Doing Good - The High Cost of Not Doing Good, Part 2

Do you know why it's so important that Christians live like Christians. I mean, I say that a lot of Living on the Edge you know where I got it and why it's so important to stay with. Thanks for listening to this Edition of Living on the Edge Living on the Edges and international discipleship ministry focused on helping Christians live like Christians just a minute will continue our series doing good. What happens when Christians live like Christians in this program shift continues is look at the specific and helpful instruction. Apostle Paul passed was protégé Titus held that wisdom applies to us today. But before we begin. If you been encouraged by the series so far.

Would you take a minute after this message and shirt with a friend I can do that to the trip and remap or by sending them the free MP3s will find Living on the Edge as we get started to picks up where he left off last time in Titus chapter 2, by explaining how people practice good in different ways depending on their stage of life. I've had people in church unintentional, but they've asked my wife. So what is Yvonne I am actually homemaker and she's work that you know different times and she was unit during this season when our kids were small and then on up through you know when we sent them out. I just felt like that was my greatest priority just had people look at her like all you so you don't really have a real job, so you must not really be an important person and instead we had an entire world for the last 20 years, bombard women and tell them the you don't really matter if you don't work outside the home.

In fact, beyond working outside the home. I mean, really, really make it happen and all that liberation has done is most women I know have two jobs that have all the job where they work and I know all the theory that all the things you can be shared at home it really work that way does it feels the moral weight of nurturing who feels the moral weight of what happens with kids who feels the moral way and I just I think women have really been pulled apart doesn't mean you can't work.

I don't think so, but I think what it does mean is your priorities in the season of life. You can only work or get needed income after you know you're taking care of what no one else can do is on the one hand, it's really interesting people in lease come to me and say what you must be in a really amaze God's done a few things through you, I think, well, you know have, but the current one offs, and I look at my wife and I look at you know the time that she spent investing in our kids.

I think of our greatest joys, and what's happening. Our kids are impacting far more people than I ever will. And all my life, your investment is is a long-haul investment very painful with very difficult with not a lot of reward during the journey, but the payoff is deeper and greater is he have have a long fuse you really believe you know what this meant. This may feel kinda hard but you know you really talking maybe what 15 years. 1012 that are super supercritical and then and then you launch the kind of people that change the world. And so now he says older men.

This is what a Christian looks like who lives like a Christian older women and younger women in the notice, he says.

Here's why. So that God's word will not be discredited. That's the idea people speak evil of another. It's God's word, wow this must be true. Why, because of how older men and older women and young women actually live summary here is that our character and relationships at home ready for this could cut should cause our children to want to be like us and calls our neighbors and our friends to admire our marriages and our parenting not question our faith. A member talking to a guy that was very famous in a very technical field and a friend of a friend conversation and was relayed to me as we were talking about this yet young man. It was like 18, 19, 20 years old and in the interviewing process. This is what you really want to be when you grow because I want to be like my dad all you want to be a famous engineer like your dad is all know to be a Christian like my dad. My dad's the greatest person I've ever met you and that's what I want but that means whether I'm an older man or an older woman or young woman can you see what would it take for our kids to grow up in environments where they would say I want to be like you, I don't want to do what you did on my have different gifts and different passions, but the kind of person the kind of Christian, the kind of friend, the kind of mom, dad be like you see. That's how the revolution of Jesus Christ turn the world upside down.

He now goes to the young men in the home and he says you younger men.

He says you need to be self-controlled and, interestingly, the word changes as you go through like I did in my Bible. The word teach, teach, teach, teach, teach, training, courage, exhort, teach, teach what what he realizes people don't how to do this if people already know something. You have the teaching go through your Bible. If you would if you have little candle and highlight teach, teach what you see is all of chapter 2, except for the second half, which we already covered.

It's all about people have to learn your kids have to learn your friends have to learn the people you disciple that we have teach them in the culture in Crete just like the culture today is the opposite of Christians and non-Christians. In fact the tragedy is in most churches the culture is different for Christians let Christians it's our work cut out for us and so now it gets a little stronger because I want you to exhort.

I want you to admonish the young men and it's interesting.

There's only one thing you're supposed to tell them be self-controlled, you make your own conclusions on them. The word self-control is showed up in every single one of the relationships and it simply means to master oneself to be disciplined and I would say to young men here to be discipline or control over your passions for success for wealth for sex for power and for fame and when young men are disciplined and aligned by the power of God with their time there priorities with their family, their own spiritual development in prayer and God's word and they don't allow their work or their hobbies to dominate their lives. They step up and they change the world. They have energy to have focus. They have dreams those of the kind of Christians that change the world. Kennedy says to Timothy you will. How do you do that teaching to be self-controlled and says that the tightest excuse me. Very similar comments to the other young pastor Timothy. He says you set them an example. You tell them be self-controlled and then tell them just look at me guys, but how do you like me that pastor you just you model self-control you model godliness you model loving relationships you model faith you model how to treat women you model how to treat your kids and then demonstrated he says in the integrity and seriousness of reteaching the word integrity has to do with motives. Notice the false teachers. They did it for money. He says tightest you teach and why were people know you're not into their wallet. You're not into fame, not in impressing people cute is living it out and then also needs to be serious don't come halfhearted and give half-baked messages you need to give messages that are well researched and you need to do with dignity need to do with the sobriety that you do before the living God and notice why I mean the reason here so that the critics may have no basis for their accusations about the church, literally.

It's about us when young men are self-controlled and don't lust on the job.

I don't log onto porn sites and don't tell dirty jokes can love their wives and take time and don't get addicted to work in our good dad's not perfect.

Dad. Dad that's a rare breed you meet a man like that. Pretty soon all that criticism about Christians in the church and intolerant, hypocritical and Nanyang air mate. What that's you just you start exporting more and more of those kind of people when you don't have it all together for you to live like I live you live a lot like Jesus. And when you don't, you don't think it your real your authentic it's like spiritual honey drawing the bees who long for life and they're all around us where we work in our neighborhoods. He shifts it now, and says Christians need to live like Christians to the credibility of God's word and for the credibility of his church. But not just not just in our homes and our relationships, but he shifts gears now and talks about work. Now obviously it's a different worlds we have mingled transition here he's gonna talk to slaves because the great majority of the Christians were slaves and by the way what he's in a Satan. Slaves make your calling and your job really easy compared to what is going to ask them to do. You need that you need understand the view of slavery and slavery in the world. Aristotle said this, Aristotle said, you can't miss use or abuse. A slave because it's a piece of property, not unlike a washbasin or a woman codger like to live in a world where you are a piece of property, and therefore if you are beaten, you know what it's like you know my car if I want to record I can wreck my car if I want to beat it up to compete at my car now to be fair, many people were very kind to their slaves but no rights, and by the way like it if it's not going real well. This was not one of the options you know master I and I know I was kind of been here for quite a while, but I'm I've asked for transfer on to be quitting his there is no plan B so listen this.

This is why the church change the world what he's going to tell them is impossible, and yet they did it, but they didn't do it in their own strength they did it by the power of the Holy Spirit working in the power of God's word in the context of authentic community where they would meet and hear the teaching of the Scripture.

They were all illiterate and so these scrolls would be read and they would memorize them out loud together and go over them over and over and over him in their mind and then they would meet in homes and they would share a meal and they would talk about you know that letter we got, you know, that was passed around that one to the Ephesians that other little into the Colossians, and in that one to the Thessalonica and and then they got up and they went into horrendous working situations and they responded by enlarged by his power, the way Jesus would have responded if he was actually living inside their body, which he was and so he says to them, a slave, whether you have a Christian or non-Christian master be subject to your masters that sort of the overarching the ideas you gotta be submit to them.

You have to obey what they say. Try to please or satisfy them. The idea here is just a good job was in New York City and heard Tim Keller speak in his talk about impact in the marketplace and he said you know we can't have a generation in both young and all that we really want our work to have such meaning and we wanted to change the world and he said you know that's great but you know part of just serving God sometimes is just like doing a great job. You know if your dentist and drilling teeth. This bicuspid is and is change the world but it will really be important that person that you put in that crown on or if you're an airplane pilot is like all I do is lie from here to Beijing.

All I do is live here. Southwest back and forth when you land correctly. We love you do things with excellence creates software with excellence. Come on time. Do a great job please your masters, then it says not to talk back to them. So there's a respect there's an attitude. Those of you that are supervisors or employees you know that people should work, but you know sometimes it's like this.

I got attitude. I'm here, but I don't like you and I'm going to do it as little as possible to make as much as possible, and I'm guessing sort of poison things because you know when you find employees with a good attitude and petty thievery was just common so that the slaves would steal. He says don't steal from them, and show that you can be trusted. I mean can you imagine mastery realized know what this Christian stuff is in this Jesus in all this resurrection and this is wild and crazy, but all I know is if I had another 10 slave like that I'd change the world about 100. Our company would be. That's what God wants us to be where were at was picking up my laundry yesterday and the fellows I got I've got to know is come to church somebody's wife works another church so he doesn't go here but I know as a believer and I was I was behind the guy in front of me and the guy in front of me said old sweatshirt. Did you get that staying out here as well. You really tried to exhibit was blood so you didn't come out civil, the stain to come out here is what you can do it more. But I'm free to go right through the fabric and he said well you can get this thing out how to pay for that in significant casino who got the stain in the shirt you brought the shirt he clean the shirt he tried to get the stain out shirt is not pay for that in this guy's response. I saw you how you see this or that his eyes flashed like but then, I mean the guy didn't catch it because absolutely certain that be okay now to Take that right off your bill and you know took care of him and I got my stuff and I walked out and you had one of those old promptings.

I thought you know what Manel that's a Christian, lived like a Christian. I went back in there and it cleared out. I said hey can I tell you something you said what a way to go. Way to go such a great attitude that was such a great response. You could talk back. You could've argued something you just handle it with class. Colossians 323 and 24 says, do you work not doesn't to me and not try service not for their reward. Do you work as unto the Lord is an act of worship.

I'm to create this for God and to build this for God I'm gonna fix this for God to write the software for God. An elitist team meeting for God and his inspection is what I care about why so that in every way that will make the teaching about God our Savior, attractive attractive patent really amazing New Testament word if it's the picture like taking a very special jam and dropping it into a setting but then around the setting you put all these other very very precious gems in it with a background in gold so it just adorns it just makes it awesome looking and God says when we do our work that way. It makes people scratch their head and go so everyone else left early and you didn't.

Why you didn't really have to turn that in on your expense report. You did and you know we had a probably wasn't even in your area that you covered for another guy and what's this about, and I would recommend this is not exact its Jesus said but in the right way and the right time. You can verbalize and share as you earn that kind of respect will turn to the back page. If you will like to wrap it up as we think about being the kind of older man older women, younger women, younger women and slaves.

Workers really are Christians that live like Christian at home and at work, but we live in a day where our reputation as Christians has taken a hit.

Our influence is marginalized and her children are abandoning the faith. So let me ask you what has the power to convince an unbelieving world the God's word is true. Second, what has the power to restore credibility and influence to the church. And third, what has the power to make people want to explore a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and the answer to all three is doing good where you live and where you work doing good not talking about it doing good power of the Holy Spirit as a person who understands you can't do it.

Apart from time in God's word and it is impossible unless you can do it.

Life with people that give you the strength and encouragement, and accountability to become who God has saved you to become. You don't need any more of God. He needs more of you. And when he gets more of you and can allow his life to flow through you. You will be an older man that will admire and respect you be an older women woman who realizes that the greatest beauty that you had to share is beauty that's on the inside not the outside and you be a young woman who has clean and clear, and wise priorities and you can invest in the thing that matters most in your gifts to help other people in your be a young man who says you know something I got a lot of passions and there's a lot of ditches and a lot of potholes out there but I'm this set my face like a flint, and I'm to be a man of God and a great father and a godly husband and I'm going to go to work and work will not only me but I'm going to go to work in a way unto you, and I'm going to ask you for the opportunity with the energy and the dreams you put in the chain starts doing it right back with his application. This message, the high cost of not doing good series doing good. What happens when Christians live like Christian Bible teachers that were saved by God's grace and our faith in him.

So where does that leave doing good works and why does it matter how we interact with one another through chips teaching in the book of Titus will learn how our decision to do good for another person is more than just a simple gesture. It's an opportunity to impact their life. Don't list the easy ways you can practice doing good every day and how we can dramatically change our world for the better of you missed any part of this series. The chipping roadmap is a great way to catch up anytime chips with meter and studio now and chip toward the end of your teaching today. You talked about the power and necessity of living life in community, one should take a second and explain why that's such an important part of our Christian walk will Dave. I'll tell you I don't want to oversimplify, but Jesus said I came the might have life and have it more abundantly. At the heart of the Christian life. It's allowing Jesus to live his life through you by the power of the Holy Spirit rooted in the word of God in the context of community and that little word bio means life is I've just taken that acronym here, Living on the Edge and it simplifies it for me if you want the life of Christ lived out, it means be you have to get before God daily and before him with other people weekly and worship the I is for in community you have to do life with people heart-to-heart face-to-face and the oh is on mission 24 seven. What I've seen so much is people have lost the in the community aspect. It's impossible to obey the word of God to experience life by yourself. Get with the group of people watch the videos on your own, then discuss them do it live do it online, do it. However, it works best. But take the next step getting community.

You'll never regret it. Good idea.

Triplex, but we have a growing library of small-group resources and they're so easy to use your provides the teaching and then you'll have time to discuss what you've heard alongside our helpful study guides. So if you're not in community it or you weren't sure what to study. Next, let me encourage you to check out the small group resources for doing good to learn more, go to LivingontheEdge.org or call us at AAA 3336003X AAA 333-6003, or LivingontheEdge.org hapless nurse taps special offers will now here's chip to share some final thoughts from today's message as we close today's program I want to give us a little perspective about what we've heard. Titus is writing power by the Holy Spirit to tell a group of people in a very secular culture and with a group of Christians whose lives really aren't matching up the message of the gospel and so as we think back East told them in your homes, you need to live this way because that's how Christians live in it work. This is how you need to work and this is how you represent your boss and how you tell the truth, so that God's word won't be discredited and at the very end.

Yeah I raise the question about what has the power to convince an unbelieving world that God's word is true. What has that power.

What is the power to restore credibility and influence to the church. I mean, when you see Christians portrayed on TV or if you talk with people's liking of the church are relevant what's going on. Or, finally, what one has the power to cause people that you know and that you love may be a relative, a neighbor, a coworker maybe want your kids to really want to explore who Jesus Christ is and what he really has to say and it's so simple and yet so profound it's doing good. It's when we actually live it out and is not just these huge things we do it, it's little acts of kindness. It's showing up to work on time.

It's being the kind of employee that you know supervisor doesn't know why you do what you do. Maybe yet but it's being that kind of person and I think sometimes we get this idea that there's good to be this big dramatic moment that changes everything in the fact of the matter. It's lots of tiny small moments of living and ordinary godly loving caring life that make all the difference in the world and I just want to say to all of you fellow ordinary people who feel like life is kind of mundane and you just kind and you're just loving in your living it out, and you're praying God is going to use that is the accumulation of those things that are really gonna make a difference.

Let's all commit together to be Christians that just do good live good in the power of the Holy Spirit and trust God that he's going to use the testimony of our lives. Most often we don't even know it to bring multitudes to Christ. Just before we close owner thank those of you who make this program possible through your generous financial support. If you found today's program helpful would have never supported us financially. There's never been a better time than right now. When you give a gift to Living on the Edge it will be matched dollar for dollar, thanks to some very generous friends of the ministry making a donation is easy just go to LivingontheEdge.org Donate on the app or give us a call at AAA 3336003X AAA 333-6003 on behalf of Chip and everyone here.

Thank you in advance for your generosity will until next time, this is Dave Burley saying thanks for listening to this edition of living all the