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Lighthouse Baptist Church
Proper Character
(upbeat music) - Thank you for listening to this message. Brought to you by the audio ministry of Lighthouse Baptist Church. It's connected in New York. For more great content, please visit us at lighthousebaptist.org. Now let's open our hearts and minds to the word of God. - As we gather, I wanna say thank you as well to everyone that was a part of Arctic Blast. That was fun. I had a blast. It did take me about three days to recover from my slip and slide for volatility, I guess you could say. But my job other than that was to kinda get kids wet. I took that upon myself most willingly. So I had the hose and I was spraying kids the entire time blast. It was really fun. And so next year, be a part of Arctic Blast. If you weren't this year, it was a great time. Many kids, actually, I talked to one kid, one young man, who was very interested in the gospel. It wasn't quite ready, but we praying for his heart. There were several other kids that expressed that they were interested in the gospel. Every time I tried to talk to 'em, they said they weren't quite ready yet. But just be praying for the seeds that were planted this past week at Arctic Blast. How many did you since say that you'll do that? When you do that? Of course, our goal was to share the gospel. We did it, and there were several kids that said, "Hey, I don't know if I'm headed to heaven." And so we need to continue to pray for them that that seed will remain, and that someone else will come alongside and water it. Maybe we'll have that chance, and then that fruit will remain. All right, we're in Titus chapter two this morning. Titus chapter two. As we continue our series, Titus, proper protocols. Titus chapter two is a great, great passage. In a passage, I want us all to really examine. How many of you would say I identify with an older crowd maybe? Would you say that? I'm not gonna say you're old, but how many of you say you identify with maybe an older generation? You're not the little kids that just left. I'm not trying to be mean. You did it to yourselves, okay? So this morning, the passage we're gonna talk about is really the relationship that us older saints are to have with the younger. And if you are older than one of the children that left, okay, you are an older saint. And so I'd encourage you to take this message to heart, live out its truths, and then teach it to others. That is the goal of what happens here in Titus. Let's all stand. We're gonna read eight verses here in Titus chapter two. I'm gonna open up with a word of prayer, and then we're gonna dive into this passage. And I encourage you while I pray, while we read these verses, that you'll spray and ask God to let it sink into your heart. We're not just here to hear a message, right? We want our hearts to be changed. And so let's go ahead and read to this passage, Titus chapter two, verses one through eight. It says this, "But speak thou the things which become "sound doctrine." Of course, in Titus one, towards the end, is talking about a lot of false doctrine and different things. But let's continue on that the age men be sober, grave, temperate, sound in faith, in charity, in patience. The age of women, likewise, that they be in behavior has become as holiness, not false accusers, not given to 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. Young men, likewise, exhort to be sober minded. In all things, showing thyself a pattern of good works. In doctrine, 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. Powerful passage, isn't it? And I think, if we're already thinking, man, there's some things we need to be applying already, right? We've been reading the verses. And so we'll break it down, and we'll talk about some of these terms this morning as well. But let's open up with a word of prayer. Heavenly Father, what we are so grateful for your word, what we're thankful for this past week, that we have the chance to share the gospel with our community. What I ask of that as those seeds were planted, or that it would remain infertile ground, where the devil wouldn't come and snare it away, that, Lord, that there wouldn't be any weeds or stones that would cause it to not grow. But what I ask of that we would even have opportunities to reach those young people with the gospel. Well, there are many that raise their hands and said that they didn't know. Lord, I ask of that you would continue to work in their hearts. Lord, help us this morning as well. Well, to apply this truth, the truth that we find in this passage to our lives. But help us to not just come and just hear a message and then leave and say, okay, I did my part. But help us to really apply its truths to our lives. And we're so grateful for everything that you've done and everything that you're going to do. We pray this all in the wonderful, precious, holy name of our Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen, thank you, you may be seated. So I've already kind of broken the ice. If I look at you, I'm not calling you an aged man or an aged woman, okay? I have to look somewhere. I can't just stare at the screen. That would be weird, okay? So don't take offense. Don't go home and go, wow, pastor called me old. I didn't, okay? You may be calling yourself old, okay? Don't be like the little young man that's like, hey, I wasn't even talking about him, okay? And so don't take offense as we talk about the aged men, the aged women, if you wanna identify as a young man, young woman, that's between you and God, okay? But we're gonna talk about this passage here and really define some of the terms. 'Cause some of the terms we need to know, right? If we're to live this way, we need to know what the terms really mean. So we're gonna talk about that this morning. So point number one, if you're taking notes, it should be pretty self-explanatory. It's the aged men, okay? The aged men, so aged men. Point number one, if you're taking notes, it should be pretty easy to kinda do this this morning. The aged men, where do we find them? Where do we find them in verses one and two? But speak now the things which become sound doctrine, that the aged men be sober, grave, temperate, sound and faith and charity, named patients. The word sober has this idea, okay? So letter A under aged men. We're just gonna take some of the characteristics. We're gonna define them. We'll look at other passages as well, so kinda keep that in mind. Sober has this idea to be vigilant, okay? To be vigilant. And we'll look at a passage later because sober is one that kind of permeates through all the different age groups, that we are to be sober, we are to be vigilant. So here's what I wanna kind of point at here. Don't fall asleep on your responsibilities. I want you to make it very clear that all of us, no matter what age you are, we have certain responsibilities that God wants us to do. One of those, of course, is to share the gospel. It is a responsibility. It is something that we are to do. And I'm so grateful that ever since we started Outreach here at Lighthouse, we have had great turnouts. It's been awesome. This past Saturday was probably our lowest day, but I get it, everybody was tired. Okay, I was tired. I almost forgot. Sharon McDonald texted me and she's like, "Hey, I won't be able to make it to Outreach." And I'm like, "Oh, Outreach, oh man, I had to get changed." I was like, "Bye, by honey." And I took out, ran out of the house. I get it, okay? But here's the thing, we have a responsibility to share the gospel. Here in a couple of weeks, we're gonna have Josh Smith. He is the guy that's printing our big map. He's gonna be here with us. He's gonna present something that's called Freshlook Bible. It's a way to look at the Bible a little differently. But we're gonna have, it's gonna be like six foot eight by six foot nine or something along that a huge map of our area. The goal is for us to be burdened with our community, to be burdened for our community, to share the gospel with our community. We have certain responsibilities and we need to be vigilant. We need to be sober minded. Don't lose sight also of the importance of your walk with God. For us who are aged, I'm feeling aged tonight, this morning, whatever it is, because of that tarp. I'm staring at it, it's dirty, it's filthy, but that tarp made me feel very aged. Don't forget about the importance of your walk with God. If I am to teach the younger, which we are, all of us are called to do that and we see this in this passage very clearly, we have to understand that there is an importance of my personal walk with God. I've got to be living the way that God wants me to live. Don't just do your responsibilities, live your life right. Of course, this is geared towards the aged men, but sober really is something that it permeates and you'll see it, it permeates all the different age groups. So don't fall asleep on your responsibilities, don't lose sight of the importance of your personal walk with God. The next characteristic that we see here in verse number two, that the aged men be sober, grave, it means us to be serious. I am all for having fun. Okay, if you would have seen me this past week, I had a blast. Okay, I was yelling like a maniac, Darryl's shaking his head, he saw me, he saw me do it. I was yelling like a maniac, I was having fun, I got involved, I fell on the tarp, I had fun, but there's certain times when we need to put aside the silliness and we need to be serious. So when it comes to the things of God, we need to understand that it's okay to have fun, but there's other times where we need to be serious. Because what, the word of God is that important. We need to be serious. What's the next one? Sound in faith, and really it's sound in faith and charity and patience. Sound, you know what sound means? It means this to be consistent, to live consistently, to be sound in faith. What you claim should also be lived out. Be consistent, you know something, the younger generation is watching you. They're watching you to see how your faith really lives out. Well, okay, I come to church, great, but they also see in the community. They see you when you get in your flesh, oh boy. They see you when you shouldn't have responded that way, but yet you did because you were tired or you were impatient or because maybe you were sore from jumping on the tarp 28 times. Whatever it is, be sound in faith, be consistent in your faith. Be consistent in charity. Of course, this speaks of love. God's love, be consistent in your love. By the way, biblical love does not condone sin. Wanna make that very clear? Biblical love does not go la, la, la, la, la nothing happened. No, biblical love will call out error, will call out untruth, will do what we did this morning and say, okay, what happened was wrong, but we can also share the truth in love. The pastor I used to serve under always said this, God never calls us to be jerks for Jesus. Isn't that a good quote? Because sometimes we're like, well, I'm gonna stand for what is right and what happens is we end up being jerks. You know what that does? That causes the people that are hearing you to not listen. God doesn't call us to be jerks for Jesus. Sound consistent in faith, in charity. Oh man, what's the last one? Uh-oh, I can't say it. Patience, patience, you know how patience happens? The trying of your faith. This past week, my faith was tried at times. Anybody else, anybody else that served? Okay, yeah, my faith was tried a few times. I developed patience, okay? Patience, consistent in your patience, in your, another biblical term, long suffering. I like long suffering, 'cause you know what I mean? To suffer for a long period of time. Develops patience, right? Consistent in your faith, in your charity, in your love, in patience. That is for the aged men. That is for all of you who claim to be old. I won't say who it is. I'm not doing it. I'm not walking down that rabbit trail. This one, particularly point number two, the aged women. I ain't touching this with a 10-foot pole. You claim this if you want it, if you don't, I'm not saying anything, okay? I can call it the guys who are aged. I'm not doing it for the ladies. Okay, the aged women, verse number three of Titus two. The aged women likewise, that they be in behavior as we come with holiness, and not false accusers nor given to much wine, teachers of good things. Man, that's powerful, isn't it? So they're behavior. How are they supposed to live? As it becomes holiness. Go to first Peter chapter one. First Peter chapter one. First Peter chapter one this morning. We see an awesome passage here in first Peter chapter one that I want us to get 'cause Peter is super clear on what he expects from us and how we're supposed to live. And sometimes we go, well, that doesn't really call me to that anymore. No, he does. First Peter one, 16. Because it is written, you're still going. Oh, I'll wait, I'll wait, you're still going. First Peter one, verse number 16. Because it is written, be holy for I am holy. You know what that means? We are to be holy as our God is holy. That's what that verse is talking about. Now, I want you to understand, you'll never be completely holy on this earth. We still sin, we still fall. But I want you to understand this. When we think of holiness, it really has two different parts, okay? Holiness, a simple definition of holiness is to be set apart, okay? To be set apart. The first part is to be set apart from the world, okay? Your behavior should be different than the worlds, okay? You should be different. And I think I've already quoted this to you before, but I like to say it this way, if you want to make a difference, you have to be different. And so our behavior should be different than that of the worlds. Yes, God has called us to liberty. Yes, God has given us tremendous freedom, but we are not to use that as an occasion to the flesh. We are to be set apart from the world, okay? Get it? Set apart from the world. But then you are also to be set apart to God. They're two different angles from the same idea. Set apart from holiness and set apart as a unique vessel to God and to his use. So there's two different signs of the same coin, to be set apart from the world and to be set apart to God. Of course, Jesus Christ is a perfect example. He lived a sinless life, right? We know that. He didn't sin. He was tempted in all points like as we are yet without sin. He was tempted. He was set apart from the world, right? He didn't fall, but he was also set apart to God. He accomplished God's purpose, right? Why did he come? To die for our sins. He was set apart from the world and set apart to God. That is how we are to live. So for the aged women, again, I'm not saying who it is, your behavior should become, your behavior should be as become of holiness. Meaning you should be living a holy life, set apart from the world and set apart to God. Uh-oh, this next one. Not false accusers. Uh-oh, not false accusers. I want you to go to Proverbs chapter six this morning, Proverbs six, and we're gonna look at a big list of things that God hates. And one of them is actually what is mentioned here. Not false accusers. ( Pause ) I think we can all agree that there is a temptation in all of us to falsely accuse another person to make me look good. Do we all know this? To be true. To say, "Hey, oh, did you know about this person?" So that way, then it makes me look better. But look at Proverbs six, and I want us to get this because this is a, it's a big list of things that the Lord hates. And let's look at what it says here. These six things that the Lord hates, ye seven are an abomination unto him. A proud look, a lying tongue. Okay, by the way, a proud look and a lying tongue were already in trouble, okay? Amen. Anybody else with me? Okay. A proud look, we're awful prideful, okay? And we lie an awful lot, okay? So we're already in trouble. A proud look, a lying tongue, hands a shed in this in blood, hopefully that's not you. And heart the divisest wicked imaginations. Feet that be swift in running to mischief. Uh oh, for summer 19, here it is. A false witness that speaketh the lies. A false accuser. And, oh man, this last one. "He that soweth discord among brethren." In this list, I see a lot of them that we commit on a regular basis. Anybody else with me? Okay, a proud look. Yeah, Christians were awful proud, okay? A lying tongue. Okay, yep. Hands a shed in this in blood. Hopefully you haven't done that yet, okay? But then the next one. A heart that divisest wicked imaginations. Uh oh, our thought life matters too. Feet that be swift in running to mischief. Oh man, I saw some kids do that this week. A false witness that speaketh lies. And he that soweth discord among the brethren. I'll give you the vast majority of that list we commit on a regular basis. One of those things that God says that he hates is when we false accuse. A false witness that speaketh lies. Man. Paul, you're kind of being mean this morning. Yeah, 'cause he's telling us how he expects us to live. And I think what we have to understand is that if I am to teach that next generation, which this passage very clearly tells us we are to do, I have to make sure that I am living right. And so do you, right? Okay, the next part, not given to much wine. Of course, we have talked about that in Sunday morning. I think it's very clear that in scripture, drinking is not a good thing. When the Bible tells us that it is a foolish decision to drink, when it says it's not wise to drink, guess what that means? It's a foolish decision. God's word never condones foolish behavior, never. So when it talks about not given to much wine, we need to understand that we as Christians need to abstain. Why? Because it's bigger than my personal appetites. It's bigger than what I think I may be able to like toe the line. You don't like get as close to the line as I possibly can without falling over. It's bigger than that. The Christian life is bigger than that. If I cause someone to not accept Jesus Christ, by the way I am living, that's a big thing, a big weight that we have to understand. And so sometimes we go, well, we've been afforded liberty. Yes, we have, but we are not to use our liberty as an occasion to the flesh. So when it says not given to much wine, how can I instruct another believer when I am not in my right mind? Not given to much wine. Look at the next part, teacher of good things. The teachers of good things, passing on your knowledge to someone younger. I want you to understand, okay? I was a youth pastor for a while, like seven years before I came here. Can I tell you something? There is a misnomer that you have to understand. The teenagers don't hate old people. Do you understand that? They don't. The world likes to tell us that they do, but that's not reality. What they actually need is you to pass on your knowledge to them. If we go, well, I learned it the hard way. You need to learn it the hard way too. Wait, what? We can get these young people, these teenagers, these children that went downstairs to junior church. We can get them further along than we were at their age by simply passing on our knowledge. And you know what that causes them? To now have opportunity to grow to higher heights than we could ever reach. Why, we have jump-started their Christian faith by teaching them good things, by teaching them what you know. But it's not just about your knowledge. There's another thing that we've got to understand that is huge here. We need to not just pass on our knowledge, but pass on our wisdom to someone younger. Wisdom. It's not just knowledge, it's knowledge in practice. There's a certain interesting thing when I went to Pensacola Christian College. It's a great college. But you and I found out a lot of the professors that were teaching us ministry never actually did ministry. They were never pastors. They were in local churches, but they were never pastors. They can teach you things because it's in a book. But the teachers that really impacted me were the ones who actually walked in those shoes. The ones that actually were pastors. And when they say, "Hey, I've done this. "I know this from experience." Those are the ones that really taught me a lot. And so church, here's the thing. Teaching them knowledge is a great thing. But passing on real applicable wisdom is that much better. You know, man, I made a dumb mistake dating in high school. Pass it on to younger generation. Man, I made some dumb mistakes listening to my friends when I shouldn't have. Pass that on to the younger generation. You see what I'm saying? We need to pass on those lessons that we have learned. Why? I may cause them to not make the same mistakes that I made. And then what's happening, they are now, once again, we are catapulting them further than we could have gone. Because here's the truth. This world desperately needs them to be the light. I'm a lighthouse to not just be a place where the light of Jesus Christ goes out in our community, but I want some of our young people to be called of God, to go out and be pastors, to be missionaries, to be pastors-wise and missionaries-wise and go out and reach our world with the gospel. Because that's what we need. And for them to do that, we have to pass on our wisdom and our knowledge. - Yes. - Let's continue on, because by the way, the young people don't get a clean slate here. There are things that they are to be living out as well. So it's point number three this morning. We have four, by the way. So just in case you're wondering, we have four points this morning. Point number three, young women. The young women. Now, if you want to identify as this, once again, it is up to you, it's between you and God, okay? Titus two, verses four and five. It says 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. Do you see some of these things that we've already looked at? Let's continue, let's look at this. Okay, so sober, once again, means vigilant. Okay, be aware of your surroundings. You are teaching these young women to be aware. To love their husbands, because you've learned it yourself. I'll be the first to admit this, because I'm a husband, okay? I am, yeah, it's true, okay? I tricked her, no, I'm just kidding. I'm a husband, husbands can be idiots. Can I get a witness? Anybody else with me? Okay, husbands can be idiots. We make dumb mistakes, but to teach the young women to love their husbands, say yes, I know he's an idiot, I get it, but you're still to love them. It's a good thing, to love your children. Hey, I saw this and it may be something that you may need to address. Not to be a jerk and be like, you know your kids are heathen? Did you see what they did at church? We know, okay, we are aware. I see my children, okay? You should have seen them before Sunday school. They were running through here, like herds of elephants. I get it, but they say, hey, love on your children. Teach your children, show them the love of Christ. Why, because you've walked it, you've done it. Say, hey, I know how hard it is to be a parent. By the way, do that in a heart of love. Once again, God hasn't called us to be jerks or Jesus. Okay, so if you go, hey, your children are of the devil, it's probably not the best route to go, okay? You should be like, hey, your children, man, I wish, they're gonna go to jail one day. That's probably not the best way to go when you talk to a young parent. But they go, hey, help them. Some of our parents, they've got children everywhere. Help them. Instead of being like, hey, did you know your kid is doing this? This happened one time and I won't tell you the whole story, but KK was doing something that was definitely wrong. And a parent came up to me and said, hey, your daughter's doing this. Instead of actually correcting it, you know, when they were there, it was like a big church event. There's people everywhere and my daughter kind of snuck away. She was doing something, like, hey, your child's doing this. And then I had to run over there, taking five minutes to get there. Probably not, you know, like, hey, Michaela, how about we actually don't do that? Probably be better. Instead of being like, hey, get your children under control. Say, hey, no, let's walk, you know, let's not do that. Now, if they're about to run you over, don't get run over in church, that'd be bad, okay? Send Darryl after him, he'll take him, okay? But just help, okay? Don't just say, do something with it, help. Discrete, what does discrete means? It means this, to have self-control. Teach young women to have self-control. Chase, they carry society to be pure in heart and pure in life. Once again, these are things that we are to be teaching. The older women are to be teaching the younger women to do. The next one, keepers at home. Proverbs 31, and I gotta move. Proverbs 31, verse 27 says this, "She looketh well to the ways of her household "and Edith not the bread of idleness. "She's a keeper at home." Now, this does not mean the home has to be perfect, okay? If you have children, it won't be, okay? At least mine is never perfect, okay? They're always pulling out toys, they're always doing something, but keepers at home. She looketh well to the ways of her household and Edith not the bread of idleness. Teacher that, hey, it's okay to do good work and being a mom is a big job, and it's okay, and hey, I've done it, and I know the work, and I know what it entails, and hey, you're doing a great job, and encourage them. We're gonna next part. Good, I think that's all sub-explanatory. Good, teach them to be good. Obedient to their own husbands, Ephesians 5, verses 22 and 23 says this, and once again, I can't give you guys time. I'm running out of time. So I'm trying to move like a whole 'nother point to go through, okay? So Ephesians 5, verses 22 and 23 says this, why submit yourselves under your own husbands as unto the Lord, for the husband is the head of the life, even as Christ is the head of the church, and he is the savior of the body. The Bible is very clear that wives are to submit to their husband, not because the husband is some super awesome being, but it's because it's a representation of our relationship to our savior. The husbands are to love their wives as Christ loved the church, and wives are to submit to their husbands as we submit ourselves to God. It is a picture of what, really, what God does in us, in this body, in this church, and what God wants us to live, and how he wants us to live. So, being into their own husbands, wives submit yourselves under your own husbands as unto the Lord. It's very clear that the whole marriage relationship is to be a picture of us with our bride, with our savior, Jesus Christ, and we are his bride. I gotta mix it up there, but anyway, you get what I'm saying. Point number four this morning. Finally, point number four, yeah, I got four fingers up. Point number four, young men, okay, the young men, we're not off the hook, okay, the young guys, we're not off the hook, Titus 2, 6, young men, likewise, exhort to be sober-minded, and then it goes on, but let's look at this. So, sober-minded, sober-minded. It carries this idea, once again, to be vigilant. First Peter 5, 8, I want you to go there real quick this morning. First Peter 5, verse number eight. First Peter 5, verse number eight. It's a great passage, and I told you we were gonna look at this earlier. We mentioned sober multiple times this morning, and I want us to get it, okay, because sober is an important attribute that we are to have here in this. So, sober-minded. First Peter 5, verse number eight. It says this, be sober, be vigilant, because you're adversary of the devil as a rowing lion walketh about seeking whom he may devour. Here is the truth, the you and I are to be vigilant, we are to be aware of what is going on around us, because there is a very clear adversary, and his name is the devil. He wants to destroy us, and if you have ever seen statistics on marriage and on families, it's very, very sad. Why? Because the devil is seeking to destroy it, and this is why the older men and the older women are to teach the younger men and the younger women how to live because we have a common adversary, and it is not each other, by the way. It shouldn't be, you know, basically the older people sit on this side, and the younger people sit on this side, and we're always like this, and everything is like this all the time, that's not how it is supposed to be. We are all seeking to do the same thing, and that is to glorify our God. And so as we talk about this, we are all to be sober-minded, to be aware of what is going on, because our adversary is seeking to destroy us. We'll go back to Titus chapter two. Titus chapter two. So Titus two-six says that young men likewise exhort to be sober-minded. Exhort means to encourage, by the way. Encourage to be sober-minded in all things, showing myself a pattern of good works in doctrine showing uncorruptness, gravity, sincerity. So showing yourself a pattern of good works, young men, we are to live right. James 127, and I'll just read this verse that says, "It's pure religion and undefiled before God, "and the Father is this." What is, how are we supposed to live our life? To visit the Fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world. Showing yourself a pattern of good works, live out what you know. So as the older men and the older women teach us younger people, wow, we're supposed to live, we are to live out that truth now, okay? To live out, showing yourself a pattern of good works. And then as we continue on in verse number seven, in all things showing myself a pattern of good works, in doctrine showing uncorruptness, doctrine. The things that God has said in his word, uncorrupt. Ephesians 4, 14 says this, "That we henceforth be no more children "tossed to and fro, and carried about "with every wind of doctrine by the slight of men "and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive." The world will teach us a lot about what they say God's word actually says, but it is error. We have to remain uncorrupt on this book, and this is not just for young men, this is for all of us. Be loud where the Bible is loud and quiet where it is quiet. Share the truth of God's word with others. Gravity, once again, this carries the idea of seriousness. Be serious. And I saw Harry, he played fun games. He probably saw him in the video. He was out there doing the handball, where we were hitting the ball with a beach ball, and we were having fun, and we were laughing, and we were carrying on, and it was great fun. But there came a certain time where, guess what? We got serious. Why, if we didn't get serious, Miss Laura Lee would have had a lot bigger job than what she had. She was a nurse, by the way. So she would have had a lot bigger job if we didn't get serious at times. I was like, "No, these are the rules, "and you need to abide by them." Why, we can't have fun, but there needs to come a time where we act our age, not our shoe size. We need to act our age. We need to act like, "Hey, I'm 38 now. "I'm not 14 anymore." My body has told me that multiple times this week. Act your age, be serious. Sincerity is another one that's mentioned here in verse number seven, sincerity. It carries this idea to be pure. Be pure. I want you to understand, when we talk about sincerity, sincerity sometimes, people are like, "Well, they're sincere." You know what they believe. They're sincere about what they believe. Can I tell you something? You can be sincerely wrong. You can say, "Hey." Oh, what am I to do here without offending people? Hey, the grass is actually purple. The grass isn't purple, is it? And I can be sincere in the belief that that grass outside is purple. It's kind of brown now from all the soap, but it's purple. And you can say, "No, pasteurately it's not, it's green." No, it's purple. And we can go round and round, and we can argue. I can be sincere about my beliefs and be 100% sincerely wrong. And as you share with the gospel people, they may be sincere in what they believe. But they often are very sincerely wrong, right? Sincerity, purity. That's what this word really means in Greek is to be pure. Look at the next one, in verse number eight. Sound speech, sound speech. That that means, it means to be spiritually healthy. It's spiritually healthy. And as we look at this verse, look at what it says. Sound speech, they cannot be condemned. For he that is of the contrary part may be ashamed, having no equal thing to say of you. And I mean, you are to live your life in such a way that someone who is unsafe can hurl accusations at you. And everyone knows it's not true. That's what it is supposed to be like in our Christian life. So this morning we have looked at Titus proper protocols and the message in case you were curious was called this proper character, proper character. How am I to live? It is very clear in this passage that there is supposed to be something that is happening in this church on a daily basis. And that is that the older are to be teaching the younger. Did you see that throughout the passage? That doesn't mean that if the older are not doing it that the young people somehow get a free pass. But church, that is supposed to be happening. So here's what we're gonna do. We're gonna have a time of invitation because I think this is one of those areas in churches, especially in our circle that we really fail at. Because we live in and I think it's good to be recognizing that the grace of God is a great thing. Which one often happens? We don't pass on the lessons that we've learned. We don't say, hey, these are the things I used to struggle with and I don't struggle with them anymore because of God's victory. And hey, by the way, teenagers, I see you coming down that same path I was going on and I don't want you to end up where I was. That should be happening. But what happens oftentimes is we say in our heart of hearts that well, if I pass it on, then it'll make me look like a bad Christian. Okay, tell you something. I'm just gonna say this out of heart of love. I hope you understand this. I don't wanna hurt you. I don't wanna hurt your feelings. I don't want you to have Rose Pastor this afternoon. Okay, I want you to understand this. Can we just be a family here for a minute? Who cares what other people think of you? We've gotten to this point in our Christian life where you go, well, I can't do that because what if so and so starts talking about how terrible a person I am? When somebody does that, can I just, again, we're family. You know what they're showing? They're real character. It's not a detriment to you. It's really showing who they really are. And so, church, here's where we are. It is the point of the service where we have to make decisions. I don't know about you, but this passage challenges me because now that I'm getting a little older and you may laugh, you're only 38, ha, ha, ha, I get it. And as I get a little older, I realize that there is a responsibility for me to teach the younger. In church, wherever you are in life, you may be a teenager. This really doesn't apply to me. I'm the younger, guess what? They're younger people than you. And my little boy looks up to you as teenagers and a whole bunch of others do too. So, be the example that God wants you to be. All right? The pianist is gonna come forward now. We're gonna stand, nobody looking around, nobody cheating, okay? I know, if I close my eyes, I'll fall asleep, I get it. Stand up, we're gonna have a time of invitation and we're gonna do business with God because we gotta understand this isn't just something that we are to hear. It is something that we are to do, okay? So, I'm gonna pray that the Lord will work in our hearts. You pray while I do that. Ask the Lord to reveal things in your life that you need to change. Heavenly Father, Lord, are so grateful for everything that you have done. But I ask for that in this time of invitation, Lord, you'd already begin to move in our hearts, but show us the ways that we need to do, the difference that we need, the things that we need to change, but in our lives. So this passage is a passage that really all of us should be convicted at some point, because I think all of us are not, you know, we're not doing it to the level that we should be, but help us to live this truth out this week. And it would help us, Lord, to surrender, to really do business with you during this time of invitation, Lord, to pray this all in the wonderful, precious, holy name of our Savior, Jesus Christ, amen. Church. (upbeat music) We hope that message was an encouragement to you. To stay up to date with us, please follow us on Twitter, and like us on Facebook, and LBC's connected in it. If you would like more information on how Heaven can be your home, please visit LighthouseBaptist.org/TheGospel. (upbeat music) (upbeat music) (gentle music)