You Are a Billboard for Jesus

the conference, my wife and I decided that we're going to go to the first Baylor game in Boulder. So two years ago, when Baylor was on the schedule to play at Colorado, we booked tickets and we went there with another couple friend here from Harris Creek. We just had an amazing time because Boulder's right there next to Rocky Mountain National Parks. We got there a couple of days early and explored Rocky Mountain National Park and they have something there that as a Texan, you might not be aware of. But as we're exploring the park, we heard of something that's called Fall. We got to experience it. The weather was a little bit cooler. The colors on the trees, they didn't just go from green to dead. They're like yellow and orange. It was amazing. We just had a blast going through the mountains and then we go grab some dinner on the way back and we just see this right next to a Starbucks. I'm like, this place is amazing. Colorado is so magical. I want to live here. This is awesome. Until the next day, because the next day was game day and I don't know if you remember that game, but Baylor was ahead until two seconds left. They threw a Hail Mary at the end. It was just so awful. But the game wasn't the only reason why I left Colorado with a bad taste of my mouth. It's because of the people. We went to Boulder that we were in our green and gold. We were walking around the stadium around campus. Early on that day, there was a couple that were eating brunch at a patio outside and we were walking by and they go, "Hey, come here, come here." So we walk over to them and this guy just goes, "Green and gold looks like garbage on you guys." And he didn't say garbage. So I'm like, my wife's right here. I'm like, "Should I fight him? What do I do? But I'm a pastor. What do I do? Is this going to be video tape? What do I do?" And after him, all throughout the day, it was like, Baylor stinks. We hope you lose. Go back to Waco again and again and again. Eventually, you just learned, don't look them in the eyes. Just ignore these people. Look down. Then I'm at the game. I go to the bathroom and I'm washing my hands. And this guy, who I think had one too many drinks, comes right up to me. He gets really close to my face and he goes, "You look like Rosie O'Donnell." I'm like, "Give me out of this place. These people are awful." So now, whenever I see Colorado playing on TV, I don't care who they're playing. I'm cheering for the other team. If my daughter ever grew up and said, "Dad, I want to go be a CU Buff. I want to go to school there." I'd say, "There's not a chance in the world. You're going to the University of Colorado." Why? Because of the people that I met there. I'm sure there's some nice people. I just didn't meet them. I just met all the mean ones. Because how people act can change the perception of whatever it is they represent for good or for bad. Because conversely, I've been to two Baylor games

in Norman. I've gone to see them play Oklahoma twice. The first time I was there, I went with my college buddies. We're walking through some tailgate sections. This guy leaves his tailgate. He starts running over towards us. I'm like, "Okay, let's go." It's going to happen. Instead, he reaches out, shakes all of our hands and says, "Hey, welcome to Norman. I'm so glad you came. Hope you have a great experience today." I'm like, "Is this a prank? What's going on?" But the rest of the day, both times I were there again and again and again. Welcome to Norman. Thanks for making the drive. Hope Baylor plays great today. Someone even starts talking to me and they eventually say, "Hey, can I go buy you something from the bookstore to commemorate your time here?" I politely declined because I'm not wearing that. I was so grateful for it. Now, if my daughter ever grew up and was like, "Hey, I'm interested in going to OU. I'd be like, boom, or sooner, baby. There's only one. Come on." And now, whenever they're on TV playing football, I don't know if they had a game yesterday, but let's say hypothetically they played yesterday. I would have been cheering for OU. Why? Because of the people. The people I met there changed my perspective of that whole university because how people act can change people's perception on what it is they represent. I start there today because you've got to understand that you are all representing something. I don't know what it is for you. Maybe you are representing Baylor. Maybe you're representing your law firm. Maybe you're representing Magnolia, the place where you work. We all represent something and people are watching you and based on how you act, it will change people's perception of that thing for better or for worse. But the text that we're going to be looking at today in the book of Titus, Paul is going to say, "You need to understand. You're not just representing a school or a workplace. You are representing the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords, Jesus Christ." And so, if people you to see what are you actually like are you lazy or do you have a work ethic do you gossip or do you use words of encouragement do you get drunk like everybody else or are you sober what are you actually like and you have the capacity to change the way people view Christ simply by who how you act so my question is how you doing if you are a billboard for Jesus what are people seeing in your life are you drawing them closer to him or away from him because how you act changes who you changes people's perception of who you represent that's what we're going to be looking at today is we're going verse by verse through the book of Titus just some reminders for these last couple of weeks week one JP taught on the qualifications for an elder if you want to be

in leadership within the church what should that person look like then last week John talked about a text that was rebuking false teaching within this church and today Paul is going to write to the entire church and say it really really matters how you act I want to make sure that it that you understand it really matters how you act not to be approved by God like we do not act a certain way we do not do good work so we are approved by God because as believers in Jesus we believe the gospel and the good news of the gospel is this that God so loved us that he sent his one and only son to live a perfect life and then he died upon the cross as a penalty and punishment for our sin and then three days later he rose again so we could be saved we're not saved because of our actions but his actions so we don't try to act well to be accepted by God we try to act well so that others might think well about our God so what do they think about our God based on how they are viewing you and how you're living your life that's what Paul's going to talk about today is we're going to look at five different groups of people within the church he's going to give instruction to five different groups of people and you will fit into one of these five because he's going going to address older men older women younger women younger men and then finally workers there's going to be something for all of us today we're going to be in Titus chapter two looking at verses one through ten and Paul writes saying this you however must teach what is appropriate to sound doctrine so remember last week it's a text about how there's false teaching within the church rebuke false teaching but you however must teach what is appropriate to sound doctrine teach the older men to be temperate worthy of respect self-control then sound in the faith and love and in endurance now you might be sitting there thinking okay where do I land am I an older man or a younger man I think here's the probably the most helpful way to think through it I think you probably land in this category is if you are an empty nester or if you are that age if you don't have kids but you are that age the kids are out of the home you you likely land in this category and Paul says hey instruct these men to be this way teach the older men to be temperate well what does that mean Paul's about to tell him to teach the older women to not get used to drinking so much wine that this is the exact same thing be temperate means be sober minded don't be used to drinking a bunch of beer and watching football that's not for you then he says be worthy of respect another way to translate that is be dignified what that means is don't be custom with your buddies on the golf course don't be telling crew jokes about women that's not dignified that's not worthy of respect then he says be self-controlled sound in the faith and in love now what's normal for

most older men not the older men here at Harris Creek but what's normal for most older men is they grow in age they do not grow in love most older men get more isolated more grumpy and lack purpose he's saying make sure that they grow in love and then maybe the most important thing he says teach them endurance make sure they endure till the end that they finish their life still faithfully following Jesus because it would be easy to get to this stage of your life and think man I've put in the work I've served my time I've done the work now's the time to kind of lay my foot off the gas but you need to understand there is no retirement I'm the great commission if you still got breath in your lungs your heart's beating in your chest you've got gifts to be used you've got people to disciple you have a kingdom to advance and this is point number one the first thing we need to learn is this older men don't check out from following Christ don't check out from following Christ this is not the time of your life to check out but to make sure you're still clocking in you see the world will tell you you got to work really really hard for about 40 or so years and then after that you get to golf golf golf golf golf golf golf You've earned it. Do whatever you want in this season. Older men, if that's your mindset in this season of my life, I'm going to do whatever I want. You need to understand that's how a child thinks. I'm just going to do what I want when I want it because I've earned it. So all of those things, golf, hunting, travel, man, they're great in moderation. But if that's all you're doing, you are training your brain to think what I want comes first. You are training yourself to be self-centered. You are training yourself to lack purpose. And if that's the way you view this season of your life, you will grow more isolated, more selfish, and ultimately more cynical. And what I've noticed is especially towards the next generation, older men tend to get older and think less and less and less of the next generation. In fact, here's a quote I just saw this week from an older man speaking about the next generation. He said this. "Young people are fickle in their desires. Their impulses are like sick people's attacks of hunger and thirst. They are hot tempered. They cannot bear being slighted and are indignant if they imagine themselves unfairly treated. They are contentious for the next generation, covet's preeminence. They love too much and hate too much. They think they know everything and are always quite sure about it. You might be sitting there thinking, "Well, that's true of Gen Z. It's just true of them." Here's the only issue. This was from Aristotle in 4th century BC. There's nothing new under the sun. Old men get older and think less and less of the next generation. It's not new for older men to think,

"Oh, this next generation is just lazy dumb and ruining everything." That's normal. Here at Harris Creek, we are going to put a rule in place and it's this. You are not allowed to complain about the next generation unless you're discipling the next generation because you might look at them and think they have no work ethic. You might look at them and think they're foolish. Maybe they have no work ethic because no one taught them how to have one. Maybe they're foolish because no one has taught them the Bible, so rather than sitting from the cheap seats and complaining, get your hands dirty and train them up in the way in which they should go. Now, many of you are doing this and doing this well. We have an amazing second half ministry here at Harris Creek. There's a lot of you doing this well. Let me tell you about one of them who really is. His name's Phil Oliver. On Thursday nights here at Harris Creek, we've got two ministries happening at the same time. On that side of the church, we have Reengage, which is our marriage ministry, and right here in this room we have the net, which is our young adult ministry. John Elmore, a staff member, was leading Reengage. Once that was over, he popped over to check out the net and as he walked through those doors, he saw that on the last row was a guy who had gray hair and he just had the thought, "Oh, no. I'm going to have to break the news to him that he's not a young adult anymore." He's graduated from this. This ministry really isn't for him. He knew who it was and it was Phil, so he had his number and he just shot him at this text. I want to show you their exchanges. I said this, "Hey, Phil, hope you're well. I'm up at Harris Creek for Reengage, popping in the net to see how it was going. I think I saw you on the back row. Are you there?" Zach asked me to come and help with the prayer time. It's amazingly fantastic. That's awesome. I thought you were maybe just a teddy. Thank you, brother. I was blown away by it, too. Then he said, "John, I easily see this group leading the way with amazing daily Christ encounters. Let's go." Compare that to the quote from Aristotle. Compare that to the grumpy old man complaining about the next generation. My question to you is, who do you want to be? Do you want to be the man who's sitting around complaining with cynicism or do you want to be the man saying, "I believe that God's on the move in this next generation. I believe that God wants them to lead the way. Who do you want to be?" Scripture has made it clear who you should be. Looking again at this text in Titus chapter 2, it says, "Encourage the older men to be sound in faith that you, older men, would be leading the way in believing that God is not yet done, believing that God can do still more, believing that God is on the move." We're looking to you.

Are you leading the way in that? Just one more story from Phil. He was serving this last Thursday night at the net and someone came forward for prayer and they were looking to place their faith in Jesus. Phil got to pray with them as they received Jesus for the very first time. And Zach, our young adult pastor, said that Phil left that conversation and bounded over to him. And Zach said he was more excited than if he had just hit a hole in one. Why? Because that's what you're made for. That's what that season of life is made for. Just like every other season of your life. So older men, don't check out but make sure you're still clocking in because we need you. He makes me love Jesus more. This is the first thing we need to understand from this text. And it's this older man, don't check out from following Christ. What does Paul say next? Verse three, "Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live. Not to be slanderers or addicted to too much wine, but to teach what is good." Now, what age is a older woman? I'm smart enough to not answer that question. I'm not going. I'm not going to. But I think it's similar to the other one. If you are an empty nester or if you are that age and don't have kids, if you're around that age, I think this is likely talking to you. And he says, instruct them to be reverent. Well, what does that mean? I love what it also could be translated as. The Greek word here really means that you'd live in a way that is suitable to a sacred office. You live in a way that is suitable to a sacred office. It just kind of makes me think of Queen Elizabeth.

Like she conducted herself with reverence and respect. She lived up to the office that she had. But for her, honestly, her office was, I think, rather silly. It's just a made up thing. Like she's the queen of England. She just was born into it. It's just kind of this man-made thing. But for you, older woman, you are a daughter of the king of kings. You're a daughter of the Lord of lords. Talk about a sacred office. Talk about an amazing role that you have been given. Are you living up to the sacred office that you have been given? Are you living with reverence? Or are you just sitting around drinking too much wine with the girly's? Are you sitting around drinking wine and slandering and gossiping as this verse says? But I want to point out something else in this text. It says, do not be a slanderer. That the Greek word here for slanderers is diabolos, which is where we get the word devils. So when you are gossiping and slandering others, you are doing the devil's work. So instead of older women and live with reverence and think, man, getting drunk is beneath me, gossiping and slandering is beneath me. I've got a sacred office. I want to live up to it.

So you want to live in that way, but then you also want to teach what is good. You want to pass it on to the next generation. This is point number two, second thing we need to understand, older women should live with reverence and teach what is good. Now, maybe you've noticed this, but we have an incredibly young church. Like our average age is like 20 years less than most other churches. And I would understand if you were in this age range, I would understand if you had gray hairs and you walked into church and realized there's not as many people as other churches that have gray hairs or no hairs here at Harris Creek. I would understand if you thought, man, maybe I don't belong here. Maybe I'm not wanted here as much as the college student. Maybe this place isn't for me. I want you to hear this loud and clear. In the world, the world will tell you that as you get older, you get less and less useful. In the church, as you get older, you get more and more and more useful. We need you here, the older generation. We want you here as you look around and see young people all around you. I hope you don't think, man, maybe I don't belong. I hope you think, oh, they need me here. Like I gotta stay here, they need my wisdom,

they need my insight, they need to see the faithfulness that God has shown me year after year, decade after decade. So if you are in this generation, make sure you're not checking out, but clocking in older women, we need you here to live with the reverence, show us what it's like, and then teach us what it's like. And many of you are doing this well. Let me tell you about one of them. Her name's Jan Wingfield, and she reached out to our college ministry, and she just said, man, I want to serve our college students here at Harris Creek, and I'll do anything. What do you need us to do? What do you need me to do? And they said, well, they meet in this room every single Tuesday night, and they said, well, we've got a pancake night coming up, we could use some help making pancakes. So she threw on her apron, and she got behind the griddle. It's like her and a bunch of junior boys and girls from Baylor, and she's slinging pancakes up here late on a Tuesday night. And it's amazing. I mean, these college students are watching her going, that's who I want to be. And she's not just making pancakes, but she's gotten involved in the ministry where she's now mentoring life group girls,

college life group girls, and she even has them over to her house on many Thursday nights over for dinner. So she's discipling them, and she doesn't just use her gift of baking and cooking and hospitality then, but she's also on our breakfast heroes team, which make breakfast for our tech team and band, people who get here way, way, way early in the morning on Sunday. She does a fantastic job, and then her and her sister serve every single, every other week out in the comments. that you look up to and you're like, "Man, I just wanna be like her when I grow up." So older women, we need you to live in that way. To live with reverence and respect for the office that you have been given and then to pass it down to next generations. And I know that at least for me, Jan Winfield is an amazing billboard for the gospel and she makes me love Jesus more. And this is the second thing we need to understand from this text is this, "Older women should live with reverence and teach what is good." These next verses are about young women and they are very counter-cultural. Like I said this, verse four. "Then the older women can urge the under women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled and pure,

to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands so that no one will malign the word of God." So just kind of taking it one by one, Paul says, "Hey, tell the older women to urge the younger women to love their husbands and children." So younger women, if you are married and with kids, you need to notice the order here 'cause the order matters. He says, "Teach them to love their husbands and children." Husbands come first for a reason because the best gifts, one of the best gifts you could give your kids is to love your husband well. Having a healthy marriage is one of the best gifts you could give your kids. So love your husbands, love your children. And then it also says in the middle, "To be busy at home." I wanna make sure you understand what it is saying and what it's not saying. It does not say you can't work outside the home. That doesn't say that in the text. In fact, Proverbs 31, you look at Phoebe, you look at Lydia, they worked outside the home, they worked in business and they did a great job. What I believe this is saying, what I do believe scripture is saying is your homework matters most. Like the work you do in your home matters most. How you are raising your kids matters most.

Your marriage matters most. So what does your home feel like? Like do your kids enjoy being there? Is it filled with peace or chaos? What does your home life feel like? 'Cause it matters most. Now I also wanna be clear, I believe scripture would say the same thing to men. That your work that you do at home matters most. How you are raising your kids and how you are loving your wife matters more than what you do in the workplace. So make sure you prioritize that. Now you might be a younger woman thinking, do I fit here if I'm single and I don't have any kids? Absolutely. I mean, look at some of the other words used here as a younger woman. Make sure that you are self-controlled and pure and kind. Like in this season of life, if you're not married and don't have kids, don't for a second think that this season is somehow wasted as your maybe just feels like at times, you're waiting around to get married or waiting to have kids. That is a lie. This season matters a lot because how you live in this season, look at the last phrase. You wanna live this way so that no one will malign the word

of God. That's a weighty task that's been given to you because younger women, you need to understand people are viewing you in the way in which you live your life. And if they know that you're a believer in Jesus, they're gonna be watching you to see, does she just read her Bible or does she actually live out her Bible? Does she do what the commands of God say? And if you follow God's commands, they're gonna watch your life. They're gonna see that you're filled with more peace, more patience, more purpose, and rather than maligning the word of God, they'll respect the word of God for how you follow the word of God. And this is point number three, third thing we need to understand, young women should faithfully follow the word of God. Now this text also says here that they should be subject to their husbands. Now it does not say they must obey their husbands and it does not say they should be subject to men. It says they should be subject or submissive to their husbands. We see this language elsewhere in Ephesians chapter five. Women are to be submissive to their husbands. Ephesians five also says that husbands are to lay their lives down for their wife. Now, one of the best ways I believe to know

if you are submitting to your husband well is based on your words. When you are speaking to and about your husband, does he hear you build him up or tear him down? When you're with your friends, do they leave respecting your husband more or thinking less of him? Are you building him up or tearing him down? This week, I was talking with my wife on Tuesday and I was just telling her I had a lot going on. I honestly was stressed out about this week. So I was teaching Thursday night at the net and then obviously teaching right now. So I had two sermons straight. I'm just like, man, I feel like I'm going back and forth my head. And I told her that Tuesday morning and then Tuesday she texted me this. I saw it later in the day, took a screenshot. She said this. Praying wisdom as you continue to think on and plan for your messages. Praying joy and delight in that your job is to bring people to Jesus. Praying clarity of mind as you write, so proud of you and honored to get to sit under your teaching. Like who else needs me to preach? I could do this. I'll preach a college that I'll speak to the second half ministry. Who else needs me?

Because my wife believes in me. She's proud to sit under my teaching. So if she wants to do that, man, I'll teach anywhere. Women, you have to understand your men will climb a mountain if you believe in them. If you're speaking words of life, speaking respect to them. Your husbands are so wanting respect from you. Are they getting it from you? Are you building him up or tearing him down? There's another young woman here who's doing a great job living this out. Her name's Becca Cameron. She's got four kids, so she's got a lot going on at home and yet she also serves here all over the place. She's one of our coordinators for our preschool ministry, which if you don't know, is one of the largest ministries we have here and as a preschool coordinator, that means she's running the hallway. She's making the kids are in the right classrooms, the volunteers are in the right classrooms, making sure that your kids are loving Jesus in church even from an early age. But she's not just discipling preschoolers, she's one of really, really the better deacons that we have and she's overseeing and investing in young families as well. And so this week on Monday I texted her and I just asked her, "Hey, do you mind if I use you in the sermon?" And she just said, "If you use me, just make sure that you tell them about all my flaws and failures as well." And I was like, "Well, I'm not going to do that, but I love your mindset where you're just like, I don't want to be elevated because she has a humble posture to her." And on Monday after I had texted her, I'd actually heard from my wife before I heard back from her and she just said, "Hey, Becca came over and she dropped off muffins and a gift for our three-year-old on her birthday." I was like, "How does she even know it's our kid's birthday?" But that's just who she is.

And I just know that at least for me, Becca is an amazing billboard for the gospel and she makes me love Jesus more. And this is point number three, third thing we need to understand is that young women should faithfully follow the Word of God. Paul continues by saying this, verse 6, "Similarly, encourage the young men to be self-controlled. In everything, set an example by doing what is good in your teaching show integrity, seriousness and soundness of speech that cannot be condemned, so that those who oppose you may be ashamed because they have nothing bad to say about us." Now verses 7 and 8 here are really just written for Titus, but verse 6 is really the instruction for all young men and it's as simple as this, instruct them to be self-controlled. Why? Because the defining characteristic of most young men is that they are not. They're driven by their desires, they're driven by their passions, and they do whatever they feel like. Young men, you must understand this, point number four, young men must be self-controlled. Just to give an example of how urgent this command is, there's a recent study that came out from the Institute of Family Studies and I want you to see the results. This Venn diagram shows what young men do on a daily basis. This is not regular use, this is not once a week, this is every single day they do this thing. So the numbers would be higher if they asked it differently, but here's what young men do on a daily basis, 66% of young men play video games every single day, 23% of young men gamble every single day. This is really the next great crisis of our time. If you watch commercials, look at the ads on your phone, it's just gambling, gambling, gambling, gambling. Why? Because young men are losing thousands of dollars on gambling and they can't stop. And then pornography, 27% are watching porn every single day. You put all of those together, get this, one out of every eight young men is playing video

games every day, gambling every day, and watching porn every day. Now this is not the moment when I yell at you young guys and say you're pathetic, you need to figure your life out. This I hope you hear this from me, I just want you to understand, this will not go well for you. You might be sitting there thinking, but I'm just a college student, I'm just a young adult, I'm just going to play video games, I'm going to gamble, I'm just going to watch porn, this is just what I'm going to do, and then I'll eventually grow my way out of it. Then you will get to your mid 30s looking around going, I'm still playing Call of Duty, I'm still on draft Kings, I'm still addicted to pornography, and you're going to be like, why is no girl interested in me? Because that's not interesting, they should not be interested in you. Now, young men, what you got to understand is if that's you, you cannot just think, okay, I'm just going to tell myself to stop, I'm just going to tell myself to stop. That's not going to work, here's what is going to work. When you see these things, it's actually helpful to understand that God created you specifically, like God created you for things. God created you for things that get your dopamine flowing. God created you for things that make you feel like you're on mission. The way to break these habits is to be consumed with a greater mission. It's to drop your made up fake Call of Duty mission and get involved in the mission of God. You have been given a command and a commissioning from God to go and make disciples, to go and be a holy man, a devoted man, a man who knows the Bible, loves scripture, who's investing in the next generation, and who is at war against the enemy. You are involved in a real fight and a real mission. Wake up to it. You see, Jesus did not say, pick up your controller and follow me.

He said, pick up your cross and follow me. So let's get going. Young men, get off the couch and get engaged. And it's also not just for young single men. You young married men, as well. We must learn to be self-control with the things that we do. And there's many of you who are doing a great job of this. Let me tell you about one of them, his name's Jordy Barksdale. And he was a member here for a long time. He actually just moved to Utah a couple of weeks ago. And he texted some people who were leading ministries that he was involved in. He just texted them by saying this, hey, guys, I'm leaving to go to Utah. It just feels very clear from God. And I just want to make sure that you heard from me. I'm sorry to do this over text, but your ministries will need to make adjustments. And Zachary Young, an old pastor, responded by saying this, it's pretty cool how big this group text is for ministry adjustments because seven staff members were in this. You know, a lot of times people leave and it's hard to even notice because you weren't as plugged in. He leaves and we've got seven different staff members going, what are we going to do? Because he served in production. Many Sundays he'd be behind that camera or he'd be holding a camera over here, but he didn't just do production. He was a deacon over seeing young adult life groups and he was also a college life group mentor and at his going away party, these college life group leaders who did not know him before they got connected, they stood up and they said, "Jordy has become my best friend." And I just was sitting there going, man, he's who we want our young men to be. And I know that for me, he's a tremendous billboard for the gospel. He makes me love Jesus more.

So young adult men. Now is the time of your life to live self controlled lives. And if you're looking around and going, "Man, I just want a girl to like me. I want a girl to be interested in me." It's very easy. Here's what you got to do. Don't watch porn. Don't gamble. Don't be addicted to video games and you will stand out like a sore thumb. People will be like, "He's amazing and you're really not. You're just better than everybody else." But to get there, it will take self control. How are you going to get self control? You've got a God who's given you the spirit of self control. So lean in to that. You're made for more. It's a point number four. Fourth thing you need to understand, young men must be self controlled. Finally, Paul's going to speak to slaves here. Now I want to be clear. This is not approval of slavery. This is him speaking into a situation that people found themselves in. He's not approving slavery. He's speaking into the situation. What do you do if you find yourself in this position? And really the most accurate way to translate that for us today is employees, to employers. Really anyone under authority. So that could be a student, to a teacher, that could be a player, to a coach. If you're under authority, I think these verses are for you. It says this, "Teach slaves to be subject to their masters and everything.

They're trying to please them, not to talk back to them and not to steal from them, but to show that they can be fully trusted so that in every way they will make the teaching about God our Savior attractive." That last line is so important to understand. That word, "Make the teaching about God our Savior attractive." That word "attractive" is where we get the word "cosmos." It's that feeling like you go out at night under the night sky, you see the stars, you see the Milky Way, and you are just in awe of the grandeur and the order and the majesty of it all. Like that feeling, when you look up at the cosmos, is the feeling that people should get as they look at your work, that they should look at the things you do and go, "Man, she brings tremendous order to the workplace. She brings greatness to this workplace. They should be in awe of the way in which you work so that you don't look attractive, but so that the teachings about God our Savior look attractive because you are representing Him in the way in which you work. So you should work hard and work with integrity." The text also says, "Do not steal from them." You might be sitting there thinking, "I'm not going to steal from my workplace. I'm not going to steal from my workplace." And yet, sometimes you collect a paycheck and half the time at work you spent scrolling Zillow or scrolling Facebook Marketplace. Are you getting paid for working hard? Are you working hard and with integrity? Because the way you work reflects who our God is. This is point number five. First, the thing we need to understand, workers should work to please their master. Because you're not just working for an earthly boss. You are working for your Lord who is your true master.

There's a lot of you doing that well here. Let me tell you about one of them. His name's Jared Almond. We had a staff member who went to go get dinner with his family at Hat Creek. And he walked in and the person behind the register just lit up, was just filled with joy, greeted them at the restaurant, took their order, was respectful and just looked like he really enjoyed getting to be there. So he took their order, they went to sit down and once they got their meal, he left where he was and checked up on this table, made sure that they had everything they needed and actually they had run out of catch up at Hat Creek. And so they told him and he said, "Thank you so much for telling me, "I'd love to get you what you need." So he goes back with joy, grabs the catch up, brings it back for them. And as they start to talk, they realize his name's Jared. He goes to Harris Creek and this staff member just said, "Hey, Jared, how long have you been the manager here?" And he said, "Oh, I'm not the manager. "I just worked behind the register." And yet, he had so much ownership of his job. He acted like he ran the whole place. He had so much joy in his job. People figured he must be getting paid a lot of money to do what he does, but that's not why.

He acted with tremendous ownership. He had a great work ethic. He worked with joy because he knew that his work mattered because he's working for the king. And if you're working for the king, all the work you do matters. Whether you're working at a fast food restaurant or whether you're a doctor, God sees what you do. So we must work hard and with integrity because our work ethic can make the teachings about our God and Savior attractive. And I know that, at least for me, Jared is a tremendous billboard for the gospel and he makes me love Jesus more. And these are the five things we need to learn from this text, it's this, point number one. Older men, don't check out from following Christ. Point number two, older women should live with reverence and teach what is good. Point number three, young women should faithfully follow the word of God. Point four, young men should be self-controlled and point five, workers should work to please their master. Well, I wanna end by showing you the best possible thing you could see on the highway and it's this. Yeah, I mean, the Bucky's billboards are just amazing. It's so good, it's like it's saying, Bucky's is so good, good. You gotta hold it.

Even if you gotta hold it for 1,092 miles, clean restrooms are coming. Beaver nuggets are coming. Briskets is on the way. If you can just make it there, like just get there. It's gonna be worth the wait. You see, the purpose of this billboard is not so that you'd pull over and take a selfie with it. The purpose of this billboard is not saying, "Hey, come here, hang out with me. "Look at me, look at me, look at me." No, the purpose of this billboard is saying, "Look, 1,000 miles ahead is where you wanna be." 500 miles ahead, you're gonna wanna be there. You're gonna wanna get there because that's where the good stuff is. That's where you're gonna wanna get to. The purpose of a billboard is not to say, "Hey, look at me, but rather make sure you make it there." You see, you gotta understand, if you're a believer in Jesus, you are a billboard for Jesus Christ. And the purpose of your life is not to live in such a way where you'd walk around going, "Look at me, look at me, "look at how successful I am, look at how kind I am, "look at how hard I work." But instead, look at him, look at him. He's the one who changed my life. I was lost, and he found me. I was dead, and he raised me.

I was blind, but he gave me sight. So I live this way, not because of who I am, but because he changed me. So don't be in awe of what I've done, be in awe of what he's doing through me. May we never ever live as a look at me, believer, but rather may we live with kindness, integrity, and self-control. May we live in such a way that as people view us, they say, "Man, tell me about your God." Tell me about Jesus, because the purpose of our life is to point to him, to represent him. So my question to you is, how are you doing? As you're representing God, are you drawing people away from him, or are you pointing people closer to him? Let me pray that we live in such a way that people would want to get to him today. Heavenly Father, thank you so much for the good news of the gospel. The gospel is we are not saved because of our works, but we are saved because of your finished work upon the cross, and we don't work hard, and work hard as a result of our salvation. That we wanna glorify you. We wanna thank you for everything that you've done in our life. And God, I pray that our life would reflect it. And God, I pray that every single member of Harris Creek would represent you well. That we would be your ambassadors on this earth,

and as people are watching us live, as we leave this place, I pray that we'd be filled with kindness and purity and self-control, I pray that we'd be so reminded, and I pray that as people see us, it would change the way they view you, that they'd be drawn into relationship with you because of how we act and that we would represent you in the way that you desire to be represented. Father, more than anything, we just wanna thank you and be grateful for you, because you've saved us from sin. You've saved us from death because of the fact that you sent Jesus to live, die, and rise again for us. And because of the fact that Jesus is alive and with us in force, we get to pray in His name, amen.