Doing Good - Why Doing Good Matters So Much, Part 2

I don't know about you but when I listen to the news or even sit with coffee with a friend and you look at the circumstances of people's families, the church, the community politics. I find myself asking the question what can I do mean it seems so absolutely overwhelmed and yet I want to tell you that God has something very simple for us to do is not easy but simple. They can actually bring change of a ripple effect in every relationship. Want to find out what the simple and powerful thing is that's today stay with thanks for joining us for this Edition of Living on the Edge Chip Ingram chips or Bible teacher of this international discipleship program. This program should continues a series good. What happens when Christians live what Christians, by asking have you ever felt like you didn't have what it took to do a good job which reminds us were not alone with a look at a young guy named the apostle Paul was leaving the island. His instructions to his prot�g� Titus were simple be a Christian who lives like a Christian do good in a hostile culture and help others do the same tall order then and now, so let's torture for part two of this message quite doing good matters so much from the book of Titus chapter 2 give you little illustration here.

Imagine that this little lamp represents our life and when a person places their faith in Christ Jesus, that he is the light of the world. And then he turned and said to his disciples then and now the light of the world and when I turn from my sin and receive the free gift of God. I receive the light and it lives inside of me cannot forgive my sins, God is preparing a place for me. I'm loved I'm adopted I been given spiritual gifts. The spirit lives inside of me. He's going to then begin to change me from the inside out. This is grace inside my life now. Unfortunately then and now. Sometimes we don't cooperate with that grace we don't take advantage of the means of grace like God's word are God's people, or we get busy and sidetracked and we don't really talk to God and were not honest with God.

And so what happens is our lifestyles are covered doesn't mean that the light doesn't live inside you, but you cannot just go to work, church couple times a month read the Bible when you can. When your kids is in ICU, you pray really deeply you know Jesus is a part of. Sort of what you do in your bladder and you believe in, but your character and your relationships and how you live out your faith and how you drive your car in doesn't reveal that and the reason I'm so passionate about this and probably God's infinitely more passionate. I grew up around people who said they love Jesus and told me I should love Jesus and I heard all their little Bible stories, but this is all I saw when I grew up. And if that is Christianity.

If that's Jesus if that's Hope I want nothing to do with it.

Someone said something that really jolted me and it's true. That said, do you ever consider the fact that you are the greatest Christian. At least someone will ever meet someone at work. Someone you know three layers away that you don't even know them but they know your Christian there watching your life and the watching my and so doing good isn't like optional doing good is like foundational because our doing good reveals the Christ that's offered the second reason that doing good matters so much isn't simply because we allow others to see the grace of God for their salvation but doing good reveals Christ presence in our lives.

In fact, you might write presence and might even about that right supernatural reveals God's supernatural presence. People don't need to see just good little moral goody two shoes, trying hard to be a little bit better in moral. He says that when you are in Christ something supernatural and dynamic happens to your values and your priorities in your life and your relationships.

Look at verse 12. He says it he speaking of the grace of God's grace save us yes, but the same grace inside of us begins to create both the want to end the will to transform us back the key concept here is very simple is grace provides life change literally. Grace produces life change. It's a look what it says for it. The grace of God teaches us to say no to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age when the grace of God deposits the spirit of the living God inside of you and inside of me.

It gives us power and a new set of desires to say no to what ungodly the Cretan lifestyle lying, cheating and morality lack of concern for other people, me-ism hedonism. I'm the only one that matters. And you say no to worldly passions, and the lures and you say yes and you say yes to three different things. He gives and one talks about your relationship with yourself. One is about your relationship with other people in the third word is your relationship with God says it produces self-discipline. It's the word God is not given us a spirit of fear but a spirit of self-discipline.

The spirit of God begins to allow you to arrange your life in ways that produce the life of Christ you not just push here and there by the passions and desires and the feedback in the media of the world. And then he says you have justly or uprightly means you tell the truth. The people you shoot it straight with people you can be trusted in your relationships at home and at work in business and in sales calls your upright and then finally godly as your relationship. It your live with this reference of God, and rather than fearing what everybody else thinks you fear and a healthy referent way, what he thinks.

And so what he says is this grace literally when it's operating in your life. The evidences it produces good works. Let me ask you if you will want to read this passage in turn, if you would, to Matthew chapter 7 because, according to Jesus. This is really really big and really important and what I notice about Jesus is he seems to talk about the biggest issues in our lives and the problems they had. Then the problems we have now are all the same. Matthew chapter 7 I pick it up in verse 15.

It's a toward the end of the sermon on the Mount. He's describing what it means to be a follower of his and we have a warning it says watch out for false prophets. They come in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves? How would you watch out for by their fruit you will recognize them Finnegans this rhetorical question that you know in the day, people would go. Of course he said the people pick grapes from thornbushes know, or figs from thistles, of course not. Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. And here's an axiomatic statement. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown to the fire.

Thus by their fruit you recognize by their outward behavior by their attitudes by their time by how they spend their money by how they treat people you recognize them.

Not everyone is says to me Lord Lord will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my father who is in heaven. Many will come to me on that day Jesus said at the end of time will say, Lord, Lord, did we prophesy in your name and then we drive out demons and perform miracles.

I mean we were religious men. We were then I will tell them plainly. I never knew you. Away from me evildoers. I have a huge concern. One of the biggest privileges I would call it maybe the last 10 years is I've been out of thousands would be an exaggeration but least several hundred churches all over the world and whether it's a denominational church or evangelical church or a Bible church or community church whether the Catholic Church are a Baptist church or Methodist Church or Pentecostal church we have a rush of people and a throng of people who at least when you look at the visible evidence of their life of their time and their energy to morality and the relationships they live. I mean sero-difference than those that are outside of Christ, but on a certain day at a certain time. They raise their hand or or they walked down in front of an aisle somewhere. Were they had maybe a little religious experience and they intellectually agreed that Jesus was God and the intellectually agreed that he rose from the dead and someone said you know believe that in every things can be great and and they believed intellectually that salvation involves an intellectual and emotional in a volitional content where you turn from your sin. The word is repentance and you receive Christ to follow him and what the apostle Paul. This is not new.

When he began to look at the lives of the people in Corinth and in other churches when there was no fruit. He said basically only God knows and sent Clinton's 13 five look at this follow along. He says to these people examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you, unless of course you fail the test meaning he's talking to a group of people whose morality and lifestyles are way away. He doesn't assume they're not in the faith. He's not assuming there's not a light in here, but he saying this is all I can see and if this is all I can see I'm looking at the fruit. Some of you need to really ask, does this light live in me because according to Jesus, if it does, it produces fruit so I don't know where you're at, but I just have this feeling that just scares me. But I think the most dangerous place to be in the entire world would be to intellectually believe.

I believe in Jesus by believing God literally rose from the dead. I get a ticket to heaven.

I think everything's fine I live my life. My completely own way. I don't think about God much.

I don't have much desire for his word. I don't really want to be around Christians that much.

But you know I believe and I think I checked the bottom okay right.

What right. What if it's not, what if you're one of those people that you say hey Lord, Lord, and I went to that Bible church and you know when the games were in honor when it did have some for the weekends and not what if he would say I never knew you.

It's all I don't want anyone to do anything other than have an honest talk with God you say if I'm not in, would you show me examine yourself when little kids are growing and they love their grandparents. All of my four kids from little time up through their 30s have shared Christ with their grandfather and if you ask him.

Do you believe Bob leaving the old man upstairs chipper. I think everything's going to be fine. Anyway, there's no fruit. I mean there's no concern for his grandkids. There's no concern for his kids.

He's mean for all the years that have ever known my wife. He's narcissistic.

He is absolutely alienated almost everyone on the planet we been in counseling because of all the my Wiseman through but I can say this reverently, or in reverently.

He's a jerk and an evil man, but he tell me, oh yeah, I'm fine. I believe the man upstairs. Would you believe in Jesus. I believe in Jesus you think you got all yeah everything zero evidence for reasons I cannot understand and I don't have time to talk about. He made a genuine commitment and receive the grace of God is life and to my shame. It was like I will wait and see this one is honestly even messing with my wife and I built with a lot of pain.

She has I just wanted to take them out. I didn't have much faith and then for the first time in 35 years that I've known him. He starts to call my wife never called and then he begin to care about people and then he began to ask about my kids and I sent a little something for my wife and I saying thank you and I mean all I can tell you at 87 to 89 dramatic significant life change because good trees produce good fruit and bad trees produce bad fruit. Why is doing good. Why does it matter it matters because those outside of Christ. They need to see you like to know salvation is real and it matters because if you have the light, it will show up soon examine yourself this. Doing good is big stuff in Scripture.

The third reason we do good is because reveals the priority of our lives. Verse 13 notice after he says and we say no to these things we say yes and by the way, that word, it teaches us. I love that word before you go on.

It teaches us.

It's how a parent teaches a child. So if you're hearing my life's not perfect. I wonder what I'm a Christian it's not saying you're perfect is that you're making progress believes are coming out, there's little fruit here little fruit there.

The grace of God teaches us.

It's three steps forward into backwards you have issues I had that you were all good habits you still Jesus comes back or you go get to see him, but it brings about transformation and change that's visible. That's real that's internal that's from the heart. And then notice it's while something is happening. There's a focus. He says while we wait for the blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our notice how Jesus is described. Our great God and Savior Jesus Christ.

Now up above I think I had to circle the word appearing circle down here it's the same word and what's interesting what he saying is, there was all this darkness and then Christ first in light came into the world. He says there's a appearing or an epiphany of grace what he saying that is when you are in Christ you're looking for, not just the grace here, but there's a second epiphany and that's when he returns the blessed hope, the glorious appearing is when Christ comes back. And if you believe that's true. See, here's the key concept everyone either has a eternal perspective or a temporal perspective.now I could ask you know, like a little test okay multiple-choice. Are you ready do you believe in heaven and you believe that you will live forever and you have an eternal perspective. A yes be no. I would guess that about 90 some percent of all the people in this room was. I I believe I have an eternal perspective, and that's what our minds say that's what our words say, but here's how you know if in fact there is a heaven and there is a Savior and is coming back and he cares about your family and your neighborhood, and he cares about the people all around the world and he cares about who shows up at work and what kind of dad or mom or roommate that you are and you have an eternal perspective.

Here's what I will tell you your time, your energy, your thoughts and your money will flow to things at last forever not just things that happen for the right now. Notice the key concept here is temporal versus eternal perspective in the apostle Paul in Philippians chapter 3, after he talked to them. He said join together in following my example talk about lifestyle how you live brothers and sisters, just as you have us of the model.

Keep your notice eyes on those who live as we live will Paul, how do you live for.

As I tell you, and often told you before now and tell you again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ.

He speaking to the church people in the church. Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach and their glories in their shame. Their mind is set on earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven.

We eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body and soul all in saying is by way of application. Be ready be ready. God is coming back in my doing good doesn't just review my priorities.

They reveal my real priorities. I encourage you to read the passage I put in your notes on again Jesus teaching out of Matthew 25 where he talks about two sets of virgins and he's giving a picture of the return of a bridegroom in these wedding party virgins and half of them were prepared and half of the work.

Half of them just brought a lamp and half of them brought a lamp with a jar of oil and they fell asleep and then he came the bridegroom when they weren't ready in 1/2 were out oil.

They asked for the others will can we have some of years and they said no. We won't have enough, and I love I just read this fresh last night when they went to buy more oil.

They were off doing other things. He came, and then they came and knocked on the door and said hey we will you we want and now it says depart for me. I never knew you see are doing good reflects my real priorities where my time and my energy, my money, my dreams go reveal my priorities is doing good is profound. Doing good announces the grace of God for others doing good reveals the grace of God working in me and doing good talks about disappearing this epiphany of the Lord's return for other people. Finally doing good. The fourth reason reveals Jesus purpose for our lives.

The key concept is your ear his workmanship. It's interesting the most classic verse that we quote about for by grace you are saved through faith. That's not of yourselves. It's the gift of God not a result of works, lest any man should boast. Ephesians 28 and nine.

Now here's the purpose clause. Verse 10 for we are his workmanship, literally his poem's work of art. We are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for what, unto a good work. This isn't just about doing nice little things, the creator of the universe has a good unique work, but the gifts you have the family you came from the circumstances and the point in history that you are right now he has something for you to do and something for me to do your doing good reveals the purpose he has for your life. Jesus last night. He got his disciples together and said, fellas. This is what glorifies God. This is what matters he talked about the vine, the branch the relationship and he says you producing much fruit, not some fruit much fruit. The grace of God in planning the spirit of God. The changes a character. The changes relationships. The changes priorities. The changes concern you become an agent where the conduit of God's love and grace. Flow in you and then through you changes people doing good matters as John Wesley said do all the good that you can to all the people you can as often as you can and as long as you can. But here's the assignment Rover simple each day this week. Just good in your home.

Just me just plumbing you don't bring someone coffee, say a compliment, do good in your home, do something good, just do good at work and then do good at your third place, and whether that's the gym or whether that's were you coach or whether that's with a group of people you just hang out with.

Whether it's a coffee shop just do something good, and here's what happened. You can start watching. This is just a little experiment a little ripple of change of people, and here's what will shock you 10 that feels good because God made you to be back in a minute. But a quick reminder before we go on the message you just heard why doing good matters so much is from chip series doing good.

What happens when Christians live like Christians. Chip is teaching through the book of Titus and he explains why doing good is so much more than just a nice idea. The active doing good is a catalyst that transforms both you and the world around you for the better Jesus did good by breaking down barriers, healing hurts and reviving hope is our example.

It's simple but it's not easy for limited time all the doing good resources are discounted, including the small group video study that order your copy or to send it to a friend. Just visit us online at http://livingontheedge.org Special offers or give us a call at 1-888-333-6003, which was we watched trends and see what's happening with church Living on the Edge were more intentional than ever about doing what we can to help people get out of isolation of small groups need to be safe and legal but the fellowship of believers is critical for lots of reasons. What would you say to people are feeling alone and disconnected right now Dave, first of all I would say I can really identify. I mean, I love our pastor. My son is a pastor.

I've watch it online. And yet, I will tell you my motivation to sit in front of a computer and watch other people saying and hear a message.

It's very very challenging. We need interactionist people. I think it's important to stay with that.

But what were doing right now is calling people, whether on zoom but much more importantly, I think things are opening up that in smaller groups we can get together and this series doing good is God's answer to making a difference in a world gone crazy. I mean, when values are being pushed to the side when truth is being trampled when the world is in desperate need.

The solution is do all things without grumbling or arguing but holding forth the word of life.

That's what he says to the Philippian church. You can make a difference when you live in such a way that your excellent behavior and your good deeds silence those who oppose you.

Now is the time to get in small groups share with one another and then take action. Do good.

Make a difference. Thanks to one of the best ways to take advantage of our free and discounted small group resources is to visit us online or with the chip and remap chip opens each video session he does the teaching and then will get you started in your discussion for leaders. We have loads of free video training@livingontheedge.org to build your skills and confidence.

All that to say were doing everything we know to help you do life in community around the truth of God's word for limited time, you'll find all of our small group resources discounted along with this series. Doing good when you order the study guides free online streaming is included. DVDs are available and will ship it all free. Just go to LivingontheEdge.org or Special offers and find the study you think would be most helpful and meet as a family or with a few friends and see what God will do in you and then through you to do good as we close today's program and you have heard basically an overview of the book of Titus. I mean you've seen the entire framework about the importance the centrality of doing good and that it is the very Christ of God that saves us. It's that same grace that teaches us to say no to worldliness and all ungodliness and then talks about very specific acts of doing good that when we do. It's just like lights come on in people's eyes. It's the kindness of God that leads people to repentance and they they need to see that kindness in us that they need to see Christians behind the wheel today that wave and let someone in that they need to meet a Christian today that you know you just buy the copy for the person behind you and they need to meet a Christian today that you necessitate a something you need a ride home all take care that they need to see a Christian today that you know we all set out our garbage cans and you know the trucks come by and then you know there's some trash. Then they need to see who's that neighbor that keeps putting my cans back where they need to be an even brings him back and put some next my house.

I remember being next door to a lady who many many many years ago that didn't seem to be very receptive to the Lord or the gospel and I just found. I know she was a single mom and been through some hard stuff and and so every time I cut my lawn. I cut her lawn and she always would look at me like, you know, why do you do that about 10, 12, 15 years later and I never saw any results as she visited the church was like whoa I was at another church and like like what you doing here and is just, like ding, it was the grace of God demonstrated in the simple act that God used. To change her life and her heart and I got to be one small part of that today. Think about what small steps you could take to do a good work in the name of Jesus and then see God work in a great way to stay engaged and connected to chip in Living on the Edge is with the chipping remap will get free access to all of Chip's recent messages is message notes and much more.

And not only that, but it couldn't be easier to call us or email directly from the yeah will be with us again next time when chip continues a series doing good. What happens when Christians live like Christians tell them this is Dave Drewry saying thanks for listening to this Edition of Living on the Edge