When Old Men are Christians

WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.440 --> 00:00:06.440 If you would please remain standing and let's hear God's word from Titus Verses One 2 00:00:06.519 --> 00:00:30.899 and two, titus versus, Chapter Two, verses one and two. If 3 00:00:30.940 --> 00:00:36.450 you're using one of these church Pew Bibles and you'll find it on page nine 4 00:00:36.450 --> 00:00:41.530 hundred and ninety eight, you'll have to find nine ninety nine because it's actually 5 00:00:41.570 --> 00:00:45.130 not on the written on the page. That's titus two, verses one and 6 00:00:45.210 --> 00:00:50.880 two. Let's give our attention to God's word. But as for you, 7 00:00:51.960 --> 00:00:57.159 teach what accords with sound doctrine. Older men are to be sober minded, 8 00:00:57.840 --> 00:01:03.079 dignified, self controlled, sound in faith, in love and in steadfastness. 9 00:01:04.549 --> 00:01:08.790 Ay God bless us in his word and grant these things to us. You 10 00:01:08.909 --> 00:01:25.500 may be seated. Let me begin by giving you, reminding you perhaps a 11 00:01:25.620 --> 00:01:30.700 little bit of the context of where we're at in this letter are and also 12 00:01:30.780 --> 00:01:36.370 give you a little bit of a preview of what lies ahead. In terms 13 00:01:36.409 --> 00:01:42.530 of context, Paul has been instructing titus, titus, a fellow servant of 14 00:01:42.609 --> 00:01:47.760 his, a worker of Christ, how to work among the churches, to 15 00:01:47.920 --> 00:01:53.359 continue the work of church planting, of establishing these churches in the name of 16 00:01:53.560 --> 00:02:00.760 and in the grace of Jesus, and he's just been giving several reasons why 17 00:02:00.959 --> 00:02:05.390 it's very important that there be elders in the church, elders that meet certain 18 00:02:05.390 --> 00:02:10.150 qualities and have certain qualities, meet certain qualifications. As we considered last time, 19 00:02:10.669 --> 00:02:15.699 this is important because they are doing the work of God and a context 20 00:02:15.780 --> 00:02:21.379 that is very difficult. You see that back in chapter one, versus ten, 21 00:02:21.580 --> 00:02:23.620 through the end of that chapter, just to read a little bit from 22 00:02:23.620 --> 00:02:29.139 there, for there are many who are insubordinate, empty talkers and deceivers, 23 00:02:29.620 --> 00:02:34.009 especially those of the circumcision party. They must be silenced, since they are 24 00:02:34.090 --> 00:02:38.090 upsetting whole families by teaching for shameful gain what they ought not to teach. 25 00:02:39.210 --> 00:02:44.360 There are several other concerns that Paul has there, that God has there for 26 00:02:44.560 --> 00:02:49.840 the church, expressing the difficulty of ministry in this context. And so these 27 00:02:49.919 --> 00:02:53.280 elders are called to meet these qualifications, to be a certain kind of people 28 00:02:53.400 --> 00:02:57.879 because they have a job to do. They need to be able to rebuke, 29 00:02:57.919 --> 00:03:01.349 as we considered last time, they also need to be able to teach. 30 00:03:02.590 --> 00:03:07.030 That's how he gives the instructions and chapter one, verse nine, so 31 00:03:07.270 --> 00:03:12.789 that he may be able to give sound give instruction in sound draw doctrine and 32 00:03:13.460 --> 00:03:19.139 also to rebuke those who contradict it. Well, contrary to those who are 33 00:03:19.139 --> 00:03:24.460 teeping, teaching empty ideas, false doctrine on things for shameful gain. Paul 34 00:03:24.500 --> 00:03:30.729 now turns away from that as those people as his target and he turns to 35 00:03:30.889 --> 00:03:36.129 Titus in chapter two and he says, but as for you, as for 36 00:03:36.250 --> 00:03:39.490 you, titus, you do something different. You don't act according to these 37 00:03:39.610 --> 00:03:46.280 ways, but you teach what accords with sound doctrine. He's going to return 38 00:03:46.319 --> 00:03:51.159 to that in other places in this short letter and in other ways he is 39 00:03:51.240 --> 00:03:54.439 going to talk about what the content of that sound doctrine is. We've been 40 00:03:54.479 --> 00:03:58.669 introduced to it a little bit already and we'll hear a little bit of it 41 00:03:59.069 --> 00:04:03.669 more this evening. But as he teaches what accords to sound doctrine, there 42 00:04:03.710 --> 00:04:10.099 are certain expectations that titus is to have for the church, things that he 43 00:04:10.460 --> 00:04:15.860 needs to be aiming at, certain qualities in certain people. Later Paul will 44 00:04:15.860 --> 00:04:21.379 say in chapter three that the saying is trustworthy. This is verse eight and 45 00:04:21.579 --> 00:04:26.410 I the saying is trustworthy and I want you to insist on these things. 46 00:04:26.730 --> 00:04:31.170 That is the sound doctrine introduced earlier. In chapter three, so that those 47 00:04:31.250 --> 00:04:36.449 who have believed in God may be careful to devote themselves to good works. 48 00:04:38.290 --> 00:04:42.399 You hear the connection there between doctrine and life. A lot of times people 49 00:04:42.399 --> 00:04:46.040 want to disconnect these things, but they're never disconnected. Paul connects them in 50 00:04:46.079 --> 00:04:51.279 this way. He says, insist on these doctrinal points, things essentially about 51 00:04:51.319 --> 00:04:55.870 our Lord and our Savior, about what God has done for us in this 52 00:04:56.029 --> 00:05:02.310 world. Why? So that the fruit of the Gospel would be produced in 53 00:05:02.350 --> 00:05:08.220 the lives of God's people. Well, coming back to our verse for this 54 00:05:08.459 --> 00:05:13.139 evening and the verses that are coming up, Paul Narrows in and focuses on 55 00:05:13.740 --> 00:05:17.180 for particular categories of people. There's, of course, all kinds of ways 56 00:05:17.220 --> 00:05:20.060 you can divide up people. Paul does it in other places. Male, 57 00:05:20.300 --> 00:05:27.850 female, Jew, Greek. Here, he he, he divides a people 58 00:05:27.970 --> 00:05:33.449 up into categories of age. I'm first of all, and then later he'll 59 00:05:33.490 --> 00:05:39.639 talk to slaves in particular in chat. In verse two he talks to older 60 00:05:39.720 --> 00:05:43.959 men. That's our discussion for this evening, the message for this evening. 61 00:05:44.000 --> 00:05:48.040 In verse three and four he talks to women, older and younger, and 62 00:05:48.240 --> 00:05:51.189 then, finally, in verse and five, as well, and then in 63 00:05:51.230 --> 00:05:57.189 verse six he talks to young men in particular, and so far our next 64 00:05:57.709 --> 00:06:00.550 for sermons we're going to be addressing, as Paul does, each of these 65 00:06:00.629 --> 00:06:06.339 groups, older men, then older women, than younger women, and then 66 00:06:06.699 --> 00:06:13.860 younger men and considering what does it mean to be an old man? What 67 00:06:13.980 --> 00:06:19.370 does it mean, in particular to be a Christian old man? Those we 68 00:06:19.410 --> 00:06:23.810 think about that, let's start by defining our terms. What do we mean 69 00:06:24.050 --> 00:06:28.930 by old man? It's not a phrase we really use a lot today, 70 00:06:29.370 --> 00:06:32.800 and I think that's because we're afraid of this. Youth Culture is a very 71 00:06:32.920 --> 00:06:40.399 important and prominent theme in American Society and, I'm often to our detriment, 72 00:06:40.920 --> 00:06:46.680 we feel uncomfortable talking about old age. But the scripture does not. The 73 00:06:46.720 --> 00:06:50.589 scripture talks about as a category that not only exists but is indeed even important 74 00:06:50.750 --> 00:06:58.029 and to be considered in a particular way. Way, and here the Scripture 75 00:06:58.069 --> 00:07:02.379 addresses old men, or older men in particular. I'm this word, or 76 00:07:02.459 --> 00:07:08.220 this this little group phrase here refers to in a very dictionary kind of way, 77 00:07:08.220 --> 00:07:12.379 all put it, an adult male of advanced years. To put it 78 00:07:12.500 --> 00:07:16.370 more concretely, we're talking about men with gray hair. Some of you can 79 00:07:16.529 --> 00:07:23.089 identify yourselves easily in this way. This is a true not just because I 80 00:07:23.329 --> 00:07:27.810 think this is what older men are identified with, but the scripture puts it 81 00:07:27.930 --> 00:07:32.160 this way. When the Old Testament is translated in Greek. This a term 82 00:07:32.399 --> 00:07:36.319 old men is applied in Deuteronomy three thousand two hundred and twenty five to those 83 00:07:36.360 --> 00:07:43.439 with gray hairs or, using an older English word, hoary hairs, if 84 00:07:43.480 --> 00:07:46.310 you've ever wondered what that means, when it pops up in our hymnoll, 85 00:07:46.470 --> 00:07:48.829 that's what it's referring to. I think we may sing that at this evening 86 00:07:48.870 --> 00:07:55.670 a little later on. But gray hairs. Zachariah in Luke one hundred and 87 00:07:55.670 --> 00:07:59.060 eighteen is described as an old man, along with his wife, an old 88 00:07:59.139 --> 00:08:03.019 woman, and they were beyond childbearing age, so that they were surprised when 89 00:08:03.019 --> 00:08:07.980 Gabriel came and told them you're going to have a son and his name will 90 00:08:07.980 --> 00:08:11.939 be John. He was an old man and was surprised. He says, 91 00:08:11.939 --> 00:08:16.170 how can this, how can this be? I'm another old man that we 92 00:08:16.209 --> 00:08:20.490 see in scripture on specifically identified in this way as Eli, who had adult 93 00:08:20.689 --> 00:08:26.050 sons at that time. So you see what kind of man we're talking about 94 00:08:26.089 --> 00:08:28.720 here, not a young man, but an old man, an adult male, 95 00:08:28.800 --> 00:08:35.080 advanced and yours. So moving on, what should he be like? 96 00:08:37.360 --> 00:08:43.669 Paul lists six things. The Holy Spirit. This six things. Older men 97 00:08:43.710 --> 00:08:50.470 are to be sober minded, dignified, self controlled, sound in faith, 98 00:08:50.870 --> 00:08:56.860 in love and in steadfastness. Let's consider each of these briefly. First, 99 00:08:56.940 --> 00:09:01.019 he is to be sober minded. This is a term that we're familiar with, 100 00:09:01.220 --> 00:09:07.940 that we're accustomed to using. Means restrained and moderate. That means I'm 101 00:09:07.019 --> 00:09:16.210 not being easily, not giving in easily to outlandish are foolish ideas. A 102 00:09:16.370 --> 00:09:20.889 person who's sober minded approaches things in a level headed way, as we another 103 00:09:20.889 --> 00:09:24.960 way we put this, if you want to think about this in more concrete 104 00:09:26.039 --> 00:09:31.080 terms, you could perhaps think of an it's Antonym, which doesn't really exist, 105 00:09:31.240 --> 00:09:33.919 but will make it up for the moment. Drunk minded. What it 106 00:09:35.039 --> 00:09:37.200 mean? What would it mean to be drunk minded? Well, it would 107 00:09:37.200 --> 00:09:43.509 mean to be stumbling and foolish, easily fooled and sloppy in the way that 108 00:09:43.549 --> 00:09:46.590 you think, in the way that you process things and the way that you 109 00:09:46.669 --> 00:09:52.149 make judgments. Even that term level headed makes sense here. When you're drunk, 110 00:09:52.230 --> 00:09:54.740 you're not level, the world is a little crazy, you can't perceive 111 00:09:56.139 --> 00:10:01.220 the things correctly, you can't judge things correctly. But an older man is 112 00:10:01.299 --> 00:10:05.980 not to be drunk minded, but sober minded, level headed, moderate, 113 00:10:05.259 --> 00:10:11.490 careful, perceiving things rightly and then moving in a correct way forward. I'm 114 00:10:11.570 --> 00:10:16.490 moving in a way that is appropriate with the given situation and the information that 115 00:10:16.610 --> 00:10:22.399 he has. In addition to being sober minded, he is to be dignified. 116 00:10:22.519 --> 00:10:28.679 This is another word that has perhaps gone out of vogue. In doing 117 00:10:28.720 --> 00:10:33.159 work on this sermon, I found very quickly that when the word dignity pops 118 00:10:33.200 --> 00:10:37.549 up all in culture, and our culture, it usually is pops up in 119 00:10:37.909 --> 00:10:41.870 in medical scenarios, case, cases involving bioethics and things like that. How 120 00:10:41.909 --> 00:10:46.070 do we give dignity, in other words, to the dying, to the 121 00:10:46.309 --> 00:10:50.340 sick, those kinds of things? Often Times you'll see a kind of confusion 122 00:10:50.460 --> 00:10:56.139 over this word. There's really a couple ways that we use dignified, and 123 00:10:56.220 --> 00:11:00.620 the scripture is using it here in the second way. One way we use 124 00:11:00.940 --> 00:11:07.049 the word dignity refers to something that we all possess, something that we all 125 00:11:07.210 --> 00:11:11.289 possess, and that is a certain dignity for just being made in the image 126 00:11:11.289 --> 00:11:16.730 of God. Whether you're poor or you're rich, your sinful or you're righteous, 127 00:11:16.330 --> 00:11:20.159 no matter what you are as a creature that is made in the image 128 00:11:20.200 --> 00:11:24.399 of God and is above the beasts and has been given a certain calling, 129 00:11:24.519 --> 00:11:30.840 we all possess a certain dignity. That's a first kind of dignity. The 130 00:11:30.960 --> 00:11:33.590 second kind of dignity is not one that we all possess, but it's one 131 00:11:33.629 --> 00:11:39.429 that we gain. The first kind of dignity is one that's recognized. The 132 00:11:39.549 --> 00:11:43.149 second kind of dignity is one that's awarded. The first kind of dignity you 133 00:11:43.230 --> 00:11:48.059 can't have any more or less of. The second one, however, can 134 00:11:48.100 --> 00:11:52.779 be measured in a certain sense. It can go up and down. In 135 00:11:52.940 --> 00:11:56.220 the first sense, a man has dignity simply by being a man, Ma, 136 00:11:56.340 --> 00:12:01.929 being made in God's image, valued by God, being treated differently than 137 00:12:01.970 --> 00:12:07.450 the animals and giving certain tasks as a human in the according to the second 138 00:12:07.450 --> 00:12:11.450 kind of dignity, the kind that Paul refers to here, he it is 139 00:12:11.769 --> 00:12:16.600 when that man who has this dignity as being made in the image of God, 140 00:12:16.159 --> 00:12:22.159 then acts according to that image. According to the humanity that he's been 141 00:12:22.240 --> 00:12:28.399 given and flourishes in it. The second kind of dignity is distinctive in this 142 00:12:28.679 --> 00:12:31.870 in this way, it can go up and down. We can talk about 143 00:12:31.870 --> 00:12:35.990 someone being degraded, for example, as it's opposite. So what do we 144 00:12:37.070 --> 00:12:41.149 do when we are dignified? Well, it means that we act in a 145 00:12:41.309 --> 00:12:46.059 very human way in according to the best of our humanness. It means that 146 00:12:46.259 --> 00:12:52.820 we trust and we love God in our neighbors in a way that is honorable. 147 00:12:54.940 --> 00:13:00.090 It means that a dignified man as one who doesn't care for himself only, 148 00:13:00.210 --> 00:13:03.490 but cares for others, who lives his life not in according to fear 149 00:13:03.690 --> 00:13:09.610 but according to joy. A dignified man is one that knows how to endure 150 00:13:09.809 --> 00:13:15.399 sorrow and pain and loss in a way that is marked by godliness. Everything 151 00:13:15.440 --> 00:13:18.799 he does is marked by this way, with a kind of honesty and righteousness. 152 00:13:20.879 --> 00:13:26.240 On top of having this kind of moral dignity and this inward character of 153 00:13:26.960 --> 00:13:33.549 dignified character, often a dignified man is one who excels in his use and 154 00:13:33.669 --> 00:13:39.669 understanding of creation. Perhaps he plays an instrument well or knows how to read 155 00:13:39.710 --> 00:13:43.500 a book, knows how to look at nature and study the things in the 156 00:13:43.539 --> 00:13:50.820 world. Perhaps he has an ability to see situations or work through legal cases 157 00:13:50.059 --> 00:13:54.500 or any number of things. This is people that we respect, right, 158 00:13:56.169 --> 00:14:00.649 people that know how to take God's creation, understand it and use it to 159 00:14:00.730 --> 00:14:07.129 do amazing things. People that build skyscrapers or people that build bridges, or 160 00:14:07.210 --> 00:14:13.519 are able to prove things mathematically or discover stars or all the rest. These 161 00:14:13.600 --> 00:14:18.600 things bring a certain honor, don't they? And rightly so, because it 162 00:14:18.759 --> 00:14:22.159 is a way in which we are exercising our humanity in according to that, 163 00:14:22.200 --> 00:14:28.549 according to our our humanness. A dignified man, therefore, is one who 164 00:14:28.629 --> 00:14:33.549 does these kinds of things, he sees himself in relation to God and then 165 00:14:33.590 --> 00:14:37.750 acts in a way that is in accordance with God's law, in accordance with 166 00:14:37.830 --> 00:14:45.259 God's laws in nature. He is dignified. It's not dependent all this. 167 00:14:45.620 --> 00:14:50.019 Conclude dignity with this by saying his dignity is not dependent, then, on 168 00:14:50.100 --> 00:14:54.970 his echo. GNOMICS has success. necessarily. It's not dependent on his on 169 00:14:54.129 --> 00:15:00.370 his health. We might see a very poor man on who loves his wife 170 00:15:00.809 --> 00:15:03.970 and takes care of his children. This man has a lot more dignity than 171 00:15:05.009 --> 00:15:09.159 a very rich man who abuses his wife and cares nothing for others. We 172 00:15:09.279 --> 00:15:16.399 want to define these things by not according to sin but according to righteousness. 173 00:15:18.519 --> 00:15:20.590 So he is a man who is sober minded, he has a man who 174 00:15:20.669 --> 00:15:24.750 is dignified, and he is a man who has self control. This is 175 00:15:24.830 --> 00:15:30.470 the third of the six. A man who has no self control, proverbs 176 00:15:30.509 --> 00:15:35.740 two hundred and twenty eight says, is like a city whose wall is broken 177 00:15:35.820 --> 00:15:39.019 down. And you know what a city with a wall who's broken down is 178 00:15:39.100 --> 00:15:43.860 like if you read the story of Jericho. That was the whole point, 179 00:15:43.059 --> 00:15:48.259 right to break down the wall so that what the city could be overthrown. 180 00:15:48.220 --> 00:15:52.169 A man who lacks self control, therefore, is a man who is going 181 00:15:52.450 --> 00:16:00.129 to be overthrown, or perhaps already is under siege. And we are given 182 00:16:00.169 --> 00:16:04.440 a vivid picture of this, of what God desires in self control, in 183 00:16:04.559 --> 00:16:12.799 First Corinthians nine, twenty five through twenty seven, Paul writes every athlete exercises 184 00:16:14.039 --> 00:16:18.120 self control in all things, and you know this right when you see athletes, 185 00:16:18.200 --> 00:16:22.309 the way they work diligently their bodies to exercise and to execute certain things 186 00:16:22.789 --> 00:16:27.070 over and over and over again. Basketball player might go out every day and 187 00:16:27.230 --> 00:16:30.909 through throw a two hundred free throws just so he can get that shot. 188 00:16:32.389 --> 00:16:37.259 Perfect self control over his wrist, over his eye, over the spacing of 189 00:16:37.379 --> 00:16:42.139 his feet, over his breathing. He exercises. Every athlete exercises self control 190 00:16:42.299 --> 00:16:47.809 in all things, and they do it to receive a perishable wreath. But 191 00:16:47.970 --> 00:16:52.250 we and imperishable. So I do not run aimlessly, I do not box 192 00:16:52.370 --> 00:16:56.769 as one boxing the air, but I discipline my body and keep it under 193 00:16:56.929 --> 00:17:03.119 control, lest, after preaching to others, I myself should be disqualified. 194 00:17:04.920 --> 00:17:08.039 And so you see, here are the an older man is to be one 195 00:17:08.759 --> 00:17:14.039 who is not only knows how to assess things properly and not only lives his 196 00:17:14.160 --> 00:17:19.109 life generally in this kind of immoral and dignified way, but he has control 197 00:17:19.349 --> 00:17:26.069 over himself. He knows his limits, he knows how to fight temptation, 198 00:17:26.750 --> 00:17:32.180 he knows how to live not according to the lusts and passions of his heart, 199 00:17:32.779 --> 00:17:37.140 but according to the things of God. Well, these are the first 200 00:17:37.180 --> 00:17:44.180 three things that should characterize older men. The second half is grouped together with 201 00:17:44.289 --> 00:17:48.130 this word sound. Paul says that older men should be sounded in faith, 202 00:17:48.690 --> 00:18:00.039 in love and insteadfastness. In many ways this corresponds to that other threefold set 203 00:18:00.119 --> 00:18:04.039 of virtues faith, love and hope. You see in other portions of scripture. 204 00:18:04.599 --> 00:18:10.720 Faith, love and steadfastness. To be sound means to be strong, 205 00:18:11.119 --> 00:18:15.349 to be healthy without error or defect, and it often implies that a thing 206 00:18:15.470 --> 00:18:18.869 that is sound is able to do the thing that it was designed to do. 207 00:18:19.750 --> 00:18:23.069 For example, a ship that is sound is one that is going to 208 00:18:23.430 --> 00:18:29.099 carry you and not sink. A spending plan that is sound means that one 209 00:18:29.339 --> 00:18:33.019 is one that's reasonable and is going to going to guide you in your expenses, 210 00:18:33.180 --> 00:18:37.460 and a bridge that is sound is one that you can stand on and 211 00:18:37.940 --> 00:18:44.569 rely trust in. Paul says the older men should be sound in faith, 212 00:18:44.930 --> 00:18:52.289 love and insteadfastness. These above abilities, sober minded, self control and dignified, 213 00:18:52.930 --> 00:18:59.000 are carried then, I'm not by public pressure, egoism or ambition, 214 00:19:00.039 --> 00:19:03.079 but these things are pretty to be done and carried in faith, in love 215 00:19:03.400 --> 00:19:08.440 and insteadfastness. Indeed, a man can be, and often men often are, 216 00:19:08.559 --> 00:19:14.190 self controlled because of the public eye that's on them or the next job 217 00:19:14.349 --> 00:19:18.589 that they want to have, all kinds of things. But God gives us 218 00:19:18.589 --> 00:19:23.460 another motivation, the motivation that should be true in older men faith. They 219 00:19:23.460 --> 00:19:27.220 should have a faith that is sound, which means that it should be his 220 00:19:27.420 --> 00:19:33.339 faith should be without error, should be trusting in things that are true. 221 00:19:33.380 --> 00:19:37.019 His love should be sound, which means that it should be rooted in faith. 222 00:19:37.690 --> 00:19:41.569 His love should be an outgrowth of the love that his God is given 223 00:19:41.609 --> 00:19:45.369 to him in Christ. His hope should be sound. And then that let 224 00:19:45.369 --> 00:19:49.490 us looking something sure, not to looking for something sure, not just the 225 00:19:49.569 --> 00:19:56.279 next honor on the horizon, not just another house or another grandchild, but 226 00:19:56.480 --> 00:20:00.519 is looking for something that is lasting and forever, great treasures of God that 227 00:20:00.640 --> 00:20:07.990 come to us in Jesus. Together, these things create a man, or 228 00:20:08.269 --> 00:20:15.190 describe a man whose foot doesn't slip, who treats others in love rather than 229 00:20:15.230 --> 00:20:21.460 seeking glory only for himself, and who is dignified in these things as he 230 00:20:21.900 --> 00:20:29.740 experiences and grows in his knowledge of God and God's world. Now I want 231 00:20:29.740 --> 00:20:33.940 you to take a moment and think through your life. If you are a 232 00:20:34.099 --> 00:20:41.569 younger man, ask yourself, are the things that I'm doing now taking me 233 00:20:41.890 --> 00:20:45.970 on a path, on a trajectory that is going to make me into this 234 00:20:45.089 --> 00:20:49.200 kind of man? And if you are an older man, of course, 235 00:20:49.279 --> 00:20:55.279 consider the obvious. Does this describe you? Are you sober, minded, 236 00:20:56.200 --> 00:21:00.880 dignified, self controlled? Are you sound in faith, in love and insteadfastness? 237 00:21:03.400 --> 00:21:07.910 As you look around, ladies, at your world, do you see 238 00:21:07.910 --> 00:21:11.670 men like this? Are you praying for them? Are you encouraging them? 239 00:21:11.269 --> 00:21:17.950 Are you training your sons? Are you encouraging your husband's to be I'm like 240 00:21:18.390 --> 00:21:25.299 the man described here. If we consider this truly, we are likely to 241 00:21:25.500 --> 00:21:32.539 see more, more that is not in accordant with these things than is. 242 00:21:33.130 --> 00:21:40.289 And this description that we have here is, of course, a great desirable 243 00:21:40.410 --> 00:21:42.529 one. Right this is the picture that we all want, the the man 244 00:21:42.690 --> 00:21:45.970 that we all meet, our want to meet, the mentor that we want 245 00:21:47.009 --> 00:21:52.079 to have, this guy right here. But in our society we often have 246 00:21:53.079 --> 00:21:56.519 many men that are not like this, so much so that we haven't have 247 00:21:56.720 --> 00:22:03.230 words, by words, to describe the men that are not old fox, 248 00:22:03.549 --> 00:22:10.269 dirty, old man. These phrases immediately described to us the reality that there 249 00:22:10.309 --> 00:22:15.539 are many men that are not like this, men that see personal freedom as 250 00:22:15.740 --> 00:22:22.339 the highest end and did deny things like public service and love for their own 251 00:22:23.099 --> 00:22:30.210 passions and desires. They see the world is something that is meant for them 252 00:22:30.329 --> 00:22:33.289 than whatever honors they might have achieved. It is for them and because of 253 00:22:33.369 --> 00:22:41.210 their old age, their sins are now excusable, the ways in which they 254 00:22:41.490 --> 00:22:49.480 sin against God and their neighbors. As we see these men, or perhaps 255 00:22:49.559 --> 00:22:53.720 young men, if we look at ourselves and we see ourselves becoming these men, 256 00:22:56.279 --> 00:23:00.589 we are right, I'm, to go before God and to repent, 257 00:23:03.430 --> 00:23:10.869 even if we repudiate these things as old men. I'm you, no doubt. 258 00:23:10.910 --> 00:23:15.779 I'm have regrets, and young men to who may see the path they're 259 00:23:15.859 --> 00:23:19.220 on and see that it's not as trade as they should be. And thus, 260 00:23:19.299 --> 00:23:25.900 as we consider these character qualities that must be an older men, in 261 00:23:26.059 --> 00:23:32.009 older Christian men, it's right that we begin to look beyond our own personal 262 00:23:32.170 --> 00:23:38.690 growth projects, as desirous as we may be to fulfill this description, to 263 00:23:38.849 --> 00:23:44.480 be this kind of man. I'm to pray for this kind of man. 264 00:23:45.319 --> 00:23:48.960 We're never going to get there if we szumped, if we simply buckle down 265 00:23:48.119 --> 00:23:56.109 and try harder, because godliness in old age, in old age, doesn't 266 00:23:56.109 --> 00:24:00.789 come from completing a list of life hacks, but from growing according to a 267 00:24:00.990 --> 00:24:08.390 life giving spirit. This kind of man comes about only when God is working 268 00:24:08.470 --> 00:24:14.339 in us, when God is applying the work of the spirit in our lives. 269 00:24:15.940 --> 00:24:21.900 The steps towards strength of the soul begin by seeing the weakness in ourselves 270 00:24:22.220 --> 00:24:27.849 and the power in God. What kind of power might we be talking about? 271 00:24:29.690 --> 00:24:33.569 Well, surprise, surprise, Paul Directs us to it and tells us 272 00:24:33.569 --> 00:24:37.730 exactly what he means. Look down just a little bit of these after these 273 00:24:37.809 --> 00:24:42.519 descriptions, at verses eleven through fourteen. I won't read it, but I'll 274 00:24:42.599 --> 00:24:47.880 list through it and if you're if you're looking at it, you can follow 275 00:24:47.880 --> 00:24:52.799 along with me. Notice what he says. He says we should be these 276 00:24:52.869 --> 00:24:56.829 kinds of things because of what happens and what has happened in verse eleven, 277 00:24:56.869 --> 00:25:02.789 Number One. The grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, 278 00:25:03.710 --> 00:25:07.900 even old men. This has got to be such a huge hope in 279 00:25:08.019 --> 00:25:11.140 your lie, a huge hope in your life if you are an old man 280 00:25:11.980 --> 00:25:18.819 and you look on your life with regret for time wasted and errors fallen into 281 00:25:18.980 --> 00:25:23.369 and pits and traps that you come into again and again and again, to 282 00:25:23.529 --> 00:25:29.930 know that salvation has come into the world for all people, even for old 283 00:25:30.089 --> 00:25:36.240 men. Old Dogs can be taught new tricks by the grace of God. 284 00:25:36.599 --> 00:25:40.960 They can. You see that in the example of Zechariah, a holy man 285 00:25:41.079 --> 00:25:42.440 and a good man, but a man who made a mistake, all the 286 00:25:42.440 --> 00:25:48.160 old, all the nevertheless, when an angel of God appears to him and 287 00:25:48.319 --> 00:25:53.230 says this is what's going to happen and he doesn't believe it, talk about 288 00:25:53.269 --> 00:25:57.869 having trouble with faith. He doesn't believe it and the angel shuts his mouth, 289 00:25:59.230 --> 00:26:03.109 but he opens it again and gives praise to God. It is a 290 00:26:03.380 --> 00:26:10.980 wonderful sound. Hope, it is your hope as an older man, that 291 00:26:11.099 --> 00:26:15.019 the grace of God has appeared and Britt has brought salvation for all people. 292 00:26:15.819 --> 00:26:18.450 He does this, of course, through Jesus Christ, who knows our sins, 293 00:26:18.769 --> 00:26:26.089 who took takes on our sins and redeems us from them. He takes 294 00:26:26.130 --> 00:26:30.410 them away from us, he cleanses us from them so that we might see 295 00:26:30.569 --> 00:26:36.799 our regrets in the Cross and know that Jesus Christ, our Savior, has 296 00:26:36.880 --> 00:26:42.799 redeemed has redeemed us from them. So that's verse a, Love and Verse 297 00:26:42.880 --> 00:26:47.390 Twelve. God goes on to say that he is training us. This grace 298 00:26:47.509 --> 00:26:51.470 of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, and is now training 299 00:26:51.549 --> 00:26:57.869 us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions and to live self controlled, upright and 300 00:26:59.069 --> 00:27:04.299 Godly lives in the present age. Remember that analogy that Paul gave about boxing 301 00:27:04.460 --> 00:27:10.619 the air. Here he says why? You don't have to have a false 302 00:27:10.740 --> 00:27:14.619 hope that you will be boxing the air. Why? Because God is your 303 00:27:14.819 --> 00:27:22.569 personal trainer and he is successful. He is training you to renounce ungodliness worldly 304 00:27:22.609 --> 00:27:26.650 passions and to live exactly in the way that he wants you to live. 305 00:27:26.690 --> 00:27:30.920 You see how God is help. God is telling us in his word here 306 00:27:32.519 --> 00:27:34.640 that this work, this kind of man that he wants you to be, 307 00:27:36.599 --> 00:27:40.200 is a kind of man that he is making you to be. It is 308 00:27:40.279 --> 00:27:47.670 ultimately his work. It's not your work alone just to gather up your strength 309 00:27:47.789 --> 00:27:52.869 to please him. It is ultimately his work in and through you to please 310 00:27:52.910 --> 00:27:56.549 himself and, as Paul points out in another place, even to shame the 311 00:27:56.670 --> 00:28:02.740 world, to show his glory and how he can take dirty old men and 312 00:28:02.819 --> 00:28:08.259 rotten old foxes and turn them into men of God. He continues on in 313 00:28:08.380 --> 00:28:15.009 verse thirteen by reminding us of the soundness of our hope, the soundness of 314 00:28:15.049 --> 00:28:19.410 our steadfastness, he says, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of 315 00:28:19.529 --> 00:28:26.329 the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ. This is the 316 00:28:26.450 --> 00:28:30.160 certainty of our salvation, that God, our personal trainer, isn't just helping 317 00:28:30.240 --> 00:28:34.599 US along and giving us tips at various points how we might work this muscle 318 00:28:34.640 --> 00:28:40.960 or that spiritual muscle, but he is doing this work in us to bring 319 00:28:41.039 --> 00:28:45.869 us to this particular point, a blessed hope, Paul describes it as, 320 00:28:45.390 --> 00:28:51.869 which will come at the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, 321 00:28:51.910 --> 00:28:57.420 Jesus Christ. First for our teen tells us that he will not fail 322 00:28:57.460 --> 00:29:02.779 at this task. Stumble though you may, he will bring you to complete 323 00:29:02.779 --> 00:29:08.339 purity, dignity and honor, who gave himself for us to redeem us from 324 00:29:08.339 --> 00:29:14.970 all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are 325 00:29:15.009 --> 00:29:19.250 zealous for good works. So, as you consider what it is God wants 326 00:29:19.250 --> 00:29:25.720 you to do, consider what it is God wants to do, consider what 327 00:29:25.759 --> 00:29:30.039 it is God is doing, the project that he is on and the work 328 00:29:30.160 --> 00:29:36.079 that he will complete. So, whether you are at the end or the 329 00:29:36.200 --> 00:29:41.230 beginning of fulfilling your role as a man of God, find your faith, 330 00:29:41.390 --> 00:29:47.470 your hope and love in Him who is doing these things, in Jesus Christ, 331 00:29:47.549 --> 00:29:51.710 who is come, who purifies us from our sins, who redeems us 332 00:29:51.710 --> 00:29:56.339 from lawlessness, who works in US and trains us to renounce on godliness worldly 333 00:29:56.460 --> 00:30:03.019 passions and to live self controlled, uplight, upright and Godly lives in the 334 00:30:03.099 --> 00:30:07.369 present age. This is what God is doing in and through you. And 335 00:30:07.529 --> 00:30:11.170 when you trust that, when you trust in the work of God, then 336 00:30:11.210 --> 00:30:18.210 your faith is sound, your hope is and your steadfastness is sure and your 337 00:30:18.329 --> 00:30:22.079 love will surely grow, because when we are engrafted into the vine, we 338 00:30:22.279 --> 00:30:26.200 produce fruit. It is the nature of things, it is the nature of 339 00:30:26.359 --> 00:30:34.000 God, it's the nature of grace. So, brothers, let us put 340 00:30:34.000 --> 00:30:41.230 our hope there in Christ and not in ourselves, not in our strength, 341 00:30:41.430 --> 00:30:45.789 not in our ability to achieve these things, but in God's ability to achieve 342 00:30:45.950 --> 00:30:52.420 them in us and to glorify himself through him. And Sisters, please pray 343 00:30:52.539 --> 00:30:56.980 for us, please be there for us, encourage US and show us the 344 00:30:57.059 --> 00:31:02.980 right way, remind us of the Gospel that we might be strong to believe 345 00:31:03.490 --> 00:31:08.130 God grant us these things according to His grace. Let us pray