen Yours is the kingdom, yours is the power Yours is the glory forever, amen Let heaven come We give you all the praise We give you all the honor Let heaven come Yeshua Yeshua We sing Yeshua Sing it. Yeshua. Sing it with all the reverence and honor you can give Him. Yeshua. Oh. Oh.
Oh. Oh. Yeshua. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Whoa, oh. Yeshua. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Yours is the glory. And yours is the kingdom. Yours is the power. Yours is the glory. Forever all men. Yours is the kingdom. Yours is the power.
Yours is the glory. Forever all men. Do you mean it? Yours is the kingdom. Yours is the power. Yours is the glory. Forever all men. With all power. Yours is the kingdom. Yours is the power. Yours is the glory. Forever all men. Oh, worthy, worthy, worthy. Yeah. We give you all the honor and praise. All the honor and praise. All the honor and praise to you. Yeah. Yeshua. Oh. Oh. Yeshua. Oh. Oh. Oh. Yeshua. All the voices. Yeshua. Oh. Oh.
Oh. And yours is the kingdom. All the honor and praise goes to you. For you're worthy. Oh. Oh. Yeshua. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Yeshua. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Yeshua. Your name is alive. You're the shadow's king tonight. Your name cannot be overcome. Your name is alive. Forever lifted high. ♪ Your name can not be overcome ♪ ♪ Your name is a light that the shadows can't deny ♪ ♪ Your name can not be overcome ♪ ♪ Your name is a light for everything to deny ♪ ♪ Your name can not be overcome ♪ ♪ Your name is a light that the shadows can't deny ♪
♪ Your name can not be overcome ♪ ♪ Your name is a light for everything to deny ♪ ♪ Your name can not be overcome ♪ ♪ Jesus, Jesus, you make the darkness tremble ♪ ♪ Jesus, Jesus, silence fear ♪ ♪ Jesus, Jesus, you make the darkness tremble ♪ ♪ Jesus, Jesus, you make the darkness tremble ♪ ♪ Jesus, Jesus, silence fear ♪ ♪ Jesus, Jesus, you make the darkness tremble ♪ ♪ Jesus, Jesus, silence fear ♪ ♪ Jesus, Jesus, you make the darkness tremble ♪ ♪ Jesus, Jesus, you make the darkness tremble ♪ ♪ Jesus, Jesus, silence fear ♪ ♪ Jesus, Jesus, you make the darkness tremble ♪ ♪ Jesus, Jesus, silence fear ♪ ♪ Jesus, Jesus, you make the darkness tremble ♪ ♪ Jesus, Jesus, you make the darkness tremble ♪ ♪ There is power in the name of Jesus ♪ ♪ There is power in the name of Jesus ♪ ♪ There is power in the name of Jesus ♪ ♪ To break every chain, break every chain, break every chain ♪ ♪ Yeah, yeah, there is power in the name of Jesus ♪ ♪ There is power in the name of Jesus ♪ ♪ There is power in the name of Jesus ♪ ♪ To break every chain, break every chain, break every chain ♪ ♪ To break every chain, break every chain, break every chain ♪ ♪ To break every chain, break every chain, break every chain ♪ ♪ To break every chain, break every chain, break every chain ♪ Let's go, here we go, here we go. ♪ There is power in the name of Jesus ♪
♪ There is power in the name of Jesus ♪ ♪ There is power in the name of Jesus ♪ ♪ To break every chain, break every chain, break every chain ♪ ♪ To break every chain, break every chain, break every chain ♪ ♪ There's an army rising up ♪ ♪ There's an army rising up ♪ ♪ There's an army rising up ♪ ♪ To break every chain, break every chain, break every chain ♪ Come on, believe me, let's sing, there's an army. ♪ There's an army rising up ♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪
♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪ price we believe your blood speaks a better word over these people who have raised their hand God I pray that you would fill them with the love of a father who loves them who cares for them who has purpose for them that you're declaring over them that they are set free by the blood of your son I just asked God that you would fill them with hope fill them with a desire to trust you and no matter how small the step seems God that it would be to your glory and that one step leads to another step which leads to many steps which leads to victory and fulfillment so we thank you for these things in Jesus name well just to clear those words one more time together there's power in the name of Jesus come on there is power I believe there is power here in this room today there is power to break every chain break every chain break it come on every voice let's say one more time to break every chain break every chain break every one more time in the name of Jesus there is power in the name of Jesus there is power in the name of Jesus
to break every chain break every chain break every chain to break every chain break every chain break every chain God we believe that in this room today you're not some distant God just looking from afar you are here in this room moving in this place father rendering our hearts to you breaking off the things that distance us from you father to draw us near to your presence so we claim the blood of Jesus in this place today we claim the power of the Holy Spirit in this room today father as you move in our hearts and our minds our souls God we're grateful for your presence for your grace for your mercy for the cross we love you we give you praise and glory and honor in Jesus name amen amen come on man what a what a beautiful what a beautiful morning so far thank you all for being here if you can find your way to your seats this would be a great time to do so would you join me in blessing our musicians please let them know how grateful we are for their leadership awesome awesome awesome time of worship this morning I uh just a minute ago Clint Ledford if you don't know Clint he's one of the one of our elders here at the church he and his wife Rebecca are a wonderful treasure
to our community to my family Clint just grabbed me just a second ago put his arm around me and said this was the song that God used to turn it all around for me and uh maybe you've got a story like that too where you can point to a song that you were singing and your eyes were opened and you realized the magnitude of God's great love for you maybe there was a moment in your life that you look back on and you can say that was the moment that God met me my heart softened what was dead in me came alive again what had been hardened in me became soft again and I I was able to experience God and to come to know God in a way that I never had before and I think it's something that can sometimes become old to us we can allow ourselves to get jaded a little bit and then overlook the beauty of those moments in people's lives like what an amazing thing it is that every week
people come into this room and in this place, they experience God in a way they never have before. That every week someone walks in here with a problem, with a need, with a sickness or some dysfunction, some issue in their life, and they walk out with healing and breakthrough and revelation and life instead of death and freedom instead of bondage. Like what an amazing thing it is. And I think, like I guess I can speak for myself when I say now after nearly 20 years in ministry, it's easy to just think it's just routine. And I had a preacher friend of mine come here for a weekend and say to me afterwards, you know, some pastors would kill to have one service like you guys have every single week. And if they could have one service the way you guys have every single week, they'd spend the next 20 years talking about how great that one service was. And that's the reality, guys. We've been given by God this incredible treasure of being together together with the greatest group of people maybe ever assembled. And to come into the presence of God, to study the word of God together and to grow in our service to God. And I think sometimes we view this gift like it's a chore. Like, all right, God, I came to church this week. You should be proud of me for that, you know?
And listen, I'm proud of you. I'm thankful that you came. But I want you to know that this is a gift to you. Like your attendance is a gift to you. It's not a gift from you, right? But we have this opportunity now to give in the offering. And this is our opportunity to say, God, I'm grateful that you've allowed me to live in a nation where there's a church down the street from my house. I can get in a car and drive over to an air-conditioned church where there's a seat for me. I'm thankful, God, that there are so many Bibles that are in circulation in my community that I can leave mine at home and I'll just grab one from the lost and found on the way in if I need. Or I'll stop into the office and grab one of the many free ones that they have to give away there in the office. Or I'll just look on with the person next to me or I'll open my phone and I've got 15 different, you know, versions downloaded on that. It's like, what an amazing time we live in. And I think what that has produced in us is, is ingratitude because everything we need to grow in God is so abundantly accessible that we take it for granted. But the truth is, we've got brothers and sisters around the world that would kill to have a Bible
with their name printed on the front, that they could keep in their home and read whenever they wanted. There are brothers and sisters that would kill to be able to come together with a group of Christians and openly sing songs of praise to God. There's many of our brothers and sisters around the world who have never done that even once. We have been given an incredible gift and it is right and good that we would turn back to the one who gave us that gift, to God himself, and then to express our gratitude through our giving, to express our love through our giving, to express our thankfulness through our giving. And so this morning, you don't have to thank me. I'm gonna give you the opportunity to give to the Lord. It's a, this is our privilege to say, God, I'm not gonna let somebody else carry the burden alone of what you're doing in this place. I'm not gonna let somebody else make that dream a reality while I stand on the sideline and watch, God, this is not just their church, this is my church. And God, because you've called me here, I'm gonna help bear the financial burden of this place, but more than that, God, I'm gonna bear the burden of faith for what you're going to do here in the years and generations ahead, amen. And so this morning, we're gonna give generously, wildly, extravagantly to a God who's given generously, wildly, and extravagantly to us.
Is that right? Come on. There are a few ways that you can give. There's an envelope in the seat in front of you, of course. You can use that to give my cash check or card, or you can take your phone out and scan that QR code, or if you have the mobile app, you can give through that. But would you, as we're preparing those, would you stand with me? I'd love to just pray over this and thank God for this opportunity. Lord, we, we pause even just now, God, to consider your beauty. Lord, you are wonderful and indescribable. And in your incredible love. You created the sun and the moon and the stars. You created flowers and mountains and seas and rivers. And then you made us, God, to enjoy your creation and to walk in fellowship with you. And God, you put us here in the earth for such a time as this, for this wonderful moment when we get to know your word and to proclaim it to a generation that so desperately needs to hear it. And God, today you've invited us to have a hand in what you're doing here. Not just as co-laborers for the sake of your kingdom, but as givers, as those that would, by our own work throughout the week, those that would fund the advancement of your kingdom, who would fund the expansion of your gospel.
Lord, as we give today, we ask, Abba, that you would be pleased in our doing so. Above all, God, we want to honor you. And so as we give today, Lord, we pray that this offering would be a pleasing sacrifice to you, that this would be our act of truest, deepest worship today. Not just in singing songs and talking about your goodness, but in sacrifice for your sake. Lord, we love and honor you, and we ask that you'd receive this offering with pleasure, in Jesus' name, amen. Oh, it's good to see you guys. It's a, you can be seated. It's a privilege to be here today. I am, I'm so, I'm so honored. I, that lawn mowing tribe, that's gonna be mine. You guys are gonna come mow my lawn once a week. I'm just kidding, that's not true. It's a, it's good to see you all today. I wanna drive a couple things home from our announcements. We have a church of, I don't know, seven, eight, 900 people who would call this their home church. And on Wednesday night, I came and heard a phenomenal message from Pastor David on the importance of preaching the gospel, what some of the impediments are, why some people don't preach the gospel, and how we can begin to commit ourselves to be more faithful with delivering the gospel, or more prepared to present the gospel effectively
in our day-to-day lives. And there were like 50 people in the room. And so, full disclosure here, there is a part of me that feels, as a pastor, like a failure, that all of these people come together to hear me preach on Sunday mornings, and then we tell you, we're gonna train you how to preach the gospel more effectively in your daily life, and most of the people in our church didn't care enough to make space in their schedule for that. And so I, these are the things that I wrestle with in the back of my mind. Now, I understand your life is your life, and you may have some responsibilities or some commitments that made it impossible for you to get there, and there's, absolutely there's grace for that. But my hope is, and this is between you and God, or I should say my concern is, and this is between you and God, that you think that coming and watching someone else do ministry is the calling on your life, that it ends there, that you show up and you watch me preach, or you watch Pastor David preach, or you watch our great worship leaders lead worship, and you go, you know, I did a great job. I received something, I learned something new about the Bible today, and so God is very pleased with me. But I want you to know that I can speak on behalf of every faithful minister for the last 2,000 years
of the church when I say, everything we do is trying to provoke you off the sidelines. Everything we do, all of my messages, all of our music, this building, the seat you're sitting in, the fact that Mr. Rich has got it at a very reasonable 68 degrees in this room right now, like all of that is to get you here so that we can push you off the bench and into the game. The gospel is too precious for us to leave it to someone else. The hour is too late for us to put it off until another season of life. The people that God has put in your life are too valuable to him for you to just go, eh, somebody else will preach the gospel to them. God will have to send somebody else into their workspace, into their life, into their life. family into their neighborhood. My hope is that somehow by the work of the Holy Spirit, he will bring conviction to your heart to say, I have to be a part of what God is doing in this hour. And that will show itself in things like taking the opportunities that are given to you to grow in your understanding of the gospel and in your ability to present it in your everyday life. And so I will see you Wednesday night at six 30. Is that right? Pastor Wednesday night at six 30, right here, Mr. Rich will have it at a very reasonable 68 degrees. There will be a parking spot reserved for you and a seat reserved for you. And Kashif Khan will have a message from heaven for you that evening. All right. Amen. We are about to launch our tribes ministry again, we do this in two semesters throughout the year. And in this ministry, we invite anyone in the church who has it in their heart to become a gathering point for the saints to volunteer and to bring an idea to the table. Pastor David just mentioned some of the awesome ideas that people have. They're getting together for pickleball, they've gotten together for frisbee golf, they're getting together for a church service. They're getting together for pickleball, they've gotten together for frisbee golf, we've had people, you know, study through some pretty heavy theological books, we've had had people just hang out and like watch movies and talk about how those movies reveal the heart of God to them. Like there's all sorts of different ways to have Christian fellowship. And that's something we want to give space for. But again, and I said this in weeks past, my hope is that every person sitting in this room would say, I want to become a person like that. I want to become a gathering point for the saints. I want my home, my life, my neighborhood, my city, you know, I want my favorite restaurant, the coffee shop that I like to go to the park I play at with my kids. I want that to be a place where the kingdom of heaven is expressed. And so, you know, let me lead a tribe, I would love to have to deny a whole bunch of you guys. Because we just have too many applications, because we are a people just too committed to the the gathering of the saints. We're people that are overwhelmingly devoted to doing the work of the ministry to each other and to the world around us. And so we're going to have to limit it, that would be an overwhelming success for me. Now. Last week, as I talked about that, that ministry, I shared that I believe God had spoken to us that in the years ahead, the ministry he will breathe on most powerfully here will not be what happens on this stage. It will be what happens around your tables and in your homes. And certainly this includes our small groups ministries, I think for many of you, you may get together and say, Hey, we're gonna everybody's gonna get like take out from 10 different restaurants and we'll get together and one person will bring sushi and another person will bring Taco Bell and another person will bring fried chicken and another person will get burgers from McDonald's and we're all going to get together and we're going to eat this nasty food together and we're going to talk about how good God has been to us throughout the week and we'll fellowship and we'll sing some songs and pray over one another, pray over each other as any one of us has need like that is the kingdom. In action, it could look like that. You have to pray extra hard that God would bless that food. But it's, you know, it's just some of you, you're going to gather like that, right? So but for some of you is God is blessing what is happening around your tables and in your homes, it might just be your family dinner. It might just be that six months from now, your daughter says, you know, I want to know that, that God loves me, how can God love me, even though I'm a sinner? And while you're sitting there eating dinner, you get to answer the greatest question of all, to preach the gospel to your little girl. Maybe it's that, you know, you and your spouse have been at odds with each other, things have been difficult, and there's been this unspoken tension, and you make his favorite meal and you call the family together and you say, I just love you, and I'm not going anywhere. And it begins to bring healing where there was division and hardness of heart.
But today, I should say what that is going to require from each one of us individually, is that we stop seeing ourselves as spectators to the work of the ministry, and we begin to see ourselves as as partakers, what Peter describes as partakers in the divine nature. We've been invited by God, not just to watch ministry happen, or to even receive ministry, we've been invited by God to become the conduit or the door through which his redeeming work is advanced and accomplished in the earth. And so to that end, I want us to walk together today, closer to that target, you know, the Bible actually maps out for us the DNA of a healthy, dynamic, multi generational church. And today, we're gonna, we're gonna jump into it. And I want to ask you just up front, for grace, I'm going to have to tell you what the Bible actually says today, not what tick tock wishes the Bible said, you know? Can I can I tell you in honesty? Yeah, man, I was thinking, I think the the most serious threat to the United States of America, it's not China or Russia. It's not Islam. And it's not liberalism. I think the most serious threat to the United to the survival and the prosperity of the United States of America is prayerless preachers, preaching spineless sermons. We're, instead of preaching what the Bible says, we are cherry picking the verses that make us feel good about wherever we personally want to be. And we're making the Bible serve us, we're making, trying to make God serve us for remaking God in our own image. Instead of surrendering to the image that we were called to bear, there are countless books, podcasts, YouTube videos and Instagram reels about what makes a church healthy or successful. Lots of feelings and opinions. However, standing alone above all the noise of the modern world's feelings and opinions is the Word of God, which is very clear on the topic of what makes a church healthy or successful. So let's look at it today. Can we do that? We're going to go to Titus chapter two. Lord help me. So I want to give you some, I want to give you some context about Titus. So this was a letter. It's one of what we call the pastoral epistles. It was written by the apostle Paul to sort of a spiritual son of his named Titus. Titus was the pastor over a network of house churches all across the island of Crete. Now the people that lived on the island of Crete, they were sort of regarded widely as being dishonest, unintelligent, unruly people. And so you can imagine that Titus, he kind of had his work cut out for him. And Paul wrote the epistle, this letter to Titus, giving him advice on how to establish healthy churches in the midst of an unhealthy culture. How do you establish a healthy church in the middle of an unhealthy
culture, an unhealthy, broader community? How do you take people that are used to sort of backwards, worldly, pagan communities, and then bring them into a community that glorifies and honors God? And so Paul is writing this advice to Titus and saying, here's the things you need to know. Now, first and second, Timothy and Titus, those are all three of the pastoral epistles. Those are all really precious to me. I have really grabbed a hold of all three of these for the last seven years and recognize that I need a lot of help. And I'm thankful God has provided a lot of help in those books. And so I want you to hear that this is advice being written to a pastor about how a pastor ought to shepherd his congregation. I'm just going to read, I'll just read verses one through nine first, and I'm not going to make any comments of my own. And then you'll understand why I'm sweaty today. So this is Titus two verses one through nine. This is Paul speaking to Titus. He says, but as for you speak, the things which are proper for sound doctrine, that the older men be sober, reverent, temperate, sound in faith, in love, in patience, the older women, likewise, that they be reverent in behavior, not slanderers, not given too much wine, teachers of good things, that they admonish the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, to be discreet, chaste, homemakers, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the Word of God may not be blasphemed. Likewise, exhort the young man to be sober-minded in all things, showing yourself to be a pattern of good works, in doctrine showing integrity, reverence, incorruptibility, sound speech that cannot be condemned, that one who is an opponent may be ashamed, having nothing evil to say of you. Exhort bond servants to be obedient to their own masters, to be well-pleasing in all things, not answering back, not pilfering, but showing all good fidelity, that they may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior in all things. Amen. This is right and good. This is the word of God. I want to stop there. I want to go back and we'll unpack this. And I do hope to move on to verses 11 through 15 here shortly. But I want you to see that this passage is aimed at several groups of people.
You might say that it's aimed at older men, older women, younger women, and then younger men and bond servants. Now I would actually say the first part of this text and the last part of this text, so verses 1 and 15 are not aimed at any of those groups. Those are aimed at the pastor. The first thing and the last thing are written to Titus. All the other things are what Titus ought to say to other people. And so there's, I think for me, at least as I read this, there's something that is important to me. It's that, uh, as a leader, I don't get to sort of wash my hands of the things my followers choose to do. I don't get to just say, well, you know, the, uh, the men in my church are perverse and selfish and destructive and foolish. And so, you know, what can I, what can I do? I don't get to just say, well, the women are, you know, rebellious and full of gossip and slander and so our church is unhealthy and, you know, there's just nothing I can do about it. The truth is Paul is talking to Titus about these things because these things have become Titus's responsibility. That's the bad news about leadership. It's that leadership just means responsibility. It means that you don't get to absolve yourself of the responsibility, uh, of responsibility for the things that happen under your leadership. I don't get to just say, well, my kids are idiots and so they're messing up and, uh, and I'm great. And if they would have listened to me more, they would be all right. It's like, no, no, no. If I'm leading them, their life, their success, that's a reflection on my leadership. And so there's so many people I think that, that despise so many leaders that despise the people God has called them to lead because they, they've not taken responsibility.
They're not taking ownership for what is happening under their, under their watch. So the first and last instruction in this passage are given to the pastor. That's important for me to understand. I have a responsibility. This is, I'm, I am naturally a non-confrontational person. I'm happy to just let people take all the time they need to figure something out and, you know, they may learn the hard way and it may not go the way that I had hoped that it would go, but I don't like confrontation. But I've recognized since planting this church that, that I have to engage in confrontation at times that I have to draw a line in the sand. I have to make boundaries and say, we are not going in that direction. So if you insist on going, you're going to have to go alone. And that's a difficult thing for me to do, but it's a necessary thing for a leader in a healthy church to engage in. And so this is why Paul starts by speaking to Titus and he says, as for you speak the things which are proper for sound doctrine, Titus, tell them the truth. That's Paul's advice to this pastor in creed. Tell them the truth. Don't tickle their ears. Don't flatter them. Speak the things which are proper for sound doctrine, stick to the truth. And then he begins to explain what some of this looks like. What is proper for sound doctrine? Look at verse two. He says that the older men be sober, reverent, temperate, sound in faith and love and patience. Now I recognize I'm reading this in the new King James. And so these are a bunch of words we never use. These are words you had in your, you know, ninth grade vocabulary textbook. And so I want to, I want to pull some of these words out to make sure that we really ask ourselves what is being said for the older men in the church.
Now I know that every one of you is going to be like, that's not me. You know, it's somebody older than me. And, uh, and, and let me just say this. If you are older than the person you're talking to, you are called by God to demonstrate these things. And so you may not be old. you may just be a high school student talking to a middle school student. Right, you may not be old, you may just be a young adult speaking to a high school student. And so this isn't about, like, once your hair turns gray, then this applies to you. This is like, this is what it looks like to be a leader in the house of God. This is what it looks like to take responsibility for what happens in the community of the saints, is that we, as older men especially, we are to be sober, reverent, temperate, sound in faith, in love, and in patience. That word for sober doesn't just mean we don't get drunk. It means, very specifically, it means free from negative influences. So sobriety isn't just about not getting drunk or doing drugs. Sobriety might mean that you get off of video games. Sobriety might mean for you that you get off of social media. Sobriety for you might mean that you get yourself away from your favorite political commentator
and that you separate yourself to make sure that the negative influence of this thing, this personality, this practice, this habit, this hobby that you have, is something that you stay free from. And so sobriety, biblically speaking, is not just about substance abuse. It's about anything that influences you that is not the Spirit of God. Be sober, number one. Number two is be reverent. Now, reverence is something we may have some grid for. The Greek word here means dignified, honorable, grave. Really, specifically, it expresses like a weighty or carrying deep respect. And I think reverence is, maybe it's a timely word for us. Let me talk to you about something I addressed with some of the parents, maybe close to a year ago now in the church, or I don't know, six months or so. You know, we talked about the fact that we involve our kids in worship and giving here at the altar. We do that really intentionally because I don't want our kids to grow up in a different church, a church they've never worshiped with, a church that they've never had fellowship with, and then, you know, they turn 18
and they suddenly get thrust into a church like they're no longer welcome in the church they grew up in. And I want them to learn what it means to worship God, not by watching some kid's pastor or worship leader, but by watching mom and dad. I want them to know that God's called us to give and it's a joy to do so. I want them to learn that from watching mom and dad, not from hearing it from their kid's pastor. And so we do this really intentionally because we're called to make disciples and not just to entertain people's kids. And so we involve our kids, but one of the things that I think is important, and if I'm really honest with you, probably lacking in our church, is the instruction that children need to be reverent in the house of God. Older men are to conduct themselves in a reverent way. Now, my sons are 14, 13, and eight right now. None of them are older men. However, they're not getting any younger. They're gonna be older men one day. And so part of my job is to instruct them in reverence, to teach them that there are people in this room that God is speaking to them deeply and you don't wanna be the thing that pulls them out of that conversation. There are people that have come into this room
to experience God. They need a miracle. They need a breakthrough. Their life is hanging on by a thread and maybe they're standing back there in a pew and you really wanna play tag with your buddy. This is not the time or the place to do that. I love that we invite our kids in here and that we give them the freedom to explore worship, to fellowship with each other. But it is really important that we teach the people in this church to be reverent. And where does it start? It starts with the men of the church. Our elders asked me, this would have been a couple of months ago, I guess it was while I was on sabbatical. Our elders asked me if they could get the men together at men's prayer and thoroughly rebuke them for not demonstrating reverence during pre-service prayer and then also demodeling reverence for the kids in the church. And so we have been going after the older men to teach them to be sober and reverent, specifically in the house of God, amen? Yeah, so older men are to be sober, reverent, temperate. Now, I've gotta be honest with you, I don't even know what that word means in English. So let's talk about it in Greek because it's actually a lot easier to understand.
The word, the Greek word that is translated there as temperate is a contraction of two different words. One word meaning saved and the other word meaning thinking. And so what it means to be temperate is to be saved thinking. It means that you've been. transformed, not just in the things you do, but in the things you think and the things you believe. To be sober is to be free from negative influences. To be reverent is to carry deep respect. To be temperate means that the way you think has been saved, it's been delivered, it's been redeemed to the glory of God. You are a self-controlled and redeemed person in mind, not in deed only. I think sometimes we feel like growing in God is learning to just deny our impulses and deny our wants and desires and just doing what God commands us to do. And while that is a part of the process at times, I think what spiritual maturity looks like is to actually have our desires and our impulses transformed so that now we desire to do what is right in God's eyes. We desire what is righteous and honorable to the Lord and admirable. And this is what it means to be temperate. It means to be saved thinking. Sober, reverent, temperate, and in sound, in faith, love, and patience.
That word there for sound just means healthy. Healthy in faith, in love, and in patience. This is the standard set in Scripture for older men. If we are going to build a church, we've gotta start by looking for older men who can demonstrate or model these attributes. We need them to be sober, to be reverent, to be temperate, and to be healthy. That is sound in their demonstration of faith, love, and patience. Faith, love, and patience. I think we know what those words mean. And so Paul starts though, and I think it's probably instructive for us that he starts by saying, Titus, start with the men. Not the boys, not the women. Now this isn't to leave women out, but man, I've seen too many ministries that are aimed at getting older women emotionally connected with what's happening in the service. And then they drag their husbands, and their husbands aren't interested, and there's no responsibility placed on their husbands. You can build whole ministries, people have done it for years, on just that. But the feminization of the church has left the church largely without a backbone. And so we need our men to lead. In fact, y'all, through the years, I have had some people that are very upset
about the fact that we do men's prayer every Sunday. And they say, well, what are you gonna do for women? We gotta have something for women. And I would say, well, what I do for women is men's prayer every Sunday. That's our gift to the women in the church is that week after week after week, I'm doing everything I can to hammer into your man that your household will go as deep as he will lead it. That your household will be as healthy as he will allow God to make him. Like this, we as men in the church have to take our responsibility seriously to be burden bearers, pillars in the house of the Lord, planted on the truth of his word and unwilling to move based on the pressure we may feel from the world inside of us, but the world outside of us or the world inside of us. And so let me say to the established men here at the altar, let it start with you. Let the instruction start with you. Like don't wait for your wife to repent to you before you repent to her, you start. Don't wait for your kids to grow in their faith and their passion for the Lord before you begin to follow. You set that example. Don't wait until your family wants to pray together until you start praying with them. You set the example, you set the standard.
You become the model of what it looks like to run passionately after God and let God show you what he's created for you to be when you blaze a trail for your family to walk behind you. So it starts with older men, but then it goes immediately. Paul shifts in verse three, and he says the older women likewise, that they be reverent in behavior, not slanderers. I like that he puts those things right next to each other. Why would he put those things right next to each other? Because Paul knows what I think is self-evident to any thoughtful person, that reverence and slander don't coexist. Listen, we've all been around the block long enough to know. There's a certain type of older woman, a certain type of, I guess, woman of any age, and I'm sure this doesn't apply to any of the ladies in the room, that their favorite pastime is slander. Oh, they love it. They're looking for something to trash somebody about so that they can go to the salon or they can get on Facebook and indirectly talk about some situation that they experienced thirdhand or they're taking on other people's offenses. Nobody did anything to them. They just, they want to talk about something that they saw from a distance and be upset about that and offended on someone else's behalf.
Like we're looking for slander and as a result, we are becoming irreverent people. Reverence and slander don't coexist. Reverence for God, reverence for God's word, reverence for God's people produces in us the willingness to speak words that bring life, that give honor, that are true. I'm not saying that if we're going to be reverent people that we have to be flatterers who give people empty compliments, not at all, but to say that we are going to be, that if we are going to be a healthy church, we need the older women in our church to demonstrate reverence and that reverence is going to take the form of refusing to engage in slander. Now, let me speak to this for just a minute. I think it's, so I have this theory, all right, this is me trying to work out God's order in creation. You'll pray for me here, all right. Here's my theory, okay? I think God has made women uniquely attuned to when things are wrong. Like, if you're a man, you'll sleep on an uncomfortable mattress for 10 years. Like, it doesn't matter if it's like, if it's, you know, if your air conditioner went out, you're like, I guess we'll just sweat all summer. Like, I don't, it doesn't matter to me.
I have no preferences. I'm not thinking about things going wrong at all. And it's because when you're, you know, when you're five, three, 110 pounds, like being too cold can be life-threatening, you know? Like, when you are a, when you're a small creature, it's like, you know, negative things can be way more dangerous to you than when you're a big sort of creature. And so it's, here's why I think it was necessary that God built women in this way. It's because men would have just lived, you know, under a tarp in Alaska and been like, we're fine. Like, I'll tough it out. I refuse to admit that this was a huge mistake coming here. But women will say, no, I think there's a better place for us. Like, maybe, I think we can do better than this, you know? And so it's like, it's a good thing. Children are able to survive because women are attuned to when things are off, right? And so it actually is a gift from God that women tend to be more sensitive to negative emotions. Now, that strength can turn into a weakness when a woman sees something wrong and allows it to drive her to slander instead of intercession. Like, women, if you see something wrong in the church, we need it. We need your voice.
We need your guidance, your input, your discernment, your judgment. These things are necessary. If this church is going to be all that God has called it to be, we don't need you to sit down and shut up. We need you to help gauge the temperature. We need you to pray like it matters because it matters a whole lot. We need you to share the heart of God with the people of God and to make sure that what God is building here doesn't turn into something fleshly or carnal or self-serving. But this is actually, I think, so beautiful. Paul continues here. He says, the older women, likewise, they be reverent in behavior, not slanderers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things. I wanna make sure that I take a minute to tap on that phrase. Teachers of good things. You have heard well-intentioned preachers oversimplify some of the truth of Scripture by saying women can't teach. But I'd like you to get this. Some of you are so caught up in the debate over whether women can be pastors or not that you have neglected the fact that not only does Scripture allow women to teach,
Scripture explicitly commands women to teach. Every one of you are called by God to teach and you have a congregation all around you. full of young women that need to hear the truth of God. Like this is what Paul is telling Titus. He is to instruct the church and he says, tell the old women to be, the older women to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers. Tell them to be teachers of good things. What are those good things? That they would begin to admonish the young women. This is what verse four says. That the older women would admonish the young women to love their husbands, to love their children. Look at verse five. To be discreet, chaste, homemakers, good, obedient to their own husbands that the word of God may be blaspheme. Guys, in Isaiah chapter six, Isaiah has an encounter with God and God is asking the question, who will I send and who will go for us? And Isaiah says, here am I, send me. And in that passage, God gives him a message for his people. And older women in the church, I want you to hear this. God has given you a message for his people. We see it here in Titus chapter two. What is that message? It's not, you should be a boss chick.
Buy you a pantsuit, get a blue check on your Instagram profile and like, start you a podcast. I'm not saying any of those things are wrong, but I am saying none of those things are God's highest calling for your life. God's highest and most sacred calling, and this ought to be the message from every older woman in the church to every younger woman in the church, is this. Love your husbands, love your children, be discreet, chaste, homemakers, who are good and obedient to their own husbands. That's the word. Why is this so critical for older women to teach younger women? You wanna know why? It's actually a part of the curse placed on Eve in the story of the fall in Genesis chapter three. God explains the dynamic of the relationship between Adam and Eve and how the fall of man would affect them. And he says that to Eve, he says, your husband will rule over you, but your desire will be for him. Meaning that, and I think every wife ever can relate to this reality, that your husband is supposed to be the head of your house, but gosh, he seems like an idiot sometimes. And you probably know better what to do often.
And so there's this tension where your desire is like, I should probably be the head. I should probably be the one making the decisions here. Like, I think I know what we ought to do in this situation. Can I tell you, and this is from now 20 years of ministry experience, and I can tell you this happens a lot. I don't know that I have seen anything absolutely blow a family out of the water more than when a woman takes the place of the head of a household. Because she thinks I'm gonna do a great job, and frankly, it's not even to say that the decisions that she's making aren't in the best interest of the family, but because she's doing something she's not made to do, she is unsatisfied in that role. Her husband is resentful because he knows he's supposed to be in that role. She resents him because he's not stepping into that role, and it tears their house apart. Often it moves them out of God's will and purpose and calling for their life entirely. And so there is this message that young women need to hear, not from their husbands, not even from their pastor. They need to hear it from older women in the church and say, listen, I know he seems dumb sometimes, but he loves you, and God has put him there because he's the man for the job. And sometimes the greatest gift for a young woman
is to hear an older woman say, it's gonna be okay. If you will trust him, God will make him into the man he needs to be to lead you well. Amen. And so, I love that one of the things young women are to strive to do is to be obedient to their own husbands. Like, instead of someone else's husband, you know? Which is, like it sounds funny, but the truth is, but the truth is, some of y'all are so eager to be obedient to Candace's husband, but you haven't listened to a word your own husband has said in years. You wanna hear it from the pastor, or the preacher, or the podcaster? You wanna hear it from anybody but that guy? Can I, let me tell you this. Nobody. body has been more gifted by God to serve you than your husband. I will never be able to hear the word of God for your family like your husband does. Now he may not know it yet. He may be early on in the process, but you know what? God will great will meet him with the grace to rise to the position that God has given him in your household. He will, he will. And so please don't defer to me. I can't be your husband. I'll be your pastor. I can't be your husband. I can't guide your household. I cannot be the head of your house. That's your husband's role. It's unique to you. And I think it's funny that Paul here in Titus was like, make sure these ladies are listening to their own husbands and not someone else's husband. Because it's really easy to look over there at that guy who looks from a distance, like he's got it all together. But ladies, I'm telling you, if you got into his house, like you would find out he's got all the same issues your husband does. You know, he snores and drools and, and, you know, when he's asleep and it's like he falls asleep when he's watching movies at the end of the day. And he sometimes makes questionable
financial purchases. You know, it's like my wife thinks I'm an idiot often too. It's, it's just, it's a universal experience. Ladies, give your husband grace. He's the man for the job. Amen. Come on, help Leah. Likewise, verse six. Oh, here, look at this. So Paul says to Titus that he should tell the older women to admonish younger women, to love their husbands, love their children, to be discreet, chaste, homemakers, good, obedient to their own husbands. Why? So that the word of God may not be blasphemed. Women, I want you to understand that our sense of the beauty of God's word depends in no small part on the way you give honor to your husband and to those around you. The way you interact with the people in this church can either rip this community apart or it can bring this community together. The word of God, the beauty of the word of God in this congregation actually depends in large part on the way that young women in this church conduct themselves. And the way the young women in this church conduct themselves depend in large part on the way the older women in this church invest into them. Are we together? Are we good? We're not going to have a feminist protest next week. Lord willing, as long as they come inside afterwards, they're welcome. That's awesome. All right, you can keep the verse up there. So I want you to see the next passage here. So he explains that the reason I'm giving these instructions to the older women to pour into the younger women is so that the word of God will not be blasphemed. Likewise, he says in verse six, exhort the young men to be sober minded in all things. Everybody say all things. Raise your hand. If you're a younger man, raise your hand. If you're younger than anyone, if you're a man who's younger than any other man in this room, it's everybody but Paul. Yeah. Or Leonard. I don't know. Maybe Leonard. I don't know. We got a couple, a couple experienced men in the church. I'm grateful. I'm grateful for. So, uh, this is, here's the thing. Exhort the young men to be sober minded. We talked about sobriety. That is to say that you are not negatively influenced from outside of, of the spirit of God, uh, in all things, not in some things, not in most things, not in only spiritual things, not in religious things, not in church things, but in all things showing yourself to be a pattern of good works. This is a question I've asked my 14 year old son a couple of times as he's been at the church. I think this is a word for all the young men in the church. If someone were to come to faith and start coming to this church and do exactly what you do here, would they grow
in their walk with God? If someone had never been to church a day in their life and they came to, uh, to this church, if they came to men's prayer with you and they did what you did and maybe everybody else is praying and you're scrolling on your phone, maybe it's time to worship and you're sitting in the back because you're just kind of uncomfortable and it's not time for that. Maybe it's time to listen to the message and you're drawing a picture in your notebook. Like would they grow in their faith if they modeled their walk after yours? This is what Paul is saying. Young men consistently ask yourself, if, am I blazing a trail that is worth following in all. things, show yourself to be a pattern of good works in doctrine, showing integrity, reverence, and incorruptibility. Now we've talked about the word reverence, but there's three words here in the new King James, but in Greek, there's only two. There's the word for reverence. We've talked about that. That is to be, you know, very serious, to, to carry yourself in a weighty and respectful, deeply respectful way. But this word here for integrity and incorruptibility is a, is an important word. It is a Greek word that means, very specifically, lacking the very capacity to decay or break down. So let your doctrine lack the capacity to decay or break down. What Paul is saying here to the young men, and I think this will bless you, is this, do not negotiate with the world. Do not mix God's truth with the world's lies. Stand his ground, grit your teeth, and declare, I will not be moved. That's the message to young men. Let your doctrine be incorruptible. Let it be immovable. When you find the truth, grab a hold of that truth, sink your teeth into it, and refuse to let it go. And then he says, young men ought to carry themselves, ought to demonstrate sound speech that cannot be condemned, that one who is an opponent may be ashamed, having nothing evil to say to you. I love, or nothing evil to say of you. I love this so much. What a beautiful standard. In the past, there was a, somebody that had some really serious, brought some really serious accusations against me, against this church actually as a whole. And they, you know, we're, we're talking about things they thought that we'd done wrong and what they thought that my intentions or my attitude were. And some of their objections were actually easily and demonstrably false. Like they were easily, it would have been easy to verify that what they were saying, and they were saying some of this publicly was just actually not true. And like, it was, if they would have asked, if they would have taken 30 seconds to ask literally anyone who
knew what they were talking about, they, they would have found out, oh, I was mistaken. Somebody told me something that was wrong. It was maybe half, you know, they half heard it. It was incorrect. And I, I said, I said to my wife, like, there's, there's consolation for me. There's comfort in knowing that if someone's going to hate what we do, they're going to have to lie about us to do it. Like, I'm thankful that the, the harshest accusations that have been brought against me have just been like straight up, not true. And it wasn't that, oh man, I made a mistake. And then I got exposed. It was like, I didn't even make that mistake. Like I'm getting exposed to something I didn't do. And I'm, I'm grateful for that. Like there's comfort young men in knowing that the accusation against you is false. Like people, not everybody's going to like you. Not everybody's going to agree with you, but what an amazing comfort in knowing that if an opponent, uh, that if an opponent rises against you, they will be ashamed because they will have nothing truly evil to say of you. They can say they disagree with your methods, but they cannot disagree with your heart. And I think that is a beautiful comfort for any young men who will see. And then he speaks to bond servants. He says, exhort bond servants. This would be like employees. This is not like chattel slavery. Like we are familiar with here in the States, a bond servant is someone that would, you know, to pay off a debt, they would commit themselves to work for somebody else for a certain period of time. So bond servants, uh, he says, exhort bond servants to be obedient to their own masters, to be well-pleasing in all things, not answering back, not pilfering, but showing all good fidelity or faithfulness that they may adorn. I love this, the doctrine of God, our savior, that they may adorn the doctrine of God, our savior in all things that word, uh, for, uh, adorn. I want to make sure that I say this right is, is the Greek word cosmo. It's where we get the word cosmetics. It literally means like your good conduct in the workplace, literally beautifies the doctrine of God. It is the thing that adorns it. It decorates the doctrine of God. Like we have doctrine, but when you see the way that doctrine beautifies a life, it inspires, it motivates, it transforms character. Suddenly the doctrine is not just about information. It demonstrates itself to be good and beautiful and worthy in the life of the person who adorns it with their good works. And so, you know, we might ask ourselves this morning, why does it matter to God that older men are sober, reverent, and healthy? Why does it matter in the church that older women be reverent and teach younger women to love their husbands and keep their homes? Well, why does it matter that young men be so reminded and incorruptible
in their doctrine? and bond servants beautify the gospel by their good works. Well, the very next verse is actually answer that question. And I'm wrapping up here, Lord willing. In Titus two, I'll start in verse 11. It explains, Paul explains why he's just given Titus all of this instruction. He says, this is why. For or because the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. In verse 12, it says, teaching us that denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously in godly lives. And if you have your Bible, I want you to underline these next four words, in this present age. I think many of you have heard teaching like, someday we'll die and we'll be free from sin. But I want you to know that the grace of God teaches us to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts and to live soberly and righteously in godly lives in this present age, not just in the age to come, but in this present age. The work of grace in our lives is not simply to punch our ticket into heaven, but to teach us how we were made to live on earth. So how then should we live? Well, according to Titus two here, we should live soberly, righteously in godly lives in this present age.
And we should do so, why? Look at verse 13, looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for himself his own special people, zealous for good works. His own special people, zealous. Understand, Jesus didn't just die so you wouldn't have to face the penalty of your bad works. He died to make you his own special people, zealous for good works. We have been made for righteousness. And by the blood of Jesus, we've been given grace to walk in righteousness in this present age. And then Paul ends in verse 15 by speaking back directly to Titus. And he says, Titus, speak these things, exhort and rebuke with all authority, let no one despise you. I'll tell you, as a pastor, if I ever figure out how to let no one despise me, I'll write a book on it and make millions of dollars. But here's where I have to come back again and again as the one with whom responsibility starts and ends at this church. I've got to speak these things. And I've got to exhort you to take these things to heart and apply them in your lives. And if we see this framework for a healthy,
multi-generational, dynamic church beginning to break down, it's my job to rebuke with all authority, to bring correction when correction is needed, to bring confrontation when confrontation is needed, and to remind you that you are not made to be a spectator who sits on the sideline of the work of the church. You are the church. And we can never be who we were called to be if all you ever do is watch. Older men and older women and younger women and younger men and everyone here that has a job, we've been called by God to glorify him by faithfully carrying his righteous standard into the world where he's placed us. And so I commission you, I commission you this morning into the work of the ministry. You are called, chosen, positioned, positioned and empowered by God to establish and to advance his kingdom, starting with your own home, but not ending there. We can't do this alone. What God's gonna do here is too big for this pulpit. It's too big for my little office. It's gonna take every one of us to say yes and to go with all our hearts into what God's laid before us, amen. Lord, we love you. Thank you for your work, God. Write it on our hearts. Continue to bring us conviction and correction and clarity
so that we can walk through our lives in a way that is pleasing and honoring to you. Lord, be glorified in this house and help what you have done here, the revelation, the breakthrough, the blessing, the healing and the hope you have brought. to our lives, God, give us grace to pass it on to the next generation in a way that they can take and run with for your glory. Lord, we bless you and honor you and we commit our lives, we commit our gifts, we commit our time, our energy, and we commit, God, the Altar Fellowship, this ministry to you again today. And we say, Lord, be glorified in all we do. In Jesus' name, amen. Amen. Amen. Hey, God bless.
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