Doing Good - Doing Good - Where it All Begins, Part 1

When you think about doing good. What comes to your mind feeding the hungry building homes for the homeless. Sponsoring a child. Have you ever wondered ever define what is good.

How would God define what is that today stay with thanks for joining us for this Thursday edition of living on the shipping Living on the Edge features the Bible teaching of Chip Ingram's daily discipleship program today.

Chip continues his series.

What happens when Christians look like Christian by helping us draw an important distinction between doing nice things and doing the kind of good that Scripture talks about the kind of good actually changes things of life for those around us. If you have a Bible open it now to Titus chapter 1. Let's join Chip for his message. Doing good where it all begins. Scripture says the Lord executes righteousness and justice for all the oppressed, the Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness, righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne, lovingkindness and truth go before you, because the way God executes justice and brings about righteousness and an evil world is. He has a group of people in whom Christ lives by his spirit, and they see the way he sees and they care the way he cares and they do what Jesus did when he walked upon the earth and were in a series called doing good. It's what happens when Christians live like Christians because the apostle Paul when he was describing what it looks like for Christians who would like Christians.

At the end of Romans chapter 12 he said do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. He basically says in response to all the evil in the world.

You can whine. You can complain.

You can call talk radio. You can have coffee with your friends. You can criticize and blame all the people of why this is happened, or you can do good you to be a change agent.

You can be light that pushes back the darkness and when you do it.

Powerful things happen. I listed for on the topic is doing good member. It's more powerful than evil for things happen. We do good. Number one, it pushes back the darkness number two it rescues people from destruction. Number three. It connects our hearts to others. I don't know why I don't how it works.

But when you help people we help people in your home. We help people that work we help someone is really hurting. Something happened your hearts connect. And finally, it provides un-explainable joy. The Bible talks about the orphan, the widow, the poor in our day. The HIV patient the abandoned woman single dad, the person is lost their job. The person is lost their home. It's powerful when you do good were going to the book of Titus and it's an entire book in the Bible, written for one purpose to help you understand why do good. What good really is and how to do it. Why does it matter so much. First doing good reveals God's passion for people. Jesus said to his followers. Let your light so shine before men, that they would see your good works and glorify your father was in heaven. People understand God loves them because we do good to them.

The second reason doing good reveals God's presence in our lives. Jesus said good trees produce good fruit. When Christ lives in you and it's legit and it's real, it will always produce doing good doing good doesn't make you right with God. But when you're right with God. You can't but help doing good. Third, doing good reveals the priority in our lives. Jesus in Matthew 25 talk about his return and he talked about be ready and he said that when we focus on things that last forever, and her focus is on other people rather than just ourselves.

We begin to understand there's more than just right now we begin to live for. What really matters to what counts for all eternity and then finally doing good reveals God's purpose for life.

Jesus said his desire for his disciples then and now is that normal regular ordinary people like us, you would bear much fruit, and he said before the foundations of the earth.

Think of this before there was time before there were galaxies before he said, let there be light.

He said he prepared a good work for you to walk in that there's a person that has your eye color and only your DNA and just your background and your gifts and your struggles and all that you've been through and as you align your life and let the spirit of God have his way, and you there is a good work deal what God is like other people's love and his kindness is power, his gentleness is justice in this truth. Now here's the question it raises for me if doing good is something that helps people if it honors God.

If it candidly transforms us when we do it, where does it begin mean how do you learn how to do good, not sort of like for a week or two or three, and we make little listen we try and be good little two shoes and I'll do this and I'll do this and I'll do this two weeks now that will last. How is that I have this picture of you know when you go to the doctor and you get your yearly physical. And then you sit on the little table and they've done all the tests and urine.

The funky little down and always holding the back and then he comes he has little Tomahawk unit will square thing it says dangle your leg over like this member. This what to do. He takes it and I was tighten up it is would you please relax your leg okay I'm sorry Doc and then he goes right.

He just hits you and what he's doing as he's checking out your reflexes. You don't respond, you don't think about moving your legs but your body operates in a certain way so that when something happens. The reflex is that response and what were talking about is walking with God and being united with Christ along the spirit of God to so flow through your life that when a need comes up and when you see certain things at home or at work or in that third place you reflexively respond by doing good because the living Christ is living through you.

That's what were talking about this is it about just trying to do a few good deeds are trying to feel better about yourself or try to make people think that your nice person. This is about doing good, that flows out of God living inside of you. Where does it all begin wit. Where do you start to have that kind of a life commonly suggested doing good begins by recognizing who defines what is good. I mean, the word good is gotten really over the centuries, and even our day. Some people think this means good in other people think. This means good. So the question is, by what authority or by what standard or for what purpose, and who gets to say this is good and this is bad. This is good and this is evil. This is acceptable.

This is kind and this is not the apostle Paul once this group of Christians on this island that has moral laxity in immorality and brutish harshness and and and their stingy in its little churches have been planted. He's writing this letter to a young pastor and so listen to the first four verses of Titus chapter 1 Paul listen for the words like where's the authority come from what's the standard who says so Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ. Why for the faith of God's elect were chosen in the knowledge of the truth that leads to godliness. It's a faith and a knowledge resting on the hope of eternal life, which God, who does not lie, promised before the beginning of time and his appointed season he brought his word to light through the preaching Paul says entrusted to me by the command of God our Savior and then he says will lose the letter to Titus this young pastor Mike true son in our common faith in any opens it with grace and peace from God the father and Jesus Christ our Savior. By what authority it's from God.

He says I'm a apostle from God I'm a servant of God.

I have taken the revelation from God entrusted to make any commitment. So God defined by revelation, what is good. The standard notice the words were faith, faith, faith, knowledge was used. He says truth there certain things are true, there certain things that aren't true. So God defines what is true and for what purpose godliness moral goodness that which helps people that which restores that which heals now for many of us, we have grown up with pretty significant history of the Judeo-Christian ethic of what's good and what's not. But the world was not always like this. For example, in Rome at the time Mercy was not a virtue. Humility was not a virtue but these were introduced by Christ, I mean when you were ruthless and powerful and gave no mercy that was viewed as good women were viewed as a piece of property to be used in any way it was. There was no sense of being good to a woman in the time that this was written there is no sense of respect for a woman. In fact will find when he talks about being good as a leader is a person for the early things is how you treat women and how you treat children power brute force and intimidation. When this is written.

That's what's good and so Paul is saying, I've got a whole new definition of good and Titus.

These people come to Christ. I want them to understand this is what God says is good and I want them to know that I wrote this to you and you have my authority, so lay it out for it was prophesied by Isaiah that one day in our world that which was good, would be called evil and things that are evil would actually be called good and that was true at this time and on about you but I think I can think of a handful of examples today. Can you do some things that you to scratch your head and you think are you kidding me.

So first and foremost, where does doing good begin. It begins let's define God defines what good is second we want to bring about transformation when you want to do good, doing good in any organization always begins with the leadership but it's the leadership in a home leadership with a bunch of housemates leadership in a small group leadership in a company leadership in the church leadership in a multinational corporation leadership on NFL team. If you want to bring about change. You always start with the leadership and so what the apostle Paul does in verses five through the end of this chapter. He's gonna say this is what good leadership looks like. And this is what bad leadership looks like. And as I read it when I want you to see his how few skills and gifts and techniques are mentioned as often we talk about leadership. A person can do this in their gifted at that and the condition cast in the can problem solve. The apostle Paul focuses first and foremost on character. Follow along as I read he says the reason I left you in Crete speaking to Titus was that you might straighten out what was left unfinished and appoint elders. The word just means a shepherd or overseers in the church in every town as I directed you and then he gives a definition, an elder must be blameless will learn it means above reproach. Have a good reputation and then is now going to describe so what's it mean for a leader in the church to be blameless. Well it's the husband of but one wife, a man his children believe they are not open to the charge being wild and disobedient white because a overseer different word for the same thing and overseer of shepherd Elder overseer Orrie Fisk apostle someone who looks in and cares for people to understand what's going on. He said so an elder overseers entrusted with God's work, so he needs to be blameless since and overseers to be blameless here.

Some of the characteristics of a blameless or person above reproach is not overbearing, not quick-tempered, not given to much wine, not violent and not pursuing unjust gain visit all the negative things that they're not notice the positive, but he must be hospitable, one who loves what is good to self-controlled up bright, holy, and disciplined.

He must hold firmly to the trust for the message it's been taught so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose and now he says you know you not only have to define what a good leader is you can recognize what bad leaders are in deal with it. He goes on to say verse 10 for their many religious people near talkers, deceivers, especially those of the circumcision group. They must be silenced. Why because they are ruining whole household by their teaching things that they ought not to teach in, and that for the sake of dishonest gain. There actually preaching religious messages for money. Imagine that even one of their profits of said Christians are always liars, evil brutes and lazy gluttons, and this testimony is true.

This was just, bad place and so it is therefore rebuke them sharply so that they will be sound in the truth, and will pay no attention to Jewish myths and command those who reject this truth because to the pure all things appear, but those who defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure and back, but their mind and their conscience are corrupted and then the acid test they claim to know God, but by their deeds, their actions, they deny being detestable worthless unfit for anything good and so when we think about leadership in an unknown word and talk about the church, don't you think about who would see you as a leader. Where does someone see you as someone of influence, maybe it's someone in your housemates or maybe you're a parent and kids would see you as a leader. Maybe it's in the church. Or maybe it's in a small group or or maybe your supervisor of a team work or maybe your manager may be your CEO may be the owner the company but who would see you as a leader and then for those of you who lead let me give you three very specific suggestions there to the church, but these are critical for all of us number one appoint good leaders appoint good leaders and notice by good I mean people with character. We fall in love with talent we fall in love with gift and we give this kind of people pass so appoint good leaders. Second, remove bad leaders and this is hard especially if their gifted, especially in a business where they're making you a lot of money, but short-term putting up with bad character and places there's always long-term ruin and then the final admonition. Here's refused to compromise, refused to compromise those of you that are in positions of putting people in places I had a very good friend and this is you know, a decade or so ago and without mentioning and on any names I can text a multi-multi billion dollar company.

He was in the upper upper upper level of management. Only above him with the board and maybe one other person.

He was tens of thousands of employees did been on a journey to become a very committed follower of Christ, and he want to be a Christian. No matter the cost that live like a apparently some of the very very top executives after some business meetings that were off-site. I spent a weekend doing some things that in their policy manual. It was absolutely immediate termination for that kind of behavior it came to his attention. He was morally responsible and so he executed that and told those people that they were terminated. Some of the most gifted, most powerful, important people in this multi-multibillion-dollar company and then he was called in by powers above him, and there were very few and they said you can't do that because we need a candidate is what you can't do that. You do realize, I mean that team those people. I mean the giftedness the strength the knowledge the you understand how many billions of dollars that team is created make you can't fire them.

He said we have in our policy manual. This isn't gray. This is blatant. This is black and white and he was overruled and he chose to make a very positive transition. He let those above him know that I can't work in an organization because if this was anyone else in our company to be terminated immediately and it's only because of their giftedness and the talent that you're changing the rules. I can't work in a company like that. I resigned. He refused to compromise very very interesting that the decline of that organization over the next 8 to 10 years and the interesting how God orchestrates things that you know you need to be vested when you leave a company and although certain things and you know how the market things go up and down and up and down and he just felt like an integrity. If that's the way the ring operate once he left he sold all of his stock a lot and it happened to be sold at the peak and a few months later, the peak went to the pit and say I think God wanted to say to him and wanted to remind us you know you can bank on gift and on talent and you can fudge or you can make sure you have good people in responsible situations and you can be bold and courageous in remove bad people in the right way and the right attitude. And then you refused to compromise and there will be some short-term pain but it produces great long-term ship back with some application.

If you're just joining us, you're listening to Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram. Today's message doing good where it all begins is from chip series doing good. What happens when Christians live like Christians. This four-part series from the book of Titus reveals why doing good is so much more than just a nice idea.

The act of doing good is a catalyst that transforms both you and the world around you for the better when we do good. It breaks down barriers heels hurts and revives hope.

If you'd like to get the series for yourself or to send your friend the CDs are currently discounted and the MP3s are free. Another idea would be to get your family or a few friends together around the series is a small group set aside a couple of weeks to do the DVD study together and let it be a catalyst to get your small group doing some good right where you live. To order your copy, visit us online at http://livingontheedge.org or give us a call today at 1-888-333-6003 what's up. I loved your message today about doing the right thing and trusting God for the outcome of the how you seeing that play out in your life and the ministry of Living on the Edge as we step into this year and match in this season of match. I think one of the most common things that I hear from people is I would really love to help. I mean, I love you Chip. I love Living on the Edge we done small group studies.

You know this help my mom this out. My brother, I would love to help. If only I could but me and I just can't. And honestly I I've I felt that same way, and recently I was thinking and praying about something. I felt like God wanted me to do it. I just up the Lord. I'd love to but I just don't have the resources and then I came across a passage where God, shook me a little bit it says and he speaking of Jesus, is the image or the icon of the invisible God, the firstborn of creation and he goes on to say, and in him all things were created think that whether in heaven or on earth, whether visible or invisible, whether thrones or dominions or authority or powers. All things have been created through him and for him and the Holy Spirit lives inside of me and and God says that when my heart is aligned with his heart. He wants to supply all my needs to meet my needs, but also as we learned this month that I might be generous on every occasion with gratitude to help others. So when I have a sense that I want to help but don't think I can I pause and say to God, Lord, you created the world and you created me, and I believe you can do and you can provide what ever you want me to do and all I want you to say is, rather than focusing in this season of what do we have to give. Let's ask ourselves with an all-knowing, all-powerful God created everything to say Lord if you would supply. I want to give.

I want to help I want to make a difference this Christmas and I want to make a difference with Living on the Edge, so let me encourage you prayed to him and say Lord what do you want me to do. And as you would take a step to give to pray to act when I can say is God will show you when he shows you you do exactly what he says and I think you'll be very very encouraged and got a supply all of our needs will the year-end match happens thanks to a handful of dedicated friends of the ministry for every gift we received between now and December 31. They will match it. So our request is simply that you pray and ask the Lord if you want you to partner with us financially to meet the needs of this upcoming season of ministry. When we ask God for direction and then follow through on what he says. Blessings happen in all kinds of ways. We don't expect so were praying for you as you bring this match opportunity before the Lord. To learn more about the match. Visit us online at http://livingontheedge.org or give us a call at 1-888-333-6003 without her strip with some final thoughts as we close today's program. Maybe some of you thought to yourself, okay, you asked that question.

How can we learned actually do good and you know in the teaching we said one you have to define what is good and God defines that and then we talked a little bit about leaders and you maybe thought yourself.

This is interesting. I I hope the people that lead our church or the you know my boss at work. I wish he could hear that and the fact the matter is, is that leadership is fundamentally influence, and so were all leaders moms are leaders. Dads are leaders you know if you're on a team of any kind.

People look to you. Anybody who knows that your Christian your leader to your neighbors, and here's what I want you to understand. We don't think of ourselves this way, but you are the object of people's observations. Whether you like it or whether you don't and you're doing of good and I don't mean in some artificial way that proactively asking God what would it look like for me to be kind. What would look like me to be caring.

How can I drive in a way that demonstrates the love of Christ to meet some of your laughing when I say that, but there's a lot of Christians that you know what the sticker on the back of your car says one thing and how you drive says something really really different is the same sort of how I deal with, you know, my anger in meetings. Here's what I want you to get you are a leader. I like your application today just sit quietly for maybe 30, 45 seconds and just say Lord Jesus, Holy Spirit, if there's any way that I am acting in ways that are influencing others in a way that is not good and I'm not aware of it, would you just bring that to my mind right now and he will.

It won't be a shaming won't be your bad person you maybe point something out and then here's the deal just takes some small step to be kind to do good just to one person today and see what it does in them and see what it does for you as we wrap up today's broadcast. I want to say thank you to those who make this broadcast possible through your generous giving. If you've been blessed by Living on the Edge. Would you like to bless others by becoming a financial partner. There's never been a better time because thanks to some very generous friends of the ministry. You make a donation.

This month it will be matched dollar for dollar sending a gift to Living on the Edge as easy just go to LivingontheEdge.org and click the donate button on our homepage or if you prefer, you can always just give us a call at 1-888-333-6003 on behalf of Chip and all of us here. Thank you in advance for your generosity will be sure to join us again tomorrow as Chip continues his current series doing good until then. This is the earliest thing.

Thanks for joining us for this Edition of Living on the Edge