The Embassy of the Kingdom: Cultivating Reverence in the Home and Church

• Church Distinctiveness [00:45:46 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor argues that the church must look different from the world and serve as an 'embassy of the kingdom of God,' criticizing the American church for being too secularized.
• Justification and Sanctification [00:48:11 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor distinguishes between justification (being declared righteous) and sanctification (being made like Christ), emphasizing that Jesus purchased both through his death.
• Gospel Transformation vs. Behavioral Modification [00:49:25 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor corrects the misconception that Christians clean up their lives to come to Christ, asserting instead that the gospel transforms believers after they come to Christ.
• Gospel Transformation vs. Behavioral Modification [00:49:29 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor corrects the cultural misconception that Christians clean up their lives to come to Christ, asserting instead that Christ cleans up the life after one comes to Him through the power of the gospel.
• The Role of the Holy Spirit [00:50:31 ▶️ 📄]
  > Explains that the Holy Spirit seals the believer and works experiential transformation, renewing the mind and affections, rather than relying on counseling programs or self-effort.
• Being Verbs vs. Action Verbs [00:52:11 ▶️ 📄]
  > Analyzes the grammar of Titus to argue that sanctification is about 'who you are' (being verbs) rather than just 'what you do' (action verbs), emphasizing identity in Christ.
• Reverence and Priest-like Service [00:55:35 ▶️ 📄]
  > Defines the quality of 'reverent' for older women as 'priest-like' (serving Yahweh), illustrated by the examples of Abigail and Mary, emphasizing a life of 'reckless abandon' for the Lord.
• The Sin of Slander [00:59:55 ▶️ 📄]
  > Defines slander not just as lying, but as speaking with the intent to hurt, linking it to Satan ('diabolos') and illustrating its destructive power using James 3 and Proverbs.
• Slander and Church Division [01:05:14 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor identifies slander as the fuel for church division, citing Proverbs and James, and instructs believers to refuse to listen to or participate in it to stop the 'fire'.
• Edifying Speech vs. Corrupting Talk [01:07:25 ▶️ 📄]
  > Using Ephesians 4:29, the pastor clarifies that 'corrupting talk' refers to words that tear down rather than just profanity, urging believers to speak words that build up and give grace.
• Conflict Resolution and Sin Handling [01:09:17 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor outlines the biblical method for handling sin: direct, private confrontation for repentance and reconciliation, explicitly rejecting gossip.
• Spiritual Control and Scripture Memorization [01:10:42 ▶️ 📄]
  > Contrasting slavery to wine with slavery to the Holy Spirit, the pastor argues that being filled with the Spirit requires allowing the Word of God to dwell richly, advocating for Scripture memorization.
• Mentoring Younger Women [01:15:11 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor asserts that older women have a specific responsibility to train younger women in biblical womanhood, contrasting this with the current cultural trend of secularism and feminism.
• Cultural Decline of Young Women in Church [01:18:08 ▶️ 📄]
  > Citing New York Times and Gallup data, the pastor highlights a catastrophic decline in young women attending church, attributing it to feminism and secularism, and calls for urgent teaching.
• Mentoring Responsibility of Older Women [01:20:26 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor argues that older women must teach younger women specific biblical roles, contrasting this with generic Christian teaching.
• The Seven Teaching Points [01:22:54 ▶️ 📄]
  > A detailed breakdown of the seven qualities younger women are to learn: love for husband/children, self-control, purity, working at home, kindness, and submission.
• Domestic Leadership (Oikodespotes) [01:27:50 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor defines the wife's role as the 'house master' who owns the domestic sphere, using personal anecdotes about shoe rules to illustrate authority.
• Submission and Equality [01:32:53 ▶️ 📄]
  > Clarification that submission to one's husband is a specific role distinction, not a statement of inferiority, using a Marine Corps rank analogy.
• Cultural vs. Transcendent Truth [01:35:28 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor refutes the idea that these instructions are merely cultural, arguing they are transcendent commands necessary to prevent the Word of God from being reviled.
• Church Culture and Witness [01:36:46 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor argues that internal church discipline and teaching result in a 'transcendent' witness that stands out against the world.
• Family Flourishing [01:37:06 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor lists specific areas of life (children, marriages, church) that will 'flourish' if the church gets its teaching right.
• Gender Roles and Doctrine [01:37:30 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor details specific behavioral expectations for older men, older women, and younger women based on sound doctrine.

• Sermon Illustration [00:46:48 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor uses the analogy of the church being an 'embassy of the kingdom of God' to illustrate how the church should reflect God's kingdom on earth through the character of its people.
• Sermon Illustration [00:54:20 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor recounts feedback from men who identified as 'historic' or 'ancient' rather than 'old' when discussing the biblical definition of older men (50-56 in Paul's day), and notes similar feedback from women regarding the age of 'older women' (around 60).
• Sermon Illustration [00:56:41 ▶️ 📄]
  > The story of Abigail, who intervened to prevent David from sinning against Nabal, demonstrating reverence by fearing the Lord more than her husband or David.
• Sermon Illustration [00:57:18 ▶️ 📄]
  > The account of Mary's response to the angel in Luke 1:38, identifying herself as a 'doulos' (slave) of the Lord, illustrating the concept of priest-like service.
• Sermon Illustration [00:58:40 ▶️ 📄]
  > A quote from Elizabeth Elliot expressing a desire to live a life of 'reckless abandon for the Lord,' used to contrast with the desire to be seen as a Christian with 'decorum' respected by the world.
• Sermon Illustration [01:01:20 ▶️ 📄]
  > An analogy comparing slander to a small fire that sets a great forest ablaze, referencing James 3:5 to illustrate how the tongue can stain the whole body and set the course of life on fire.
• Sermon Illustration [01:03:01 ▶️ 📄]
  > An analogy from Proverbs 18:8 describing the words of a whisperer as 'delicious morsels' that go down into the inner parts of the body, illustrating how gossip takes root and causes bitterness.
• Sermon Illustration [01:14:13 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor shares a personal anecdote about his grandmother's favorite store, Dillard's, using it as a humorous example of a potential 'slave' or addiction to illustrate that while wine is the specific biblical example, believers can be enslaved to many things.
• Sermon Illustration [01:29:08 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor shares a personal story about a house rule regarding shoes in the mudroom to illustrate the wife's authority as 'oikodespotes' (house master).
• Sermon Illustration [01:24:45 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor references a book titled 'Marriage to a Difficult Man' about Sarah Edwards to illustrate that loving a difficult husband is a choice and commitment, not just a feeling.
• Sermon Illustration [01:25:50 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor uses a humorous anecdote about a president who wakes up on the wrong side of the bed to illustrate that children can be difficult to love.
• Sermon Illustration [01:33:35 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor uses an analogy from his time in the Marine Corps, where he had to submit to higher ranks, to explain that submission to a husband does not imply inferiority in worth.

• Pastoral Charge [00:58:18 ▶️ 📄]
  > Remove distractions and dedicate time to prayer and Scripture.
• Pastoral Charge [00:06:14 ▶️ 📄]
  > Refuse to listen to or participate in slander; confront or walk away from slanderers.
• Pastoral Charge [01:07:25 ▶️ 📄]
  > Turn to Ephesians 4:29
• Pastoral Charge [01:11:16 ▶️ 📄]
  > Jot down Ephesians 5:18
• Pastoral Charge [01:12:29 ▶️ 📄]
  > Jot down Colossians 3:16
• Pastoral Charge [01:36:27 ▶️ 📄]
  > Older women are commanded to model and teach the specific biblical curriculum of character qualities to younger women.
• Pastoral Charge [01:38:14 ▶️ 📄]
  > Stand up and praise Christ

[00:08:06] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_04]
[00:08:06] If you would find your way to a seat as we begin this morning. Hebrews chapter 12. Hebrews chapter 12. The writer says in verses 1 through 3, Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, laying aside every weight and the sin which so easily entangles us,
[00:08:35] let us run with endurance the race that is set before us fixing our eyes on Jesus the author and perfecter of faith who for the joy set before him endured the cross despising the shame and is sat down at the right hand of the throne of God
[00:08:57] for consider him who has endured such hostility by sinners against himself so that you will not grow weary, fainting in heart. You may be weary this morning and Spurgeon reminds us of this text when he said this, and then last of all, you must consider that
[00:09:25] he who went through this to get his crown is very man known to us all. He loves us tenderly.
[00:09:34] he considers us now he knows all the sorrows that tempt men for he has felt the same you are not alone he is with you three of you in the furnace know there is a fourth and that fourth is the son
[00:09:52] of God into your griefs he enters for his own griefs have put into his hand a master key to fit the wards of every human grief that can ever be known. He can comfort us with all consolation
[00:10:10] seeing that he himself has passed through all tribulation. He is never forgetful of you. He is with you now. If you smart, he smarts. If you are despised, he suffers. Paul, Paul, why persecutest thou me, he cried. Why, it was but a few poor men and women being hauled away to prison or to be
[00:10:36] scourged in the synagogue, but Christ takes it as being done to himself. Why persecutest thou me?
[00:10:46] Christian, with such nearness to Christ and such sympathy flowing from him, be thee of good courage still then hear him say in all their affliction he was afflicted and the angel of his presence saved them so may you lift up the hands that hang down and confirm the feeble knees
[00:11:11] and go on your way rejoicing in him let's pray together father we confess that this world and all that it offers, pulls from us the desire to fix our eyes on Jesus. But you have reminded us
[00:11:30] that the race that we run is not without cause and not without aid. That, Father, your Son in human flesh came and suffered and was tempted. And that, Father, we find comfort, we find solace,
[00:11:47] we find encouragement, we find assistance, we find all that we need in the life that he lived and lives at your right hand. So this morning, take from us those thoughts and those weary, weary things that weigh us down and fix our eyes upon him, the author and perfecter of our faith.
[00:12:13] and may we sing joyously the words crown him with many crowns and we ask this in his precious name

[00:12:22] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_06]
[00:12:22] amen let's stand together as we sing our praise we will come in just a moment to give you an

[00:18:01] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]
[00:18:01] official welcome but we're so glad that you are here this morning and it's always great to hear that wonderful rumble of conversations and welcome and greetings and I hope you felt very greeted this morning. If you will take your bulletin that you were handed when you walked
[00:18:17] in, inside is an insert with the questions for the Heidelberg Catechism. The catechism is really a teaching of the Christian faith. The Heidelberg Catechism is made up of 129 questions and answers, and so we've been going through those as a church. This was written over 450 years ago,
[00:18:40] but it is a tried and true material that teaches the truths of our faith. And so if you will join with me as I read the question, and then we will read the answers in unison together.
[00:18:54] Question number 62. Why can't our good works be our righteousness before God, or at least a part of our righteousness? Because the righteousness which can pass God's judgment must be entirely perfect and must in every way measure up to the divine law. But even our best works in this life
[00:19:19] are imperfect and stained with sin. How can our good works be said to merit nothing when God promises to reward them in this life and the next? This reward is not earned. It is a gift of grace.
[00:19:38] but doesn't this teaching make people indifferent and wicked no it is impossible for those who've grafted into Christ through true faith not to produce fruits of gratitude thank you God is good

[00:20:05] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[00:20:05] and all the time amen well again as Kim said this morning good morning to you and welcome to the King's Chapel on this beautiful, a little bit warm Lord's Day, but nonetheless, we are so glad
[00:20:19] you're here worshiping with us in spirit and in truth. My name is Kenny Jones on behalf of the elders and the staff here. I want to welcome you to the King's Chapel. If you are a guest with us
[00:20:29] here at the church, we are so glad that you're here with us. And in the pew before you, you'll see a blue and white connect card. And I would encourage you, if you will, just take a few
[00:20:38] minutes, fill it out, and then drop it in the offering plate so it should be passed around here in just a few moments. We would love the opportunity as a staff to be able to connect
[00:20:46] with you, answer any questions that you have about the church, membership questions, ministry questions, or anything like that. Feel free to drop it in the plates as they get passed around.
[00:20:56] And on that same card, I would also encourage you, congregation, that if you have a prayer request that you would like the prayer team and the staff to pray for, all these requests are confidential,
[00:21:07] I would encourage you to do the same, to fill it out and drop it in the plates as they get passed around here in just a few moments. We count it a true honor to be able to pray for
[00:21:15] these requests week in and week out. Well, as you walked in here this morning, like Kim said, you should have received a worship bulletin to be able to connect with us and to see the
[00:21:24] ministries that we have going on here in the life of our church. And I encourage you to open up your bulletin with me for just a moment so you can see what's going on here in the life of the King's
[00:21:33] Chapel. But not only did you see the Heidelberg Catechism insert, but you also probably saw this summer teaching series insert as well. And I want to encourage you to join us every Sunday morning at nine o'clock in the fellowship hall. So that's to my left, your right, every Sunday morning at
[00:21:49] nine o'clock where we are going to have, we have rich biblical teaching every Sunday, all Sundays through the month of June. And I want to encourage you to join us every Sunday for that. Dr. Bill
[00:21:59] Roach taught us this morning, and then you can see the other Sundays that we have are offering over the next two weeks as well. So join us at nine o'clock. We also have a cafe during that
[00:22:10] time as well. So coffee and donuts to keep you energized and ready for the Sunday morning. So join us for that as well. We'll look in your bulletin with me for just a moment. And as you
[00:22:21] can see here this summer, we are excited and busy with the ministries that we have going on here this summer and this month of June. But you can see there in the highlights section, And for those who are interested in attending the NETS mission trip, which is August 1st
[00:22:38] to the 4th, just coming up in about two months, there is an info planning meeting immediately after the service today in the conference room.
[00:22:46] And again, if you snake down the hall going towards the A and the D wing, you'll find the conference room there.
[00:22:53] But this is for anyone who's interested in participating in that mission trip.
[00:22:58] Also, for those who have gone through starting point, we had starting point this morning, or maybe you attended it last month. We have the membership class available for you this Sunday afternoon, starting at four o'clock. There is child care available for those who have little
[00:23:13] ones who need child care for that. That's from four to 7 p.m., dinners included. And so if you can go and register online for that, or just join us there at four o'clock. But this is for those
[00:23:25] individuals who have completed starting point. So this is the next step in the membership process.
[00:23:32] But as you can see there in the announcements section, we have a lot taking place here in the King's Chapel, and I would encourage you to check out our website and as well as participate, register online,
[00:23:44] and see more details regarding all the ministry events and plans.
[00:23:48] I'm going to ask now if our ushers will come forward to receive our tithes and offerings, and as they are coming forward, let's go to the Lord in prayer and ask Him to continue to bless our worship service
[00:23:58] on this Lord's Day morning.
[00:24:00] Bow your heads with me.
[00:24:01] Father, we give you all the honor and the praise, oh God, for being a God who is gracious and slow to anger. Lord, you are perfect. You are holy. You are just. And Father, we thank you, Lord,
[00:24:15] that by your grace, we are here this morning to worship your great name. Father, I ask that your Holy Spirit will continue to move in our hearts as we sing songs of praise, as we hear the word
[00:24:28] preached. Father, convict us, encourage us in our walk of faith, transform us, Lord, more into the image of your Son, Jesus. And I pray that everything we do in this worship service will not be for our
[00:24:41] gain, but will be for your glory. May you increase as we decrease. Father, we love you, and we pray

[00:24:48] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_05]
[00:24:48] these things in the good name of Christ. Amen. 2, Titus chapter 2. But as for you, teach what

[00:32:04] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]
[00:32:04] accords with sound doctrine. Older men are to be sober-minded, dignified, self-controlled, sound in faith, in love, and in steadfastness. Older women, likewise, are to be reverent in behavior, not slanders or slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good. And so train the
[00:32:26] young women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands that the word of God may not be reviled.
[00:32:42] Likewise, urge the younger men to be self-controlled. Show yourself in all respects to be a model of good works, and in your teaching show integrity, dignity, and sound speech that cannot be condemned so that an opponent may be put to shame, having nothing evil to say about us. Bond servants are
[00:33:01] to be submissive to their own masters in everything. They are to be well-pleasing, not argumentative, not pilfering, but showing all good faith so that in everything they may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior. For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation
[00:33:21] for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to
[00:33:43] redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works. Declare these things, exhort and rebuke with all authority, let no one disregard you. This is God's holy, inspired, and inerrant word. Praise be to God for his word.
[00:34:06] You may be seated. And would you go with me to the throne of grace? Heavenly Father, we know that you hear us because of the righteous God-man Jesus Christ, who ever lives as our great
[00:34:24] high priest to make intercession for us. And Lord, we know that you make intercession for us today, helping us to pray even as we know not what to pray. Lord, we give all glory and honor and
[00:34:37] praise to you. We praise your name. You are mighty and marvelous. You are worthy of all praise.
[00:34:44] You are worthy of all glory, for not only have you created everything, but you are, as we just sang, our Redeemer. Lord, apart from you, we are lost. Apart from you, we are judged and dead in
[00:34:57] sin. Apart from you, we deserve nothing but condemnation and hell. But Lord, it is by your grace and by your marvelous plan of redemption that you sent your Son, Jesus Christ, the righteous God-man, to live and die for sinners, to live the righteous life we could never live, and to die in
[00:35:17] our place the judgment that we deserve for our sins. So Lord, we praise you. We give you the glory. We give praise and honor to the Holy Spirit who called us out of darkness and into the
[00:35:32] marvelous kingdom of the Son, who interrupted our lives. Our lives lived alien to God as enemies of God, who interrupted our lives and called us, wooed us, transformed us, converted us, led us to repentance in faith so that we might be transformed to live this new life in Christ. Lord, we thank
[00:36:01] you for all of these realities, and it is because of these realities that we come this morning to praise your name. It is because of the work of grace, the glory of your grace, that we give you
[00:36:12] this praise. We pray, Lord, that we would walk in a manner worthy of God, worthy of the kingdom of God, that we would not live like the world, but we would be transformed by the renewing of our
[00:36:26] minds, which happens as the Holy Spirit applies the Word of God to our minds and our hearts. So Lord, we pray that you would do this work of transformation and sanctification now. Sanctify us in the truth. Your word is truth. Lord, may we know the power of your spiritual work in our
[00:36:50] hearts this morning as we study your word. We pray, Lord, for reformation and revival across the globe. We pray, Lord, for the advance of the gospel to unreached peoples. We pray, Lord, for pastors and evangelists today who are standing up to proclaim the doctrine of God and the Word of
[00:37:11] God. We pray, Lord, that you would speak through them in the power of your Holy Spirit. We pray, Lord, this morning that you would speak through me in the power of your Holy Spirit as we come
[00:37:22] to your Word. Lord, sanctify us in your Word. We pray all this for your honor and your glory

[00:37:30] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_05]
[00:37:30] in Christ's name. Amen. Open your Bibles to the passage we just read, Titus chapter 2.

[00:44:23] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]
[00:44:23] There should be a Bible in front of you. I do encourage you to open the Bible because I want you to see that what I am saying is found in the Word of God, and we're going through this chapter
[00:44:34] verse by verse. So as you're turning there, let me pray one more time. Heavenly Father, we pray that if there's anyone here who does not know Christ as their Lord and Savior, who might know
[00:44:47] the truth intellectually, but has never actually rested in Christ. I pray, Lord, that you would open their eyes to the truth and that you would bring them into the kingdom this morning. We pray, Lord, that you would sanctify all of us as we study your Word. Pray, Lord, for a special
[00:45:07] power and anointing this morning as I preach your Word. We pray this in Christ's name. Amen.
[00:45:14] Amen. Well, I said last week that we had the Father's Day message come early. This is the Mother's Day message come late because we are studying how godly women are to be in the church.
[00:45:32] And this is part of a series that we're looking at in Titus chapter 2. In the book of Titus, Paul is giving Titus instructions on how he is to teach and build up the churches. And what Paul
[00:45:46] is saying to Titus is that in all these churches on this island of Crete, there is to be a distinct culture within the church, that the church is to look different from the world because the church
[00:46:00] is a reflection of the kingdom of God here on earth. And I might say that I really think one of the problems with the American church is how worldly it is, that in so many ways the church
[00:46:14] looks just like the world and even plays secular music at times and all these things. And I think what has happened in our society as America has become more secularized, and that word secular means godless. As our society has become more secularized, the churches have become more
[00:46:36] secularized. It's like the churches have moved away from this ideal, but what Paul is telling Titus is that in the church there is to be a reflection of the kingdom of God here on earth
[00:46:48] the church is to be an embassy of the kingdom of God and one of the ways that's reflected is in the character of the people within the church so last week we looked at older men
[00:47:00] this week we're going to look at older women and younger women but what Paul says generally this is these are some general presuppositions and we looked at these last week but if you weren't here. I'm going to cover them very briefly because they're important. But what Paul says is that the
[00:47:17] character of the believers, those in the church, demonstrates that they are citizens of the kingdom of God. Your character should demonstrate that you are a citizen of the kingdom of God. So if you look at verse 12 of Titus 2, look at verse 12, the grace of God trains us to renounce ungodliness
[00:47:37] and worldly passions. You renounce the passions of the world to live self-controlled. That word is used especially regarding sexual purity, self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age. I read earlier this week in 1 Thessalonians 2.12, Paul says,
[00:47:59] we exhorted each one of you and encouraged you and charged you to walk in a manner worthy of God who calls us into his own kingdom and glory so there it is Paul saying that the grace of God
[00:48:11] teaches you to live different from the world secondly the purpose of Christ's death was to redeem a distinct people we talk about justification and justification is the reality that in Christ all those who come to Christ in faith are forgiven of their sins and declared
[00:48:35] righteous because of the imputed righteousness of Christ. That's the doctrine of justification, that God declares you forgiven, God declares you righteous in Christ by faith. But Jesus not only purchased your justification at the cross, he also purchased your sanctification. And the moment you
[00:48:56] become a Christian, the Holy Spirit begins to do this work of making you more like Christ, and that is called sanctification. So if you look at verse 14, notice that Paul attributes your sanctification to the work of Christ on the cross. Jesus gave himself for us to redeem us,
[00:49:17] look at this, from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works. Did you notice all that? We get this backwards all the time. People
[00:49:29] think that becoming a Christian means that you clean up your life to come to Christ. No, no, no.
[00:49:35] You come to Christ, and then He cleans up your life. So that is the transforming power of the gospel. The gospel sanctifies you. And if you get this wrong, what you're going to do is you're just
[00:49:53] going to do a lot of behavioral modification to try to become a Christian without realizing that Jesus Christ and the power of the gospel, and when we say the gospel, we're talking about Jesus' death, burial, and resurrection, His righteous life. That power that's in the gospel is a
[00:50:12] transforming power. If anyone is in Christ, new creation. The old has passed away and the new has come. And so when you come to Christ in faith and repentance, the Holy Spirit transforms your life.
[00:50:31] And that power was purchased by Christ at the cross. And I emphasize this because sometimes I think people say, yeah, yeah, I believe the gospel, but then I need this counseling program to clean up my life, or I need this to clean up my life. No, no, no. You need the gospel.
[00:50:52] You need to trust in Jesus Christ, and then that power begins this process of transformation, which leads to the third presupposition we have to understand, is that God the Holy Spirit works this transformation in your life experientially, not just theoretically, that you really do become
[00:51:12] a new person. We looked at Ezekiel 36 last week, that you have a new heart, that you have a desire to please God. You have new affections. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 2, you have the mind of Christ.
[00:51:25] you begin to think differently. And of course, your mind needs to be renewed by the Word of God.
[00:51:32] You have Ephesians 1.13, the sealing of the Holy Spirit. You've been sealed by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit comes and takes residence in your life, and then you begin to be transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, fourth presupposition we looked at, if you look at all
[00:51:55] the imperatives in Titus about a kingdom culture in terms of the character qualities. It's not just something to do, it's people to become. Do you see that? He uses being verbs, being verbs.
[00:52:11] Y'all remember this, the difference between action verbs and being verbs in your grammar class?
[00:52:16] Action verbs, this is what you do. Being verbs, this is who you are. Notice the being verbs, older men are. Older women, likewise, are. He keeps going. Younger men are. You get the picture.
[00:52:35] It's being verbs. Point being, he's talking about further transformation, not just behavioral modification. And this transformation happens by the power of the Holy Spirit. Do you transform yourself or does the Holy Spirit transform you? The Holy Spirit transforms you through the work
[00:52:58] of the Word, through the work of the gospel. Of course, we have to be diligent to put ourselves underneath the Word, don't we? But the Holy Spirit does this work of transformation. That's what we're all here for. None of us have arrived. None of us have completed that perfection where
[00:53:19] we're completely like Christ. We're all in this process of continual repentance to become more like Christ, and this process happens as we encounter God's Word, and we say, yep, I need to repent of that. I need to do more of that. And so that's what we're looking at as men and women.
[00:53:40] And then the fifth presupposition that we looked at last week is that depending on who God made you to be, your sanctification is going to flesh out differently. It's going to look a little bit
[00:53:51] different depending on your biological sex. It's going to look different depending on your station.
[00:53:58] And so Paul gives distinct instructions regarding what this sanctification process looks like. And last week we looked at the older men, and we said that word older men. I got more feedback on this than perhaps anything else. That word older men applied to men 50 to 56 in Paul's day.
[00:54:20] And so I had so many men come up to me this past week and they say, I'm not an old man, I'm a historic man. I'm an ancient man. Well, you ladies are not off the hook either because now he
[00:54:31] turns to you and he says, older women in verse 3. And again, I looked up this word. It was this, an older woman was a woman about 60. So, there you have it. Obviously, the span of life was much
[00:54:54] shorter then, but ladies, some of you are older women, some of you are ancient women, right?
[00:55:02] But he says, look, this is what the character of an older woman is to be, and he gives three qualities, and then he tells them something to do. So, the first quality is a general quality.
[00:55:24] In other words, I think this is overarching. This is a quality that encompasses everything else. In some ways, he could have just said this first quality and then left it at that, but he doesn't.
[00:55:35] He says in verse 3, older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior. This is the general quality. That word reverent, it's an interesting word. It's only used here in the entire New Testament. So it's very difficult to discern exactly what it means, but the origin of the
[00:55:56] word means priest-like. So if you think about a priest, what does a priestess do in the ancient Greek world? Well, a priestess was someone who served the gods. And Paul is saying that the older women are to be priest-like. They are to be servants of Yahweh. They are to be virtuous.
[00:56:19] They are to be pure. They are to be godly in all of their behavior. They are to fear God more than they fear men. And you think about examples throughout the Scriptures. You think about Abigail, for example, David's wife, who was the wife of the fool Nabal. And Nabal acted
[00:56:41] treacherously towards David, and Abigail intervened and brought David and his mighty men supplies and food and all these things and prevented David from sinning. And she did this ultimately because she feared the Lord more than she feared her husband, more than she feared David. You think
[00:57:02] about Mary what a remarkable woman and of course we we don't honor Mary as some sort of mediator between us and God like like some do but we honor her nonetheless as the mother of our Lord and it's
[00:57:18] amazing her response when the angel appeared to her and told her that she would be pregnant as a virgin of the Messiah, her response was, this is in Luke 1 38, behold, I am a servant of the Lord.
[00:57:34] I'm a doulos of the Lord, a slave of the Lord. Let it be according to your word. So that's the idea.
[00:57:44] That's the picture, is that you are a slave of the Lord and that you're willing to serve him and let your life be according to the Word of God.
[00:57:56] How countercultural is that?
[00:57:59] I mean, that is otherworldly, literally.
[00:58:05] And so similar to how the men we talked about being dignified last week, being serious, the only way to become reverent like this is to spend time with God.
[00:58:16] The only way.
[00:58:18] The only way is to put away your phone, put away the distractions, put away what the the voices of the culture are saying and to spend time with almighty God to go to the Lord in prayer to go to the Lord in the word to serve him Elizabeth Elliot said and I
[00:58:40] quote I have one desire now to live a life of reckless abandon for the Lord putting all my energy and strength into it you know I think sometimes we're we don't want to be seen as too
[00:58:55] extreme I don't want to be that type of Christian I want to be it I want to be a Christian with decorum and I want to be a Christian that's respected by the world and and I and I have
[00:59:08] cogent arguments and of course we want to have cogent arguments but we must not be afraid to be shamed by the world for Christ and to be truly a reverent, godly person. That's the general
[00:59:24] picture. And then Paul gives two negatives, two negatives. He says in verse 3, look back at verse 3, not slanderers or slaves too much wine. Now, these are important qualities, important negatives, not slanders. The word is diabolos. And by the way, that's a title for Satan. Satan is called
[00:59:55] the diabolos, the slanderer. And this term is used 34 times in the New Testament to describe Satan. Slander, people think it's when you tell lies about someone else. And that's true. That's what slander is, telling lies about someone else. But slander can also be telling the truth about
[01:00:15] someone else. Slander is when you speak a word with the intention of hurting someone else, not building them up. What does Satan love to do? He loves to whisper things in your ear.
[01:00:37] He loves to come to God and say, think about this, what this person has done. What is he doing when he does that. He's slandering. So, slandering, by definition, is a word that is spoken against
[01:00:55] someone with the intention of hurting or harming that person. James warns us, all of us, this is James 3, 5, he says, how great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire, and the tongue is a fire a world of unrighteousness the tongue is set among our members
[01:01:20] staining the whole body listen to that language it stains the whole body setting on fire the entire course of life and set on fire by hell for every kind of beast and bird a reptile and sea creature
[01:01:35] can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind, but no human being can tame the tongue. How many times have you found that to be true? Man, I wish I would not have said that. I hope that does not
[01:01:55] get back to him or her. I really wish I would have worded things differently. I wish I would have thought before speaking. How many times have we had to go back and apologize for something we said?
[01:02:13] James goes on to say, it is a restless evil full of deadly poison. Isn't that interesting language? That it's full of poison, that your words can cause emotional bitterness in someone's life, and that's often what slander does. That's the danger of slander, is that you can speak a
[01:02:38] word against someone, and then they bring it into their soul, and it causes them to be now embittered against someone else. For example, this is Proverbs 18.8. Solomon says, the words of a whisperer are like delicious morsels. They go down into the inner parts of
[01:03:01] the body, not in a good way. So it's always intriguing when somebody starts gossiping about somebody else, isn't it? Your ears prick up. What are you saying? And you lean in, and then you listen and you take in what's said and you say, wow, I never thought that before
[01:03:27] about that person. Maybe that's true. And there begins to be a root of poison towards that person as a result of that gossip. Now, why do you think Paul is addressing this towards women?
[01:03:45] don't both men and women gossip I mean this is not just a neutral sin right men and women gossip but who talks more men or women who objectively honestly who talks more women do and so women
[01:04:08] are more inclined to do this than men for the sheer fact that they talk more and so I talked a number of pastors. And oftentimes, the story, the problems that pastors experience, I found, it's interesting. It doesn't matter if you're in a small church or a big church, medium-sized church,
[01:04:30] they're the same. The problems tend to be the same. One of the problems that is universal is slander in the church. And oftentimes, it's the women. Oftentimes, I hear it from so many pastors. I was reading in John Calvin this week, and he said that the problem with slander was a
[01:04:55] definitive problem with women in the 16th century. So this is universal. And what happens when you have slander in the church is, using James language, what does it do? Starts a fire.
[01:05:14] starts a fire in the church and so it's not a coincidence that satan is called the diabolos and then paul uses that word here because this is how satan gets a foothold in churches all over
[01:05:29] the world satan gets a foothold through slander and as sometimes it's translated malicious gossip. Proverbs 10, 14 says, the mouth of the fool brings ruin near. How often have you seen that in the church? The mouth of the fool brings ruin near. How many churches have fallen, been
[01:05:58] split and divided because of slander? And this is, I think, why Paul says that the deacon wives, this is 1 Timothy 3, he says they are not to be slanderous. They are to set the example,
[01:06:14] just like the older women here are to set the example in not doing this, that you refuse to listen to the slander. You refuse to take part in it. You refuse to listen to it. Guess what happens
[01:06:25] if the slander stops speaking? Guess what happens? It goes away. Proverbs 26 20, for lack of wood, the fire goes out, and where there is no whisper, quarreling ceases. So here's what happens. Here's what we need to do if there's slander taking place. One, you refuse to listen. If you walk
[01:06:49] away, the person stops talking, or you can even ask the person, look, listen, stop speaking. Stop speaking. By the way, I've often found it to be true. This is definitively true. Proverbs 18, 17, the one who states his case first seems right until the other comes and examines him. Oftentimes
[01:07:08] even what the slanderer is saying is not true, and you hear the other side of the story, and it turns out to be false. But then secondly, Paul says, this is Ephesians 4.29, actually turn here, turn to
[01:07:25] Ephesians 4.29. It's so important. Turn to the left to Ephesians chapter 4, verse 29. He says, let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up. Now,
[01:07:45] stop right there. That word corrupting talk is not referring to the cuss words that you heard on the playground, okay? You know, you used to hear these words, oh man, they shouldn't have said that. That's not what he's talking about, although we shouldn't be using those words either.
[01:08:05] He's talking about words that tear down. Let no words that tear down come out of your mouth, but then the positive, look what he says, but only as such that is good for building up,
[01:08:19] as fits the occasion that it may give grace to those who hear. So what Paul is really saying here when he says not a slanderer, he's talking about a woman who allows no corrupting talk to
[01:08:34] come out of her mouth towards other people, but rather she builds up people. And that's the type of church we want to be. Can you imagine a type of church where you came and everybody was building
[01:08:46] one another up, that people are coming to you and speaking the words of grace to your life, building you up. You know, when you did that, that was so encouraging to me. When you served
[01:08:56] in that way, that was an amazing thing. When you welcomed that person and greeted them, that was a kindness that was to them. That's a wonderful church. And then how are we instructed to handle sin. If your brother sins against you, go to him, and between you and him alone,
[01:09:17] and if he repents, you have gained a brother. We handle sin not by going to other people in the church and gossiping about them and saying, do you know what Susie did? We need to pray for her.
[01:09:30] We don't do that. We go to Susie and you say, hey, Susie, this happened, this is how it made me feel, and then, Lord willing, there will be repentance, confession, and reconciliation.
[01:09:44] So that's how that should be handled. Third quality, not enslaved to much wine. So, reverent, she's not a slanderer, she's not enslaved to much wine. Now, in the ancient world, the oinos, the wine, was normally diluted. It was not normally just, if you go to a restaurant now
[01:10:11] and you order a bottle of wine, that's straight wine. Their wine, because the water was so bad, they often, wine was the normal liquid to drink. And so people would have lots of wine in storage
[01:10:30] in their houses, and it was diluted. And so the woman would be working there, she would have access to that wine all day. And Paul says, do not, and the word he uses is do not be a slave
[01:10:42] to the wine. Do not become addicted to the wine to the point where you need it, where it begins to rule you and control you. Who are we to be ruled by? Paul says in Romans 6 that you are
[01:11:01] slaves of God. You are to be ruled by God. The contrast, jot this verse down. Turn back to Titus, by the way. I know I left you in Ephesians, but jot this verse down from Ephesians.
[01:11:16] Ephesians 5.18, do not be drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Holy Spirit. Be filled with the Holy Spirit. So we are to be controlled by the Holy Spirit. Remember we
[01:11:37] talked about at the beginning how the Holy Spirit, if you are a believer, the Holy Spirit comes in and takes residence in you. That is the baptism of the Spirit, the sealing of the Spirit. That is a
[01:11:47] one-time deal that happens. The filling of the Spirit is an ongoing act, and you can be more or less filled by the Holy Spirit. The filling speaks to the degree that we are controlled by the Holy
[01:12:04] Spirit. How do we become more controlled by the Holy Spirit? The parallel passage, jot down Colossians 3.16, Paul says, let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom. So the degree that the Word of God is in you that the Holy Spirit then uses
[01:12:29] to control you, isn't that a simple yet amazing reality? You're filled with the Spirit, under control of the Spirit, by allowing the Word of Christ to dwell in you richly. What does that say, ladies? It means that you need to have a life that is permeated by the Word of God.
[01:12:49] permeated. I think Scripture memorization has become a lost art amongst evangelicals. The Navigators used to do this all the time, that a person become a believer, let's memorize Scriptures.
[01:13:03] We're doing it with the children, but amongst adults, people aren't really memorizing Scripture anymore. We're just so busy on social media and everything else. But the more that you begin to hide God's word in your heart the less you sin against God because you're thinking about God's
[01:13:23] word. Philippians 4.8, you're thinking whatever is true, noble, just, pure, lovely, excellent, good repute. If there's anything praiseworthy or excellent, meditate on these things. Okay, I shouldn't be thinking about that. If that's in your mind, now you're no longer thinking about
[01:13:38] what you were thinking about. Now you're thinking about what you should be thinking about.
[01:13:41] Scripture begins to be used by the Holy Spirit to sanctify you more and more. So, the matter is about what is controlling you. Now, he says don't be slaves of much wine, but there's a lot of
[01:13:55] things that you can be slaves to. You can be slaves to social media. You can be slaves to the sales at Dillard's or whatever, right? There's a number of things that we, that was my
[01:14:13] grandma's favorite store. So I tried to pick on a store that maybe nobody here shops at, but so we can be slaves to a lot, a number of things. But Paul is saying that the godly older woman
[01:14:27] is a slave of Christ. So that's the picture. She's reverent, she's careful with her words, she's self-controlled with her words, and she's under the lordship of Jesus Christ. So those are the qualities of the older woman. And now Paul is going to describe her role. Look back at verse 3.
[01:14:50] he says, they are to teach what is good. They are to teach what is good. So the older women are to teach what is good. The church is not just a place where you come and you hear a message from
[01:15:11] the pastor, and that's the ministry. You do the ministry. And we want to be a church that makes disciples who are equipped to evangelize people and equipped to disciple the believers. And especially there's an important responsibility, he says, of older women. They are to teach what is
[01:15:33] good. Now, how do older women know to teach what is good? And the answer is, of course, in Titus chapter 2, is because they're underneath the ministry of Titus. That's why the instructions to Titus bracket the whole chapter. We've looked at this. Titus 2.1, as for you, teach what accords
[01:15:53] with sound doctrine. Verse 15, declare these things, exhort and rebuke with all authority, let no one disregard you. So, you older women, you're underneath the pulpit, so to speak, you're hearing the sound doctrine, and then you have the responsibility to apply this sound
[01:16:14] doctrine in the lives of younger women. Look at verse 4, and so train the young women.
[01:16:26] Titus was not given this instruction. Paul does not want the young pastor to be training the young women. The responsibility to teach and to train the young women falls to the older women. And I think it's implied that the responsibility to train the young men falls to
[01:16:49] Titus and the older men. So, in the body of Christ, and this is one of these aspects of culture that we've been looking at, there's training taking place. There should be training taking place all the time, that this isn't just a preaching hub, but you're coming here,
[01:17:07] you're being built up and then during the week you are training you you are encouraging exhorting people to become more like christ you're studying the word together you're you're uh memorizing scripture together and we're on this journey together of sanctification and so paul says
[01:17:27] that these older women your responsibility in the church is to train and build up the younger women. That word train, look at that word train. It means to bring to their senses.
[01:17:43] And I think that is an important definition, especially this day and age. Because friends, what has happened with younger women in our culture is absolutely catastrophic. Catastrophic.
[01:18:02] Younger women are coming to church, and by younger women, he's talking about basically 20 to 45.
[01:18:08] they're coming to church less than they ever have in western civilization since the since the early church was established listen for the first time in 150 years more young men are going to church than young women can you believe that i mean it used to always be that christianity was the the
[01:18:29] religion of women gen z has more young men coming to church than young women what has happened an entire generation of young women has been swept away by feminism and secularism an entire generation and they've been taught that you got to be like a man in order to be successful in the
[01:18:55] world in fact if you get married your rights are going to be trampled upon you're not going to be successful you're going to be miserable and if you have kids you're going to be even more miserable
[01:19:07] isn't this the lie of secularism it's godless it's completely contrary to the creation worldview and so it's more necessary now and by the way these statistics uh i i can give you the statistics uh they're quoted in the new york times this isn't just just some an observation i'm making
[01:19:30] listen this this is from a new york new york times article a gallup poll found that 42 percent of men ages 18 to 29 consider religion very important in their lives. Meanwhile, the number of young women has stagnated at roughly 30 percent. So this is catastrophic what has happened
[01:19:53] to the young women. And so, ladies, the hour is desperate, and you are to teach the young women important things about what it means to be a woman. This is the point of Satan's spear,
[01:20:15] is he's attacking what it means to be a man and what it means to be a woman. I mean, we had a Supreme Court justice who couldn't even define a woman, right? I mean, this is madness, the culture
[01:20:26] that we're in. And so young women need to be taught what it means to be a woman. And this responsibility falls to you. Listen to Warren Wiersbe. Quote, the godly older women have the responsibility of teaching the younger women how to be successful wives, mothers, and housekeepers,
[01:20:49] and the younger women have the responsibility of listening and obeying. New Testament scholar Andreas Kostenberger, said, these verses, the verses that we're looking at, present a compelling mentoring model for women. Rather than instructing Titus to mentor young women directly, Paul tells
[01:21:13] him to identify mature, experienced women who can mentor young women in the congregation. So, this is your responsibility, older women. Now, I must say that what Paul tells Titus that the older women to teach is sadly not what is taught by older women across American
[01:21:39] evangelicalism. What the curriculum, we'll call it the curriculum, that Paul tells Titus that the older women are to teach the younger women is not what the older women are teaching. And I thank God for older women Bible teachers. They're needed. They're useful. But by and large, what
[01:22:00] they are teaching the young women is generic truth about how to be a Christian. That's great, but we need you to do more. We need you to teach what Paul tells Titus that the older women are
[01:22:13] to teach. Now, what's that curriculum? We're going to look at it because this is the character qualities that younger women are to have. So this is now the teaching of older women.
[01:22:25] So, so far, just for review, we've looked at the character quality of the older women.
[01:22:30] We've looked at what older women are to do, that they are to teach the younger women.
[01:22:34] Now, third, this is what they are to teach and what the younger women, ergo, are to be.
[01:22:44] So he says they are to teach the younger women, and then he addresses this in verses 4 and 5.
[01:22:54] and you'll notice he says seven things that they are to teach the younger women.
[01:23:00] The first and the second, talking about love, address who the younger women are to love, the people that are closest to them, namely their husband and children. The third and fourth things that he says that they are to do speaks to their virtue, wisdom, and holiness. Number five
[01:23:19] and six speaks to their work, maintaining their home, and doing good deeds. And then number seven speaks to their relationship to their husband. They are to be submissive to him. So let's look at these. These seven things that the older women are to teach the younger women. And these first
[01:23:43] two, it's almost humorous, right? To love their husbands. It literally says to be a husband lover, one word, but they are called to love their husbands. Love is a commitment. It's not a feeling. In the New Testament, both Paul and Peter tell Christian women if they're married
[01:24:09] to unbelieving men to stay married to them. And the implication of all that is, is sometimes men are difficult to love. Is anybody with me there? I mean, if we're honest, we're all there.
[01:24:28] We can be difficult to love. And so Paul says, you need to teach the young women to love those that God has put in their life. You might find it difficult to be married to this man. I laugh,
[01:24:45] there was a book written about Sarah Edwards, who was married to Jonathan Edwards, and it was titled Marriage to a Difficult Man. I mean, I think that's a book that many women, if they're honest, could write. But it's not about how difficult he is to love, it's the fact that you
[01:25:07] love him, that you're called to love him, that you are called to make that choice, that you are called to ask God to help you love him more. And then secondly, he says to love their children,
[01:25:20] children lovers. Can children be difficult to love? My goodness, yes. We have one child who wakes up every day, not to name names, but there was a president that also has his name, and he wakes up every single day discontent and upset every day he wakes up on the wrong side of
[01:25:50] the bed children can be hard to love absolutely but we need to be reminded the psalmist says children are a heritage from the lord the fruit of the womb a reward like arrows in the hand of
[01:26:06] a warrior are the children of one's youth you need to be reminded of these realities that your children are your future investment in the world. They are your legacy. They bring back a blessing upon you. And so you build up love in your mind and in your heart by reminding yourself of truth,
[01:26:31] that your marriage is a reflection of Christ and the church, that your children are a blessing, and you ask the Holy Spirit to bring more love in your heart for them.
[01:26:42] third to be self-controlled we've looked at this rather extensively this this quality this capacity to control one's desires to be sober-minded to control your feelings to not act brashly fourth to be holy or pure and this word speaks largely to sexuality that you could translate it
[01:27:12] as chaste, that the woman's sexual life is entirely in her marriage. Obviously, this is a great problem with men, but it's a problem with women as well, that marriage is the only place for biblical sexuality to take place, and that the woman is pure in that regard. Fifth,
[01:27:39] to be workers at home. Again, this is the only time this word is used in the New Testament.
[01:27:50] Oiko ergos. It's a compound word. Oiko, house, ergos, worker. She's a busy worker at home. She's busy at home. So this is not a command to stay home and be lazy, and as the stereotype is, watch
[01:28:08] soap operas, it's a command to be busy at home, taking ownership of the home. In 1 Timothy, Paul calls the wife the oikodespotes. So he uses another compound word and he calls the wife the house despot. She is the house master. So the house is her domain and she is to be busy
[01:28:37] in that domain. And that means that the wife, in large part, makes the rules of that domain.
[01:28:46] Do we need to be reminded of that, men? You betcha. In our house, there's a rule that you shall not wear your shoes inside the house. You shall not track in what was in the restaurants and the gas stations into the house, and therefore you take off your shoes when
[01:29:08] you come into the mudroom. That is a house rule. She has every right to make that rule. Sometimes I find myself, I'll be going out the door, and I'll realize, put on my shoes, put on my boots,
[01:29:21] and I realize in the mudroom, I forgot my keys in my office. And in that moment, I'm faced with a decision. Do I make a run for it and hope that she does not see? Or do I take off my boots
[01:29:42] well that is her prerogative because she is the oiko despote she is to be busy in the house and by the way this wasn't controversial since the beginning of man until the 20th century this was not controversial people understood that the woman was to own the domestic sphere
[01:30:07] it's scriptural it's biblical this is how the families are instructed to function nobody debated this until you had the feminist movement. Now, can men be domineering and chauvinistic?
[01:30:22] Absolutely, and that needs to be repented of as well. But that's no reason to say that women should not be the oikodespates, the owners of their home who take dominion of their home.
[01:30:39] Here's a quote from MacArthur. He said, keeping a godly home with excellence for one's husband and children is the Christian woman's non-negotiable responsibility. Now this doesn't mean that a woman can never work in some way
[01:30:57] outside the home. We shouldn't be legalistic about this and saying that she can't cross the threshold of the front door and do something outside the home. She can't maybe go work at a school or something like that, the idea is that the woman owns her home, not her husband.
[01:31:15] We need to be clear about that. It's not Mr. Mom. When you have Mr. Mom and the woman being the breadwinner, what happens almost inevitably with those marriages? They fall apart because they're not operating God's way. And so, Paul is saying, this is how the house is to operate with
[01:31:40] the woman being busy owning the home. She's to do this, look at number six, with kindness, with kindness, not in a mean-spirited way. Can a woman own the home and do everything, but not be kind about it. And fortunately, by the way, when Grace Anna tells me to take off
[01:32:03] the boot, she is very kind. But can you do all this and be harsh? Absolutely. And so Paul says the Greek word is agathis, where we… Christi agatha, it means good. It's good works. It's
[01:32:29] kind, the way it's sometimes translated, kind towards others, good towards others. And then seventh, submissive to their own husbands. Notice it doesn't say to every man, doesn't say that every woman is submissive to every man. Paul just says, teach them to be submissive to their own
[01:32:53] husbands. Notice he doesn't say that it's the husband's job to make the wife submit to his leadership. No man can make his wife submit to his leadership. Doesn't matter how good of a leader you are. You could be Abraham Lincoln. You could be Steve Jobs. Doesn't matter how great a leader
[01:33:16] you are, the responsibility of submitting to that leadership belongs to the wife. This doesn't mean that the woman is not equal to her husband or that a woman is less than her husband.
[01:33:30] We all have to submit to various people and various stations and various aspects of our lives.
[01:33:35] When I was in the Marine Corps, I had to submit to anybody who had a rank higher than I did. That didn't mean that they were superior to me in worth. It just meant that they were superior to me in
[01:33:45] rank. And what Paul is saying is that in the household, you have the husband in Ephesians 5 who he says is the kephalos, the head, and then you have the woman who is under the headship of
[01:33:58] the home, and then the children are under, not just the husband, but the husband and the wife.
[01:34:06] So there's equality at the foot of the cross, but yet there's distinction in roles in the family.
[01:34:14] and Paul tells the older women to instruct the younger women to be submissive to their own husbands. Again, not controversial until the 20th century. Do you think if our younger women do this, do these seven things, love their husbands, love their children, they're workers at home,
[01:34:39] they're kind, they're self-controlled, they're submitting to their own husbands, is that counter-cultural today? Man, think about how amazing that would be to see that type of culture. And by the way, do you think that that type of culture leads to despair and despondency
[01:35:00] and tragedy? No. That type of culture leads to flourishing in the family, flourishing in the church. Notice how Paul closes verse 5. Look at the phrase, that the Word of God may not be reviled. In other words, this is a reflection of the culture of the Word of God. How so?
[01:35:28] In this simple way. Are we not ready to submit to the Word of God? That is the problem in modern evangelicalism. As people say, I know what the Word of God says, but I don't want to do it.
[01:35:46] I'll find every way. I'll find cultural arguments. Paul was just speaking to a cultural group there in Crete. It's different from Raleigh in the 21st century. It's different. I don't need to do that. He's speaking to a different culture, different time. No, no, no, no, no. Do these
[01:36:01] things that Paul's talking about, are these just cultural? Be self-controlled and pure and loving their husband. These aren't cultural things. These are transcendent things.
[01:36:13] But yet they need to be obeyed by the Spirit's power. So let's pray to that end, older ladies, that you're reverent. You're not slanders. You're not lovers of wine. And then you are taking the
[01:36:27] ownership of teaching. I need you to do this. The elders need you to do this, that you are teaching the younger women you're modeling and you're teaching and you're teaching this curriculum how to love their husbands how to love their children how to be self-controlled pure workers
[01:36:46] at home submissive to their own husbands and if we do this you are talking about a transcendent church a transcendent church where people who come here they're going to notice that something is vastly different than what they're seeing in the world.
[01:37:06] And they're gonna see flourishing.
[01:37:09] They're gonna see children that are flourishing.
[01:37:11] They're gonna see marriages that are flourishing.
[01:37:13] They're gonna see a church that's flourishing.
[01:37:17] You see why this is so important?
[01:37:19] Massively important that we get this right.
[01:37:23] And we will with God's help.
[01:37:26] Lord, we need your help.
[01:37:29] We ask for your help.
[01:37:30] We thank you for this transcendent word.
[01:37:35] to build a kingdom culture with pastors and church leaders that are under the lordship of Christ teaching sound doctrine with older men who are sober-minded, dignified, self-controlled, sound in the faith, sound in love, sound in steadfastness, older women who are reverent
[01:37:53] in behavior, not slanders nor slaves to much wine, younger women who love their husbands and children who are self-controlled, who are pure, who are working at home, kind and submissive to their own husbands. And Lord, we want to adorn the Word of God. We want to obey the Word of God. We
[01:38:14] do not want to revile the Word of God. So Lord, may we be found faithful in obedience to your Word. In Christ's name we pray. Amen. Now I invite you to stand. Let's stand and praise Christ.

[01:38:34] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_05]
[01:38:34] Your only son, no sin to hide, but you have sent him from your side to walk upon this guilty side and to become the Lamb of God.
[01:39:06] your gift of love your gift of love they crucified they laughed and scorned him as he died the humble king they named a throne sacrificed the lamb oh lamb of god sweet lamb of god
[01:39:36] I love the Holy Lamb of God Oh, wash me in His precious My Jesus Christ the Lamb I was so lost, I should have died But you have brought me to your side Be led by your staff
[01:40:12] You may be seated.

[01:40:53] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]
[01:40:53] We're going to do one more thing, special thing.
[01:40:56] I invite our seniors to come forward and stand up here.
[01:41:00] These are our seniors who just graduated.
[01:41:04] There should be five of y'all.
[01:41:06] Here we are.
[01:41:15] You're a senior by age.
[01:41:17] All right, so I'm going to let y'all introduce yourselves and say what's next.
[01:41:28] What's the next step in your journey?

[01:41:30] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_07]
[01:41:30] Daly's College in Wake Forest, and I will be studying entrepreneurial business.

[01:41:41] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_08]
[01:41:41] Hello, my name is Drayden. I will continue to swim and do activities in the church, and also make some church friends and new friends. Thank you.

[01:42:10] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]
[01:42:10] Wonderful.

[01:42:12] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]
[01:42:12] My name is Savannah Brock, and I plan to go to cosmetology school and hopefully be a stay-at-home mom.

[01:42:19] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]
[01:42:19] Wonderful. We're so proud of y'all.
[01:42:21] We are so thankful for y'all and the work that God's done in your life.
[01:42:35] Now, I have a surprise for y'all.
[01:42:38] Y'all are going to help us lead the doxology.
[01:42:43] So let's stand, and together we're going to praise our triune God.

[01:42:48] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_05]
[01:42:48] Praise God from a blessed church.
[01:43:09] For from him and through him and to him to Christ are all things

[01:43:42] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]
[01:43:42] To him be the glory forever and ever Worlds without end Amen