[0:00] Please join me in Titus chapter number 2. Did you catch that line, bring your children to the shoreline? Never saw that before. That was wonderful. Ben and Kristen will allow us. We'll sing that song all together before we leave.
[0:13] Don't worry, not just me and them, all of us together, all right? But a great truth, though, that the Word of God is a living water and bringing our children to the shoreline and letting them see it.
[0:23] That ought to be at the heart of every Christian dad in here. Because we don't spend much time in the book of Titus, we've been, if you're a guest with us, we've been going through the book of Luke for almost 100 sermons now, and we've been on the road to Emmaus, and we've been looking at the importance of all Scripture in our lives and how important it is for our growth and our defense of the gospel.
[0:46] And now we're going to look at it today. We're going to step out of Luke in the book of Titus, but we're going to see how important that the Word of God is and helping your kids develop a proper worldview.
[0:58] As dads and as moms and as children, as aged men, we have no aged women in here. We only have aged men, all right? And as young men and as young women, the four categories of Titus 2, we need to be people that know, love, and live the doctrines of God's Word.
[1:17] The book of Titus, Titus comes to know Christ. Paul says in chapter 1, verse 4, he says, My own son after a common faith. We don't know if Paul led Titus to the Lord, but they had a strong bond that was created through discipleship and that wonderful relationship that happens when you study the Word with somebody.
[1:36] As I mentioned, Miguel last week and Mary Angela getting engaged. I think about him and Brother John in our old building on Sunday morning, studying the foundations, our discipleship material together, as he translated it into Spanish, and that relationship that would get created when you study the Bible.
[1:55] And so Titus was somebody that was close to Paul, and he took him to the Jerusalem Council, where they were trying to figure out, What do we do with these Gentile people that have come to Christ? What are we going to lay upon them?
[2:07] And he made the case and says, We don't have to turn this man into being Jewish. He doesn't have to be circumcised, but he's going to live out the gospel in this way. And Titus was there for it.
[2:18] And that was a good day for Titus. But then around AD 50, or AD 60, they had a send-off service for Titus, much like we will do this coming Thursday for Kyle and Hannah, as we're sending them off to the country of Chile.
[2:31] Titus had a send-off, and they sent him to this island of Crete, this island of Crete. If you remember on Mother's Day, it talked about these were a group of people that were called slow bellies.
[2:43] They were a group of people that were just a very bad culture, a very anti-gospel culture that was there. And so that's where Titus is going to go.
[2:55] And what does he do? Same thing that Kyle will do, or same thing that anybody would send out from here. He's going to go establish churches, see people come to know Christ, organize them in the churches, equip godly men and women to live this out.
[3:09] So that's what Titus 1, chapter number 1 is about. It's about that sound doctrine that Titus is going to teach, how it's the bedrock of what's going to happen there as a church. But then at the end of chapter number 1, it talks about how there's a lot of false teaching that is happening there.
[3:25] A lot of people are not explaining the story of Christ appropriately. Many of them are just opposed to God, and it's just a lot of confusion.
[3:36] It wouldn't be difficult for you to imagine what it was like on that island of Crete. It's very similar into a world in which we live in right now, where many people would be opposed to the things of God.
[3:47] So as chapter number 1 ends, chapter number 2 starts with the word but, and it says, but speak thou the things which become sound doctrine. In reaction or as in response to this culture that we live in, we are going to do this.
[4:01] And chapter number 2 walks us through what it looks like. It's a great chapter that identifies a gender and age-specific ministry in the four categories that I gave you.
[4:12] Then chapter 3 talks about the influence we should have in this community and around. So simply, God tells Paul something to tell Timothy, and these are things that we should all know as we live out our Christian life.
[4:26] Because when the Bible speaks, God speaks. So let's listen to God speak from Titus chapter number 2, verses 1 through 8. But speak thou the things which become sound doctrine, that the aged men be sober, grave, temperate, sound in faith, and charity, and patience.
[4:42] The aged women likewise, that they be in behavior as we cometh holiness, not false accusers, not given the much wine, teachers of good things, that they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children, to be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed.
[5:01] Young men likewise exhort to be sober-minded, and all the things showing thyself a pattern of good works, and doctrines showing uncorruptness, gravity, sincerity, sound speech that cannot be condemned, that he that is of the contrary part may be ashamed, having no evil thing to say of you.
[5:19] Mother's Day we focused on the older women and the younger women. Today an emphasis on the older men and the younger men. That expression, the aged men. I jokingly said we may have aged men, but I wouldn't dare say we have any aged women in here.
[5:34] And looking at that expression that is said there, some would say that it would be men over the age of 60, or maybe it's men that have grown children, but there was an expectation that the church needed to have mature men in there.
[5:49] Many of us are somewhere between the two worlds. We're not aged men, but we're definitely not young men, all right? We don't feel like that's our description. And so along the way, there says every man in here, we should be looking at this description and saying, someday I'm going to be an aged man, and when I do, will this be true about me?
[6:08] They say with wisdom comes age, but sometimes age comes alone, meaning that you will grow older, but will you grow more mature? Will you be where you are today, years from now?
[6:19] And then it gives a description of these aged men, of what they should be. The first word, which is interesting, that is sober, it's listed in all four groups.
[6:30] And what all the people in the church should be, the first word that it gives is the word sober. And this isn't speaking specifically of not being drunk, which would be true, but it has to do with a seriousness about the way that you live out your faith.
[6:47] I tell this many times when I invite people to join us at church or talk to people. One of the things that I'm so very grateful for is that there's so many families that take their faith seriously, that it's a big deal.
[6:59] It's an important part of our lives. It's not just the garnish of some type of meal, that's something we do on occasion, but we are people that are sober, that we take this seriously. Grave, it means respectable.
[7:11] In another place of Philippians, that's translated as trustworthy, that they're a reliable group of people that are temperate, balanced, self-controlled. Being self-controlled, better yet said, being controlled by the Spirit, right?
[7:25] We don't want to be controlled by self, but we want to be controlled by the Spirit emotionally, a maturity where we are controlled by that. Then it says sound in faith.
[7:35] That speaks of a spiritual health, healthy in our faith, knowing God and knowing His Word, that we know the truths of God's Word, and then sound in charity, which means that we have a healthy relationship with other people and how we care for them.
[7:52] Are we selfish people? Can we look after other people? Are we at a place where we know that God has met our needs, that all we need, I'm indwelled by the Holy Spirit, I have God's Word, I need all that I have in life, and now I'm at a place where I can care for others and then sound in patience, patience, which isn't, as dads, you need a lot of patience.
[8:14] I needed a lot of patience. Stephanie's gone. She's in Mexico. She's not gone. Everybody, some of your eyes get really big. All right? Stephanie's gone to Mexico for this weekend, but it feels like she's been gone forever.
[8:25] She left on Wednesday, and she's down there with Jennifer and Joy and the Andersons and Blake and Bridget and then a bunch of other people that she has met, and so it requires patience when you're working with kids.
[8:40] The kids have had to have been patient with me. I've had to be patient with them. Selah's had to be patient as I forget to feed her. All right? Selah's like a little hummingbird. She needs a meal like every seven minutes, you know?
[8:51] I just need like one big meal a day, and that's all I think about all day is like one big meal. But we're not talking about that. We're talking about abiding under, not giving up in endurance, just the continually moving forward and knowing what's doing right.
[9:05] That doesn't happen when you're younger. You haven't had the opportunity to be sound tonight because you haven't been tested. But our church needs men that are in this area that when Titus, as the gospel is going forth in an area, and he is going to see a church started, he needs it to be preaching the gospel, chapter number one.
[9:23] But he says if we're going to be established where we really help people live counter-culturally to this world, we help people live in a way that glorifies God, this is going to have to be a team approach to it, and we're going to need some older men in here that show some seriousness about their faith, some temperance, some charity in all these areas.
[9:43] So I think every man in here would say, well, that is a great list. No objections. Sign me up. And when you put your T-shirt on today, you will be set for the rest of your life. All those characteristics will be part of you, and you just put it on.
[9:57] And we all wish that putting that on was as easy as putting on a T-shirt. But that is a description in which the Bible would speak about taking off and putting on.
[10:08] And so what is it we're going to put on? By nature, the dads in here, all of us, by nature, we love our children dearly, but we need the Scripture to learn how to love them wisely.
[10:21] We love our children dearly, but we need the Scriptures to help teach us how to love them wisely. You probably can think of it. I can think of it growing up, of people who had a love for their children.
[10:34] It wasn't that they weren't there, but they didn't love them with wisdom. They didn't love them according to the Bible. They only were able to throw things in their direction, or love in a way in which the way of the world would define what love is.
[10:46] But the Bible calls on us to love our children, yes, but there's a way in which we can do it wisely. So we're talking about doctrine. Kyle, we're talking about doctrine.
[10:57] Some of you men in here, how many of you, if I was to say Alan Iverson, would know who I'm talking about, in here, one of the great point guards of the NBA. He has a funny interview that he had, David, and on the interview, he's asked, they're asking him all these questions, and he gets tired of it, and he says, Practice?
[11:13] You're talking about practice? You're not talking about a game, but we're talking about practice? We ain't even talking about the game. We are talking about practice.
[11:24] He says that for like eight minutes, all right? He just can't believe that the reporter is talking to him about practice when he's one of the great players of the time, like, how are you talking to me about practice?
[11:37] Well, men, we're talking about doctrine. We're talking about sound doctrine, which is this. It's what we believe concerning God, that he teaches us in his word about himself, his will, and his way.
[11:51] Sound doctrine is what we believe concerning God, that he teaches in his word about himself, his will, and his ways. And we ought to talk about it, and we ought to talk about it often.
[12:04] We ought to talk about it here on a Sunday morning. We ought to talk about it around the coffee pot. We ought to talk about it when we're in the driveway. We ought to talk about it when we're getting together throughout the week.
[12:15] It ought to be part of our conversation when we speak about doctrine. The Bible not only teaches us doctrine, but there's constant reminders throughout it, like 2 Timothy 1, verse 13, where it says, Hold fast the form of sound words.
[12:32] Then it goes on to verse number 14 to say, That good thing which was committed unto thee, keep by the Holy Ghost which dwelleth in us. That good thing, that treasure that has been given to us, we ought to hold fast to it.
[12:48] We ought to love the doctrines. We ought to know the doctrines. We should live the doctrines. Could you say John 3, 16 with me together today?
[12:59] Okay, wait a second. Before we get into this, all right, I've already done this once today. Typically when we quote Bible verses, it's really scary and eerie, okay? Everybody acts like somebody just killed their dog, and now they're going to say a Bible verse, all right?
[13:11] This is John 3, 16, people, all right? Don't say this in a sad, monotone kind of voice, all right? Let's do this right, all right? John 3, 16. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
[13:31] That's it. Did you really think they needed it on the screen? Just in case. All right. So there's John 3, 16. So do you realize how many doctrines you have affirmed in saying that one verse?
[13:43] How many of you believe John 3, 16 to be true? All right. You believe it to be true. In saying John 3, 16, there's things that you have learned in Scripture that just make that such a wonderful verse.
[13:54] You believe that Christ is the only begotten Son of the Father, which affirms that you believe in the Trinity. In this verse, we believe in a substitutionary atonement of Christ.
[14:04] You believe in the importance of your faith. I asked the high school class, and they named nearly a dozen doctrines that we know are true, that we are affirming when we say something like John 3, 16.
[14:19] It's very important as we think about this. As we know the Scripture and we know the doctrines, it helps us understand and appreciate each of the verses in the way that we should.
[14:32] So why should you love sound doctrine in here? I'm going to go through a list of reasons here. One is you should love sound doctrine because God loves sound doctrine. Number two, you should love sound doctrine because it matures individuals and the church.
[14:46] We should love sound doctrine because it flows from the gospel. 1 Timothy 1, 11, according to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, which was committed to my trust. As we know the gospel, we learn the doctrines that are taught, the implications in your life that come from the gospel.
[15:05] The gospel is that Jesus lived a perfect life, He died a perfect death, and He rose perfectly in our place. That is the gospel. But there's implications of that truth that are now lived out in our lives.
[15:17] There's implications of that that are found throughout the Scriptures. We should love sound doctrine because it leads us into holiness. Titus 1, 1, and acknowledging of the truth which is after godliness.
[15:30] The acknowledging the truth and the doctrines leads us in this. We should love sound doctrine because it keeps us from false doctrine. We love sound doctrine because it keeps us from false doctrine.
[15:41] Scriptures would teach us that teaching or doctrine comes from one of three places. It comes from the devil. There's a doctrine of the devil. There's a doctrine of men. But there's a doctrine from God Himself.
[15:54] And so we love the doctrines of the Bible because it helps protect us and guard us from false doctrine. That was the emphasis last week. We should love sound doctrine because loving it is a love for Jesus Himself.
[16:07] Jesus is truth in the flesh. We love truth. We love our Lord. And then we should love sound doctrine because it leads to worship. Romans 11, 33.
[16:18] Oh, the depths of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God. How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out. It leads us to worship.
[16:30] Men in here, brothers in here, when somebody asks you, what are you into? What is your hobby? It's good to have hobbies. It's good to have those. But what I would encourage you, if you have a hobby or if you don't have a hobby, when people ask you what you're into, add this to the list at the top of your list.
[16:49] Say, I'm into sound doctrine. I'm into studying God's Word. Make it that. A couple weeks ago, I asked the teenager. I said, tell us something about you that you know a whole lot about that maybe somebody in here wouldn't know about you.
[17:01] And I learned that Broughton has like a seven-foot skateboard, all right? I just can't even, it's like a certain, like, did you say skateboard or like a surfboard, all right? And I found that every one of them, if I waited long enough, they could geek out on some topic that the rest of us didn't know much about.
[17:19] And they just study, and there's so much information available for them. Isaiah talked about recording and how he's going to turn to sister's rooms in the Studio B when they go off to college, all right?
[17:30] And he's expanding the enterprise that he has over there. But we all have those things. I want to plead with you to make the doctrines of God's Word the thing that you give your life to in studying and bring it up when people ask you, hey, what are you into?
[17:46] What are your hobbies? Well, I study God's Word. It's what I love. I want you to see here in teaching God's Word, on the road to Emmaus, we've got to know the Scriptures.
[17:57] It's going to help the people around us develop a proper worldview, which is important. So, helping those around us have a proper worldview is important, not so that we can win the next election.
[18:08] It's not important so that our lives are better and our neighbors stay on their side of the line and they don't invade ours. Not just so we don't see so much sin when we go out places that it disrupts our time with our family.
[18:19] All those are far secondary and third things. The reason that people, our kids, and everybody around us, we need to help develop a proper worldview is they need to know where Christ fits into the story.
[18:30] And there's an attack upon the story that how the world is being told. And so, the Word of God helps us with our children and all those we influence have a proper worldview.
[18:40] So, we've been going through this road to Emmaus and Jesus is walking with some disciples. But as He walks with them, He turns with them and He says, let me show you me. They don't know it's Jesus, but He says, I'm going to show you Jesus, myself, from the Scriptures.
[18:55] And as they walk, they realize where Jesus the Messiah fits into the story and it helps them see the big picture. It helps them understand the cross and the resurrection.
[19:05] But Paul is in a place and he's on another road headed into Athens. And in the book of Acts, you could turn there with me in Acts chapter number 17. When Paul is walking with these people, when he's dealing with these people, these were not like the disciples of Christ who had an understanding of the Old Testament that we're trying to see where the Messiah fit into it.
[19:27] These were people that had a view of multiple gods. This is what it says in Acts 17, 21 about them. It says, That's what they did.
[19:47] They sat around and they created and they told some new thing. But it wasn't based on the truth of God's Word. It was just creating some story.
[19:57] It was just creating some understanding of who God was or who He wasn't. And so they were pluralistic. They believed in many different gods, many different ways that you could get to God and to know Him.
[20:11] The Scripture provides the doctrine needed to help people have a proper worldview needed to understand the story of Christ. And so in this intellectual center of the ancient world, they prided themselves in diversity and openness and new ideas, always generating some new idea.
[20:29] Even to the point it says in chapter 17, verse 23, that they made this statue to just the unknown God. Which let's just celebrate that we can all be right.
[20:40] The only way you can be wrong is if you say that anybody else is wrong. So let's worship the unknown God. So as Paul is going to tell the same story of Christ that Jesus is telling through the Scriptures, he has a different starting point with his people.
[20:54] He has to establish a larger framework from Scripture to help his listeners grasp who Jesus is, giving them a larger context by summarizing the Scripture's storyline.
[21:05] So Paul says the Christian view up against the diverse false worldview of those in Athens. And then he will proclaim Christ, the only Lord and Savior, placing his identity and role within Scripture's worldview and story.
[21:20] I want to tell you specifically what I'm speaking about, if you're wondering. So first of all, he's going to talk to them. And he's going to say in verse number 24, God that made the world and all things therein.
[21:31] Paul is going to establish the identity of God as the Creator when he's speaking with those people. He's going to teach the doctrine of creation. He is going to teach that God is the Creator.
[21:45] Then he's going to go down to verse number 25 and he's going to say, Neither is he worshipped with any man's hands, that God is independent and self-sufficient. Everything we receive comes from him and he does not receive anything from us.
[21:58] Those two truths are going to be contrary to what the culture is teaching. But he is going to teach them to them that God made the world and all things in him. And God is independent and self-sufficient.
[22:10] We can't make anything with hands. He's not worshipped by men's hands. And then he's going to tell them, which is wonderful news, that God reveals himself so that we would know him.
[22:22] God isn't playing hard to get. Verse number 26. And he has made one blood all nations of men for to dwell on the face of the earth and has determined the times before appointed, the bounds of their inhabitation.
[22:34] And they should seek the Lord, if happily they might feel after him and find him, though he be not far from every one of us, that God has revealed himself to us.
[22:44] God is a creator. God is independent of us. He is holy. And he has revealed himself to us. And this is what he's revealed in verse 19. May know what this new doctrine whereof thou speakest, for thou bringest certain strange things to our ears.
[23:00] We would know, therefore, what these things mean. And it says, what certain strange things. Go back to verse number 19. And it says, saying, many know what this new doctrine whereof thou speakest is.
[23:15] When they were listening, they were like, what is this new thing that you're teaching, that there's a God that was a creator, that's independent of us, that he's revealed himself to us, and then he's going to go on and tell us that he died in our place, and that he's going to come back, and he's going to judge the world someday, and that Jesus is going to be that.
[23:34] And at the time, people said, where in the world did you come up with this? This is not anything that we have heard or we believe. We live in a world where raising children is not saturated in the scriptures like in the road to Emmaus.
[23:50] But we live in a world where people do not have a proper worldview of who God is. And if you don't teach them from God's word that there's a creator, they're not going to know that.
[24:00] If you don't teach them from God's word that he is holy and separate and independent of us, they're not going to know that. If you don't teach them that God is going to come back and judge this world someday, they're not going to know this.
[24:11] They may call this a new doctrine, but it's most certainly not. It's the teaching of God's word. And so that's what Paul does. He explains this worldview to them, and then he gets down to verse number 31, and he says, wherefore he has given assurance unto all men in that he has raised him from the dead.
[24:29] This big picture reveals a big Christ. Jesus is not one religious leader among many, but set within Scripture's own framework and teaching.
[24:40] Jesus is presented as the exclusive Lord, Savior, and Judge of the world. And so we're in a battle for the worldview of our kids. We're in the battle for the worldview of our country and this world.
[24:54] And the world is trying to indoctrinate them to believe that our story doesn't have a creator. And if it doesn't have a creator, then it doesn't have any sinners. And if it doesn't have any sinners, then it doesn't need a Savior.
[25:08] Before he could get to a point where he told them where Jesus fit into the storyline, he had to help them see what a biblical worldview was. One of the greatest problems that we're facing today as a church, our church, Vision Baptist Church, and as many churches in this country, is that the doctrines that we know and celebrate and we teach one another in the rooms inside of this building are never spoken about outside of this building.
[25:35] And there's a famine in the land for sound doctrine. They don't know what we know, love, and we have to live it. So first of all, we talk about knowing it.
[25:46] You need to know the Scriptures. It's going to help you. You need to know all the Scriptures and what it teaches as we tell the story of Christ. You need to know where Jesus Christ fits into a proper worldview and there's a fight.
[25:58] And that's why it matters. Why does it matter if people believe that God is a creator? Why do any of those things matter? Because it's a story of the Bible that we are to teach to other people. So first of all, if you need to know it, and secondly, in the third one, or much shorter than the first one, but it's this, love it.
[26:15] Verse number six. Young men likewise exhort to be sober-minded. In the same fashion as you saw the older men, likewise, you be serious-minded about your faith.
[26:31] That doesn't happen simply by just passing on information. The real test of us in here, I'm going to make myself an aged man here for a moment, all right? Somewhere in the mix between a young man and an aged man.
[26:42] And for us in here that are older, it doesn't take, you don't have to be very old at this church to be old, right? Most Sundays, I'm the oldest one who comes up here, all right? I'm a little bit older than Stephen, so I'm the oldest when he comes up here.
[26:54] And so an aged man here. The real test for us and the real challenge is not just to live out the doctrines in the way that are listed at the beginning of the chapter, but will we raise wise sons?
[27:08] Will they see in us something that will pass to the next generation? You can't just pass that in information. It has to be passed by the fact that we love it. What we love is going to be passed to the next generation.
[27:19] What is real to us is going to be passed to the next generation as teaching them. Titus 1.3 says, Preaching is the way God's word is made evident.
[27:37] It's manifested. Manifested doesn't mean it's made alive. It's that it's revealed, that it's seen, that it's alive. Yes, I hope that I'm preaching right now. Yes, I hope I'm explaining the scripture.
[27:48] But this place is not the only place where preaching happens, but it's one of them. And we should want our children to love it. We should want our children to love the teaching and preaching of God's word.
[27:59] And so we introduce it to them. We make sure that they're in church so they can hear it, but they don't just hear it at church. They're going to hear it going down the road. You're going to be listening to somebody else do it, or you're going to be doing it yourself. But they should be used to hearing the word of God manifested through the teaching of it.
[28:15] This is God's word. And so God's word changes our lives in all the ways that we need it changing. I love to celebrate the authority of God's word, the trustworthiness of his word, and the sufficiency of the scripture.
[28:29] But there's one way in which it's under-celebrated characteristic of scripture, and it's the efficacy. Which means simply the ability to accomplish what it is intended to accomplish.
[28:43] It is effective. We should love the word of God because it really makes a difference in this world. Here, let me give some images. I have a slide here for you when it speaks about it.
[28:54] We spoke today about living waters that was sung before. But let me give you three images that are here. Think of the image of the Bible that it speaks of here.
[29:04] It's like a sword in Hebrews. It is like a hammer in Jeremiah. It's like life-giving rain in Isaiah. In Mark, we talk about a seed that is planted in the soil of our hearts.
[29:16] That the word of God makes a difference in this world. And I know it's not easy, Dad. As I said, this week, I've been having to be a single dad.
[29:26] As Stephanie's away, and please come home, dear. I miss you so very much. All right? And I've been away from them. And you know what I have accomplished? There are no dishes. And there are no dirty clothes. But I also have no friends in my house either.
[29:38] All right? I had to trade that. I had to trade two of those things for the other one. And it's hard. It's a constant balancing act, right? Just when in one area you say, I really want to, oh, man.
[29:49] I came today and I'm just like, I haven't been focusing on this area and being a dad. I just, I need to do that. And then you run to that. And then when you run to that, you're like, oh, I've ignored this aspect of who I'm supposed to be.
[30:02] And there's just not enough to go around. And so we need something. I mean it. All right? We need something supernatural to help us. We need the Word of God in my life and the life of my kids.
[30:15] I am not enough for them. I don't know if you know that about you, if I haven't told you. As a pastor, there's nothing that I am enough for. I can only point you to the one who is all sufficient.
[30:27] I'm not enough for you. I'm not enough for my kids. I need something supernatural or I am completely without any hope. And so think of all the things that the Bible says God's Word can do for us.
[30:39] Romans 10, 17 tells us that it comes, faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word. It brings faith. Then it says being born again out of a corruptible seed in 1 Peter. It brings spiritual life. 1 Peter 2, 2. As newborn babes desire the sincere milk of the Word, we grow.
[30:53] It helps us grow. John 17, 17, sanctify them through that truth. Thy Word is truth. It sanctifies us. Hebrews 4 tells us it searches and it convicts us. It sets us free in John chapter number 8.
[31:06] It liberates us. Psalm 119 reminds us that it refreshes us and it renews us. It revives our soul and it rejoices our heart. In Psalm 19, verse 7, the Word of God is effective and so we should love it.
[31:19] It's not, it's living. And so doctrine is God's teaching. We don't just know it, but we love it. I'm going to read a story. I thought about paraphrasing, but the story just hit me between the eyes and I believe that it would help so many of us in here as we consider this.
[31:34] This is a man speaking about his son. He said, I had to apologize to my son recently. We were on our way to church one Sunday and he said, Dad, I think I know all the Bible stories now.
[31:44] And he said, really? I said, all of them? Just about, he said. He replied, I know all the songs we sing in church too. That should make it easier for you to sing along, I said. I don't know why we keep going over the same stories and singing the same songs.
[31:59] Don't they think we've got it down by now? I mulled over the conversation the rest of the day. We discussed it over lunch. Meanwhile, I was wondering if the fact that our son is in a Christian home, Christian school, and a good Bible teaching church has somehow overexposed him to the scriptures.
[32:17] He's a nine-year-old with lots of Bible knowledge and entire chapters of the Bible memorized. And then it hit me. For months, maybe years, I've conditioned him to think that attending a worship service is all about learning.
[32:30] From our Saturday night prayers, where I would say, be with us tomorrow, Lord, as we go to church and learn about you. To after church conversations, where I would ask, what did you learn in Sunday school today?
[32:40] Our way of talking about church is predominantly educational. No wonder he thought he would move on. If church is school, then eventually you graduate.
[32:51] Right? So that night, as I tucked him in the bed, I apologized for not being clear on the reason we gather with other believers. It's not about learning, I told him. It's about worship.
[33:02] The learning is connected to our worship. This is where we're talking about not just knowing the doctrines. It's about loving them. Is this why we sing the same songs, he asked?
[33:13] Yes. It's easy for people to sing. They can concentrate on what they're singing instead of struggling to learn a new song. Do you know how you like it when all the instruments fade away and you can hear everyone in the church singing the same song as loud as they can?
[33:27] All of our voices harmonizing. That's not about learning. It's about worship. All of us together, worshiping God for how awesome he is. The son said, we did David and Goliath today.
[33:38] He said, I already knew all about it. And the teacher left out the best part. What's the best part, men? When David used a glass sword to cut his head off. All right, that's the best part. Yes, that's pretty cool.
[33:49] I told him, and you already know the story of David and Goliath at the point of hearing my story again. And again, it's not so that you learn more facts about the story. It's that you're amazed again at God using a little guy like David to do something big for him.
[34:01] That's the way God is. That's why we sing songs like how great is our God in church and glorious and mighty and we're worshiping him for what he has done. I like those songs. Me too. And next time we sing them, think about the story of David and Goliath and how powerful our God is.
[34:16] So the son said, so it's not just about learning. The dad's response was, nope. The church isn't a class you go to, son. It's a people you belong to.
[34:26] It's about worship. And I'm sorry, son, if I've made you think otherwise. We should love the scriptures. Not just passing information. But we ought to be loving them.
[34:38] And we gather here to worship. We came here today not just to receive information, but to worship. The Bible doesn't tell you to follow along in your syllabus and if you miss any services, make up your homework before we see you next week.
[34:50] And we could just share information. We could just give a handout. You could just come through the portico. You could pick out the information that we're going to give you today and we could hand it to you. But how does the Bible speak about it when we assemble?
[35:01] In Hebrews it says, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together as the manner of some, but exhorting one another. And so much the more as you see the day approaching. Something happens when we gather together around God's Word.
[35:15] It calls us assembling together and we worship. And it says that you have an active role in exhorting one another. So I sincerely tell you, thank you for joining us today because we all have an active role as we gather to worship.
[35:30] We didn't just come here to transfer information from one group of people to another. Learning is important. It's connected to worship. But we came here to worship. And lastly, and briefly, we should live it.
[35:43] Which is a natural response. You can't love it if you don't know it. But if you know it, you will love it. And if you love it, it's going to flow out of your life. Verse 6. Young men likewise exhort to be sober.
[35:55] And all things showing thyself a pattern of good works. And doctrine showing uncorruptness. We could look at each one of those expressions. We might possibly spend more time in Titus on the island of Crete this fall.
[36:06] But right now, I just want you to look at one statement. In doctrine showing uncorruptness. It speaks about a sincerity. When it comes to teaching, you live without corruption. You live sincerely.
[36:18] We must know the word of God. And we must live according to it. That's integrity. Old men, young men, old women, young women. Know this and live in this way.
[36:29] And the result of it is the same that we saw earlier with the ladies on Mother's Day. That sound doctrine leads to action. Verse 10. Not prolonging, but showing all good fidelity. That they may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior in all things.
[36:45] We demonstrate a beauty of a saving God by showing saved lives. Sinners have to see a transforming power of Christ's presence. Not in some clever technique or some kind of event or program, but seeing it in somebody's life.
[37:01] And so, Dad, here's a response to you. Ladies in here, I trust you can make application as well. But I want to speak specifically to the dads. It's so very important to me that this church, as Titus would have to have churches, that would have this mature group of men in it.
[37:15] We need mature men in here that live this. Let me give you four things. I'm going to put it on the screen to help you. Remember, I want to speak specifically to you today, dads. First off, live soberly.
[37:27] Every group in this church is called to live soberly. Our families need us to lead the way and have a proper reverence to God's Word. It's wonderful that our kids are serious about their faith.
[37:39] It's wonderful that the teenagers are involved in everything else. But we're not going to last a generation. And we're not going to pass it on to the next one if the teenagers of this church are leading. And it's our place given to us.
[37:51] It was given to us to lead in this example. Be serious about your faith. Christianity and your faith should not be a Sunday morning only event.
[38:02] It ought to be describing your life. Live soberly. Number two, know the doctrines of God's Word. With wisdom come age, but sometimes age comes alone.
[38:13] If you're still living, it's not too late for you to go deeper in Scriptures. Know the doctrines of God's Word. In the time in which we live in, has there ever been another group that had more available to them?
[38:26] Where you can listen and study and work? I mean, I'm excited. We're about to drive to Kentucky. I'm going to go to church with my stepdad that I call the professor. Because he's decided he wants to teach through the entire Bible.
[38:37] And with the rest of the days that he has. And he's just recently become an adult Bible teacher. And I'm going to be able to listen to all kinds of people teach about God's Word. It's available to me.
[38:48] Know the doctrines of God's Word. Number three, love the Scriptures. Love the Scriptures. Zach, you remember we went and heard John Lennox. He's a famed mathematician, teaches at Oxford.
[39:01] Me and Zach sound smart that we go and hang with him. I think you were there too, David and some others. We heard him teach at artificial intelligence. Just so they get a full picture. David was there as well, all right? And so we went there and John Lennox was talking about his dad.
[39:14] And it was awesome. The guy was brilliant. But he said this about his dad. He said, the last thing I would ever consider was that Christianity was boring.
[39:25] The last thing I would have ever considered was that Christianity was boring. Because he had a dad that was turning the pages. He had a dad that was just studying and talking and looking for it.
[39:37] And his dad was not somebody who had taken the Bible and just set it on the shelf that wasn't interested. His dad was a person that loved the Word. It made a difference to the next generation. And then lastly here, recognize that the way we live is a reflection of what we believe.
[39:54] Recognize that the way we live is a reflection of what we believe. A.W. Tozer said it well when he says, What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.
[40:06] What comes into our minds when we think about God. What you think about God is the doctrines of Scripture. That's the most important thing about you. It's not a side item, man.
[40:18] It's the most important thing that you're doing as a husband or as a dad or as an employee or anything in your life. What you think about God is the most important thing about you.
[40:30] Let's pray together. Heavenly Father, I thank you for the challenge of your Word, the example given. Lord, how we can relate with this group of people on this island of Crete. And Father, I pray that you will help us as believing men in here respond today in a way that would bring you honor and it would bring you glory.
[40:51] As you continue to pray, believers in your seat and piano begins to play. I want to speak to those in here that are believing men and women, young and old. That quote by Tozer goes on to say this.
[41:02] We tend by a secret law of the soul to move toward our mental image of God. That is true not only of the individual Christian, but of the company of Christians that composes the church.
[41:17] Always the most revealing thing about the church is her idea of God. Brothers, sisters, are you pursuing knowing God from scriptures?
[41:30] Do you know it? Do you love it? And are you living it? As believers in here, you need to answer that question today. Respond to God's Word and move forward.
[41:41] I speak to you in here today. And you're not a believing person. You haven't yet put your faith and trust in God. Maybe a friend's been sharing this story with you. Maybe you have a worldview that's opposed to the things of scripture.
[41:54] And you see that you've come to a point of decision. Either believe what the Bible says. And if the Bible's true, then all those other things are true. Or it's not true. I want you to know that the Bible teaches that the beginning of knowledge is a fear of God.
[42:08] There is a God and He is the Creator. He knows you and He loves you. And then one day you will stand before His Son, who is the judge, and you will give an answer.
[42:20] Has your sins been paid for by Jesus Christ on the cross? Or will you spend eternity separated from God? So if I'm you today, I'm going to pray something like this.
[42:31] Father, though I've rejected the story of the Bible all these years, today I recognize that Jesus is the hero of the story. I recognize that I do need a Savior. That God is the Creator.
[42:42] And I put my faith and trust in you today. If you prayed something like that, I encourage you to go by the Next Steps table, get some resources, and talk to somebody today about that.
[42:53] As I close today, I'm going to pray. Men, we have a big job before us. And it's to help teach a proper worldview from scriptures. And that's going to happen if we know, love, and we live out the doctrines.
[43:06] Nothing else will be a substitute. Nobody else can do it for our family. But we should be present and involved. We're not perfect, but we can be there. And today I would encourage you with me to renew your commitment to the Word of God and teaching it and living it out to those in your family.
[43:24] Heavenly Father, I thank you for the men in here and the decisions that are being made. And as a church, I pray that we will always provide what's needed to help people live out their decisions.
[43:34] But I pray that on an individual basis right now, that men are making a decision, that they are going to be sober-minded. They're going to be serious about their faith. And they're going to love it.
[43:45] And they're going to live it out. And Lord, may you help us pass from this generation to the next. No matter how much the culture changes, Lord, may there be a group of people that stay here and that gather here at Vision Baptist Church that are fully committed to sound doctrine.
[44:01] In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.