I want you to get your Bibles.
I want every one of you to get your Bibles and open them to
the book of Titus. And I want you to follow me very
carefully through the word of God. My doctrine today is doctrine
far more difficult to receive, far more likely to be rejected
than the doctrine of God's sovereignty, absolute predestination, total
depravity, unconditional election, limited atonement, irresistible
grace, perseverance of the saints, far more likely, far more likely
for you to try to ignore it and refuse to hear it than any of
those things. I hope I've got your attention. Titus chapter
2, Look at verse 10, the last phrase in the verse. Adorn the doctrine of God, our
Savior, in all things. Adorn the doctrine of God, our
Savior, in all things. Put it in its best possible light. Show it in its greatest beauty. Adorn the doctrine of God our
Savior in all things. That's my subject this morning.
Adorn the gospel. 47 years ago, God snatched me
from gaping hell, forgave me of my sins, revealing
his son in me, and compelled me graciously to
surrender my life to the rule of his son. And I shortly thereafter took
my place rightly in the waters of believers' baptism, and were
baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Buried with him
in his death, I confessed. Risen with him by his grace,
I confessed to all men and to God, to walk with him in the
newness of life, publicly and privately. I said, I give myself
to Christ. Lock, stock, and barrel. I'm
yours. I'm yours. That's right. He bought
me. He bought me. I'm like Jephthah. I lifted my hand to God. You
remember Jephthah, the judge in Israel, he said, he said,
Lord, you do this for me. Whatever comes out of my house
first, I'll sacrifice it to you. And he went home after a great
victory, and his daughter came out rejoicing in her dad's great
honor. And Jephthah's heart was broken.
And he told his daughter what he'd done. He said, I've lifted
my hands to God. I can't go back. I've lifted
my hands to God. I can't go back. I don't want
to go back and I hope you have done the same and hope you will. Salvation, faith in Christ, listen
carefully, listen carefully, faith in Christ is not believing
certain doctrines, though it involves that. Faith in Christ
is not agreeing with certain principles, though it involves
that. Faith in Christ is not just believing
that Jesus Christ accomplished redemption for his people, that
he's the son of God. No, sir. Faith in Christ is the
surrender of your life to Christ the Lord, trusting him as such. That's what it is. That's what
it is. It's not making a decision. It's
not deciding to change doctrines. It is the surrender of your life. I'm talking about the absolute,
total surrender of your life to Christ the Lord. He insists
on being Lord of all, or He is not your Lord at all. You understand
that? You understand that? All right,
let's look at this passage here. In Titus chapter two. Shortly after God saved me. My next door neighbor thought
I lived on the left side of us. I had lived beside him since
I was not quite six years old. I'd lived beside him for 11 years.
I don't really know what it did. Mr. Sturgis was his name. didn't
pay much attention to him. He didn't pay much attention
to me. I knew it was some kind of a federal agent or federal
government. I don't have any idea what it
was. They may put him there, just keep an eye on me. I don't
know what it was, but he was, he was always a nice enough gentleman. And he knew what a rogue I was. I knew all those years, all those
years, the man never offered me one word of advice about staying
out of trouble. Watch out for Drake Cannon. Watch
out for the dope that's being peddled now on the streets. Watch
out for this, that, and other. Don't get yourself in too much
trouble. Don't go running around. Don't
do this. Never said a word about any of those things. Not one
word. He knew how I lived. Not one word about anything.
But a few weeks after God saved me, he found out that I had made
a profession of faith. I don't know how he found out.
I might have told him. I don't know how he found out. And one
day I was out in the yard, and he called me over to his yard,
sat down and talked. I'd been living beside that man
for 11 years, since I was five years old, 12 years. Now I was
17. And he said, Don, I want to talk
to you. I said, well, sure, Mr. Sturges. And he said, I understand
you've got some religion. And I said, the Lord saved me.
Yes, he did. And he said, well, I just wanted
to try to help you if I could. Don't take that too far. Don't take that too far. And
I honestly didn't have any idea how to respond to him. I thought
about it a lot since then. Would to God I could find somebody,
me, you or somebody who tried to take it too far. Just try to take it too far Adorn
the doctrine of God our Savior in all things Brother Don, that's
a good idea. How do we do that? Let's look
at these 15 verses and I'm going to show you five things very
briefly First, in verses 1 through 10, God the Holy Spirit tells
us by the Apostle Paul precisely how to adorn the doctrine of
God. You profess to be believers.
Most of you here profess to be believers. Some of you are sitting
back and you're just kind of confused about things or you're
out and out rebels. Some of you are just not interested.
Listen carefully to what I've got to say to you. Paul tells
us exactly how we are to adorn the doctrine of God. No guesswork
about this. In verses 1 through 10, he tells
both the man who preaches the gospel, that's Brother Angus,
myself, your pastor, and the people who hear him, those who
believe the gospel, how to adorn the gospel. This is both a matter
of responsibility and a matter of great privilege. I hope it's
our desire. We are to set forth in our lives,
in our conduct, in our speech, in our behavior, as well as in
our doctrine, the beauty, the glory, and the attractiveness
of the gospel of Christ. If we hope to persuade men and
women to believe the gospel we preach, If we hope to have an
influence on men and women to persuade them to believe on the
Son of God, we must live by the gospel to the glory of God. If we would honor Christ, oh,
I want to honor Him. If we would honor His gospel
while we live in this world, our lives must be in all things
ruled, governed, motivated, and regulated by the gospel and the
glory of our God revealed in the gospel. As a pastor, as a
preacher of the gospel, I'm responsible to adorn the gospel by faithfully
proclaiming it. That's the primary thing, verse
1. But speak thou the things which become sound doctrine. Every preacher has a mandate
from God. Every preacher has a mandate
from God, and it's the same mandate. It doesn't matter whether you
live in Australia this day or 200 years ago, or live in the
United States this day or 200 years ago, or whether you live
in Africa this day or 200 years ago, the mandate never changes. Preach those things that become
sound doctrine. What's he talking about? Look
back at chapter 4. Brother Scott read chapter 3
of 2 Timothy earlier today. Look at chapter 4. I charge thee,
therefore, before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall
judge the quick and the dead at his appearing in kingdom.
Preach the word. Faithfully expound the book of
God. Faithfully declared the message
of this book to me preach the word. Don't just Flippantly talk
about it Expound to me and what God the Holy Spirit says in this
book. It's my responsibility as a preacher
Your pastor's responsibility, but Angus is responsibility the
responsibility of every gospel preacher study and prepare and
seek from God understanding in the Word of God what does God
the Spirit say in this passage. What is the text talking about?
How is this passage conveying to us the gospel of God's free
grace? So you study and seek a message
from God and preach the word. So when we get done, when I get
done talking to you this morning, I promise you if you'll follow
me through these 15 verses, every man, woman, and child in this
place will look at that and say, that's what it says. I promise
you. No question about it. That's
what it says. And you may like it, not like it. You may rejoice
in it or get mad about it. That's what it said. That's what
it said because it's my responsibility to do just that as a mandate
from God preach the word Be instant in season and out of season that
is when you feel like it don't when it's received. Well, and
when it's not reprove and rebuke Exhort with all long-suffering
Exhort with all long-suffering just keep right on doing the
work Just keep right on doing the work. Well, nobody paid me
any attention, just keep right on doing the work. Folks don't
listen, just keep right on doing the work. But people get upset,
just keep right on doing the work. Folks coming in their league,
just keep right on doing the work. In season and out of season,
with all along suffering, and watch this, and doctrine. And
doctrine. That's a good word. That's a
good word. Do you know what you do when
you send your children off to school? You send them off to
be indoctrinated. You send them off to be indoctrinated.
They go to school in medicine, they are indoctrinated in medical
practice. Go to school to be mathematicians,
they're indoctrinated in mathematics. Go to school to be an engineer,
they're indoctrinated in engineering. It would be kindly nuts to send
them to school and expect them not to learn anything. Well,
sorry, we do live in a dirty society. That's kind of what's
expected these days. But you send the kids to school to be
taught. And that's what doctrine is.
It is teaching. We proclaim the word, teaching
what God says in this book. That's our business. For the
time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine. But after their own lust shall
they heap to themselves teachers having itching ears. And they
shall turn away their ears from the truth and shall be turned
unto fables. But watch thou in all things,
endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof
of thy ministry." The doctrine we are to preach. The doctrine
of the gospel the doctrine of the grace of God the doctrine
of Christ sovereignty substitution satisfaction ruined by the fall
redemption by the blood Regeneration by the Holy Spirit were to proclaim
doctrinal truth and you spell it T U L I P That's how you spell
truth T-U-L-I-P. Total depravity, unconditional
election, limited atonement, irresistible grace, perseverance
of the saints. Where that is not taught, the
word of God is not taught, the truth of God is not taught, the
gospel is not taught. We are responsible under God
to preach the word. Specifically, gospel preachers
are responsible to pointedly apply the word to the lives of
men. So that it's my business to do
everything I can in the influence I have over Christine Keller
and her husband, Scott, to make sure that the gospel affects
your life. Everything you do as a wife and
a mama, as a citizen in the community. Make sure that the gospel penetrates
you, becomes part of you. Specifically applying the word
to the way we live. Now this is what Paul teaches
in verses two through 10. I'm going to tell you something
about the gospel of God's grace. Tell you something about the
son of God. God interferes with your life. I want you to know my redeemer.
I want you to trust him. But I promise you, if God saves
you by his grace, he's going to interfere with your life.
He gonna mess up your plans. You're going to interfere with
your life. He steps in and takes over. Now, here's the word that
Paul has for us. And it applies to just about
everybody here. Let's see if I miss anybody.
Look at verse two. He speaks to aged men. I know
I don't look like it, but I'm getting into that category. I'm
64 now. My hair's turning gray, what's
staying with me? The aged men, teach them to be sober. He's
not talking about being sober as opposed to drunk. He's talking
about being sober as opposed to foolish. Teach them to be
sober. Men ought to deal with things
and face things and act about things with seriousness. with
sobriety. Age men. Be sober. Grave. Grave. Take serious things seriously. Recognize that the vanity of
this world and the seriousness of eternity. Be tempered. Tempered. The word simply means
exercise self-control. Don't let your passions get away
from you. Don't let other things determine
how you behave. Don't let what other people do
determine how you behave. Don't react to folks. Don't do it. Don't react to how
other people behave. I'm not a hot-tempered fellow.
I really never have been. But sometimes you'll be doing
something and something serious happens. You're driving down
the road, and you're kind of in a hurry, and you go over to
Walmart, and you, you, you, somebody's waiting to back out, and you,
you, you sit there and wait for a little bit, because the parking
lot's just plumbed full, and this fella backs out of the parking
space, and you're, you've been sitting there waiting to get
in there, and then somebody jumps in right in front of you. Be temperate. It's just a parking
spot. Don't, don't, don't get upset
over things that don't matter. Don't let things that don't matter
bother you. Sound in faith. Sound in faith. Teach them to
commit themselves to the word of God and to bow to the word
of God. Sound in charity. The Greeks
had three words for love. One is the word that's translated
here, charity. People think in modern translations
it ought to be better translated, love. No, this is the best translation.
The other is the word from which we get the word Philadelphia,
city of brotherly love. But this word is best translated,
charity. First Corinthians 13, if I have
all these things and have not charity, it profits me nothing.
That's the word. That's the word. What is that?
That is a loving self-denying, sacrificial commitment. That's
the kind of love that causes you to give and want to. That's
the kind of love that causes you to want to enter yourself
for the benefit of others. They said, let the aged man be
an example of sound, self-sacrificing, self-denying charity. Impatience. Impatience. Old men aren't known for being
patient. It's just not something that comes easy for us. Old men,
pray for grace to be patient. Patient with young folks, patient
with other people. Verse three and four, he talks
to, we won't say old women, I don't want to get hit before I leave
here, aged women. You who are, Old enough to have
children of your own. That all right. Aged women. Aged
women. Likewise, teach them. This is
how you adorn the doctrine of God our Savior. That they be
in behavior. Well, we don't want to talk about
how people behave. Well, let's do. Let's do. As becometh holiness. Not be in behavior to make yourselves
holy. God saved you by his grace. behave in a way that becomes
holiness. Wow. Behave in a way that adorns
holiness. Behave in a way that makes holiness
attractive. That's true to say, true to say.
When Shelby and I got married, I was 17. I went to the diamond store,
or the jewelry store, to buy her a diamond. Once I was fairly
well convinced she was going to say yes when I popped the
question. And I went to look for a ring. She still wears it
to this day. It ain't much. It ain't much.
It wouldn't impress anybody. But I'll tell you how that fella
got me to be looking at him. He could look at me until I couldn't
afford much. I gave him $10 and paid the other
$100 over a period of a year and a half. But he took it and
laid that diamond on a piece of black velvet and propped it
up on it. There was nothing. You'd have
to look away to see anything except that diamond in black
on the background. And man, they got the brightest
lights. Made that thing sparkle. And
yes, I'll be able to do it. I'll do it. It was the prettiest
ring in there. I don't know whether it was or not, but it looked
like it was me. It was on that black background. He adorned
the diamond. He put it in the best light he
possibly could. Children of God put God's glorious
character and his gospel in the best light you can by the way
you behave. That's what we're talking about.
And becometh holiness. Read on. Read on. Not thoughts
accusers. What's that mean? It means exactly
what you think it does. Don't say things that aren't
so about other folks. And if they are, suddenly it
won't help anything, don't say that either. Not false accusers. Not given to much wine. It doesn't
say, don't drink any wine. That's wrong. That's wrong. It's
just as wrong for me to stand up here and tell you, you can't
have an alcoholic beverage to drink. That'd be ungodly, as
is for me to tell you you'd be all right to be drunk. No, that's
not what it says. Not given to much wine. not actually the word
might be translated like this not lingering by the bottle don't
don't don't get up drinking in the morning drink all day if
you want to have a glass of wine with your meal that's just fine
there's nothing wrong with that nothing wrong with that if you
want to have a shot of whiskey with your meal that's just fine
there's nothing wrong with that nothing at all wrong with that drunkenness
is another story as we're talking about drunkenness is another
story drunkenness is always wrong drunkenness is that which is
foolish, causing men and women to be possessed by, in their
character, in their personality, in their behavior, something
beyond their control. Teachers of good things. Oh,
ladies, teach good things. Teach good things. Now, I have
to say a word in this nonsense age of religion in which we live.
I get on the internet, I get emails, women wanting to instruct
me in doctrine. And usually I'm pretty shocked
with it. I respond by telling them it'll be a frosty morning
in July before I ask a woman about doctrine. Ain't gonna happen.
Ain't gonna happen. That's not your place. And it's
not your place to devote yourself to such. Well, what do you teach
the young women? Teach the young women to be sober. Teach them to be sober. Well,
I want my child to have time to be a child. They've had enough
time. Teach them to be sober. Teach them to be sober. Assume
responsibility to think like women. Teach them to be grown
up. Teach them to be sober. I don't
want that. You better want it. We got too
many 40-year-old teenagers. There's too many of them. Teach
your children to assume responsibility. Teach them to live meaningful
lives. What's that mean? Teach them
to love their husbands. Oh, now, we're getting to good
doctrine. That's what a woman's to teach
her daughter. That's what you older women are teaching these
younger women. Younger women come into the congregation, they
have a bit around the things of God, and they, you know, they
live like hell like everybody else does. And they act like
folks just heathen who don't know anything about life. And
you take them aside, and it's not that you take Melinda, now
Melinda, you gotta quit doing this, you know. You just take
Melinda by the arm, and you walk around with her in the kitchen,
and you walk around with her around your husband, and you
talk about your husband, and pretty soon she's, well, man,
crave what you like, and I behave like that. Teach them to love
their husbands. That's what a woman's supposed
to do. Teach the younger women to love their children. Teach
them to love their children. Well, every mama loves her child.
Know if she did, she'd make it behave. Every mama loves her
child. Know if she did, she'd cook for
it. Every mama loves her child. Know if she did, she'd teach
it. Young women, verse 5. This is how you adorn the doctrine.
Teach them to be discreet. Discreet. Act with modesty. Be discreet. Choose your words. Choose your actions. Be discreet.
Now, I could spend a few hours on the next word, chaste. Chaste. If this offends, let it offend,
but I don't know any way to talk to folks that be honest. You
ladies and young ladies, listen to me. If you want to be treated
like a lady, act like a lady. Is that fair enough? Dress like a lady. If you want
to be treated like a whore, act like a whore, dress like one.
You'll get your wishes. I promise you. I promise you.
Be chaste. Be chaste. Mamas teach your daughters
to be chaste. Aged women teach the young women
to be chaste, to live with modesty, to value chastity. Keepers at
home. Now that doesn't mean a woman
can't work a job outside the home. And Habakkuk chapter two
tells men to be keepers at home. What's he talking about? A woman's
primary sphere of life and responsibility is her home. Her home. And it revolves not around her
children, but around her husband and his children. Understand
that. Understand, the children are
going to be gone one of these days. It's just going to be you
and him. See to it that your life is focused
on him. Chaste, keep us at home. Teach
them to be good. Good. What's that mean? Obedient
to their own husband. Boy, that's out of step with
the times. I've actually had folks tell me that asked me if
I don't want to say that in my marriage vows, I should go somewhere
else and get married. If I do it, you're going to say it. And
if you indicate you don't want to say it, you're going to say
it real loud. Obedient to their own husbands. That's the only
way your house is going to be happy. That's the only way you're
going to have peace in your home. Obedient to their own husbands.
That the word of God be not blessed thee. Cheryl, teach you, teach the
young ladies these things by example and by word. So that
folks won't have reason to blaspheme God's word when you say, I believe
God. That what it says, that what
the book says, what it says, read on, read on. Young men,
verse six, likewise exhort to be sober minded. You young men,
listen to me. especially young men who have
some aspects, some desire, some hopes toward the ministry, young
men who think about marriage, young men who think about asking
a man to give his wife, his daughter's hand in marriage. Be sober minded,
be sober minded. Don't don't act like a boy. Don't talk like a boy. Don't
behave like a boy. Be sober minded. I recall when
my son-in-law, Doug, came to ask his face hand in marriage,
I had a pretty good idea what he was up to. And I intended
to make it a little bit uncomfortable for him. That's part of being
a father of a beautiful young lady. But I respected the man. I respected him. He's a young
man, but I respected him. He behaved like a man with his
feet on the ground, sober-minded. Verse 7, and he speaks to pastors. Don, listen to what God says
to you. In all things, preacher, showing
thyself a pattern of good works. Show yourself a pattern of good
works. In doctrine, showing uncorruptness, no deviation, no deceitfulness,
no cunningness, no secret agenda. Show gravity. Gravity these things
are serious take them serious present them serious sincerity
Deal with the Word of God with a sincere heart with sincere
motives sincere principles Speak the Word of God with sound speech
sound speech that cannot be condemned speak to men in ordinary language
with sound speech that cannot be condemned and That he that
is of a contrary part may be ashamed, now watch this, having
no evil thing to say of you. Now if you should happen to type
in Don Fortner on one of those Google search things on the internet
and read what folks say about me, You just say, well, Brother
Don, you need some help, because folks are sure talking bad about
you. One young lady in our congregation, she had Googled my name, and
she came out the door one Sunday morning. She said, do you know
what people say on there about you? And I said, sometimes somebody
tells me, and she said, I read some of that and I felt so sorry
for you. That's not what it's talking about. You're not going
to prevent anybody from talking about you. You're not going to
keep people from deriding the gospel you preach. You're not
going to keep folks from deriding the doctrine of Christ. You can't
do that. But you can be blameless in this
community. You sure can. You can pay your bills at the
local store. You can speak with gravity. You can live in such
a way that no man has reason to despise you and speak evil
of you. Verse nine, now I guess to everybody,
you folks who are working for somebody else, I guess that takes
in everybody except Art. He's not here because he's working
for himself this morning. Servants, exhort servants to be obedient
to their own masters, to please them well in all things, Not
fussing, not answering again, not purloring, not laying around
being lazy, but showing all good fidelity that they, men who go
down to the factory and punch a clock and work for their wages,
that they may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior in all things. Wow. I asked you a hundred times where
you work, Eric. I forget. It doesn't matter. You ought
to be the best employer they've got there. The best there is. It's your privilege and responsibility. You're not their servant, you're
God's. I don't care if you have a job
flipping burgers in McDonald's or shoveling manure out of a
horse barn. The best there is. Do the job
as unto the Lord. That's how believers have to
live. I'm calling for all who believe the gospel of the grace
of God to adorn it. to show forth the beauty and
grace of the gospel in all things for the glory of God. Now, Paul
puts it this way, whether therefore you eat or drink or whatsoever
you do, do all to the glory of God. And then Paul speaks about the
gospel itself. He tells us about the work of
grace. For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared
unto all men. Obviously, he's not talking about
the grace of God appearing to all men universally without exception. There are many who've never even
heard of the gospel of the grace of God. He's saying the grace
of God has appeared to all men, every rank in society, Jew and
Gentile, black and white, male and female, learned and unlearned.
But when the grace of God appears When God reveals His grace in
you, when God reveals Christ in you, it brings salvation. The grace of God doesn't offer
salvation, doesn't provide salvation, doesn't give you an opportunity
for salvation. The grace of God, when it appears by the power
of God through the gospel revealing Christ crucified in you, it brings
salvation. It brings salvation already accomplished. It brings salvation and brings
the performance of it in your soul. The gospel of the grace
of God shows us the way of salvation and it brings it. It proclaims
salvation and it brings it. It announces salvation and it
brings it. The gospel of the grace of God
brings salvation. And look what it does when it
brings salvation. It teaches us. It teaches us. How many of you have ever had
a... I'm talking about a really good teacher. A really good teacher. I had two, maybe three in my
life. I'm talking about really good teachers. When I was in
Bible college, the fellow didn't believe a thing. But I had a
couple of really good teachers. One of them particularly. He
taught church history. And he taught New Testament Greek.
And he was really good in both. But in New Testament Greek, he
was really good. When I say really good, this
is what I mean. A good teacher doesn't just lay out the material.
A good teacher is not just well prepared. A good teacher sees
to it you learn what he prepared. He makes sure you get the lesson.
We had a Greek professor, this professor I'm talking about.
He was very good. He saw to it you got the lesson. If you just
did what he said to do, the fellow was just average intelligence
like I had. He could learn New Testament Greek, and takes time,
but he could learn it. He could learn it, and he'd do
fine. All you had to do to pass his class, all you had to do
to pass it was make 100 on everything. That's all you had to do, and
you knew it ahead of time. But you'd do it if you did what he
told you to do. Didn't if you just did what he
told you to do, I'll guarantee you're going to make 100 on class.
He saw to it. You got the lesson. This word
teaches the word is educating us. The grace of God that brings
salvation educates us. It educates us. God makes certain,
Kevin, that you get the lesson. When God's your teacher, you
learn what he's teaching. My good friend, Brother Harry
Graham, I was 19 years old. I'd go visit him. He's an older
man. He's 35 years my senior. Dear
faithful man. I was sitting on his hearth one
night after we'd eaten together. I said, Brother Harry, I believe
the Lord's trying to teach me something. He said, Oh, no, Don.
God doesn't try. If God's teaching you, you'll
learn it. The grace of God that brings salvation has appeared
to all men, teaching us, teaching us. This is what grace teaches. That denying ungodliness and
worldly lust, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly
in this present world. Soberly, righteously, and godly. With reference to ourselves,
soberly. With reference to the world,
righteously. With reference to God, godly. Live soberly as men and women
living for eternity. Live righteously. Live rightly
in all the affairs with which you're connected with life in
this world. Live godly. Live for God. Live for God. I've actually had
folks tell me. I've actually had folks tell
me. They've never told me. I've actually heard folks say,
preaching. And I've read folks writing. Say, uh, God saved me
and salvation is by grace, and I'm not under the law. My character
and conduct don't matter. I can do whatever I please. You didn't get that from the
grace of God. You didn't get that from the grace of God. Oh,
no. No, no. The grace of God that brings
salvation teaches everybody who's saved by God's grace. Not most
of them. Not some of them. Everybody who's
saved by God's grace. To deny, to deny. What's that mean? Let me give
you some profound instruction. Have you got your pen handy?
I'll give you some profound instruction. I want you to get it. I don't
want anybody to miss it. Say no to self and yes to Christ
every time. That's it. Say no to self and
yes to Christ every time. No matter what the question is,
no to self, yes to Christ every time. And I promise you, you
will never have to question. You will never have to question
what God have you to do in any circumstance. I promise you. It ain't gonna happen. It ain't
gonna happen. The grace of God teaches us to say no to ungodliness
and worldly lust. The grace of God teaches us to
live soberly, righteously, and godly. Doesn't matter what the
circumstances are. But Brother Don, you don't know
how things are in our day. Yes, I do. Yes, I do. Just like the
word my day. You don't know how tough it is
in our day. Yes, I do. Just like it was in our day.
Things haven't changed any. Sin's not any different than
it was in our day. We are to live soberly, righteously,
and godly right now in the midst of this mess we're in. All right? Give me a reason. You're not your own. You've been bought with a price. Rob, do you belong to God? Are
you his? Is he giving you life and faith
in Christ? You don't belong to yourself. You don't have the
right to make any decisions on your own. You don't have the
right to make any choice of your own about where you live, who
you date, who you marry. You don't have any right to do
it. You're not your own. Christ bought you lock, stock,
and barrel. That's exactly right. Therefore,
glorify God in your body, and in your spirits, which are God's. How could he, how can you expect
anyone to live like that? We understand what Christ has
done for us. And we have a good hope with
regard to what Christ is going to do for us. Look at verse 13
and see the expectation of grace. This is this is what God's saying
to us in this chapter He's saying live for God While you live on
this earth Live for God while you live on this earth because
Christ is coming Looking for the word he is expecting standing
on the tiptoe of faith looking for that blessed hope and the
glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior, Jesus Christ. Live in the constant anticipation
of Christ's immediate return. shelby's hope as you travel with
me about all time now but for years all that papers kindergarten
through school through high school through college ever never went
with me where except in the summertime but uh... shoes at home should
do stuff And she's not smoking cigarettes and eating bonbons
and watching kangaroos. She's, uh, she's working. She
works all the time. Daylight. Hardest working human
being I've saw in my life. But you know what she does? She's
expecting me to drive up the driveway about midnight tonight.
And if the plane goes well and I drive all right, that's about
what'll happen. But, uh, I'll tell you what she'll
be doing. She's gonna be working. She will
work till she just drops. She's gonna be working and working
and working and cleaning the house, getting things ready for
brother Angus to come visit with us on Monday and get his bed
made and the sheets ironed, have nice crisp pine pillowcases and
sheets. You're gonna enjoy it. Just,
oh yeah, she's gonna fix you up. And when I get home, long
about 11.30, maybe a little bit before that, she'll have something
in there Probably won't be macaroni and cheese now, because I ain't
supposed to have it. But it might be. She knows I love it. But she'll have something
in the oven. And she'll walk out to the door,
walk out to the window to see if she sees lights on that old
truck coming up the road. And she'll go right back to what
she's doing. Go iron some more clothes, get her clothes ready for Sunday.
And then she'll walk by the window, see if she sees that light coming
up the road. Now see it, she'll go back and check whatever's
in the oven. I don't know what she's fixing. Zucchini bread,
she told me. We'll be hot zucchini bread coming out of the oven
when I get home. Let's go now. But she'll go check it, be sure
it's not burnt. And then she'll go. There's the
window. There's the lights. Dawn's home.
And she'll pull her apron off. She'll stop by the mirror. I've
never even been there. I know she does. She'll stop by the mirror, make
sure they're just right. By the time I pull up, she's coming
down the steps ready to give me a hug. That's exactly what
Paul's talking about right here. That's how we serve Christ. Every
day, serving Him, His calls, His interest, as if we were going
to be serving Him for another hundred years, but looking for
Him all the time. All right, He's here. Everything
else, go on. That's exactly it. Expect it. Expect it. The blessed hope,
the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior, the
Lord Jesus Christ. Well, what what possible motive
can there be for this? verse 14 Who gave himself for us That he might redeem us From all iniquity And purifying
to himself a peculiar people zealous of good works. Oh, he
died to make me his own oddity, his peculiar, distinct possession,
zealous of good works. Years ago, I heard Brother Mahan
tell about a missionary that had been in India, and he came
back and was speaking to the congregation about his experiences. And on one occasion, he said
we were going to some place and we heard a faint, faint sound. And it was a raspy, heavy breathing
voice, just a faint sound. We tried to make our way to it.
It was obviously a person somewhere. And so we got out to this clearing,
and we could hear a man, and finally got over closer to him,
and it was a leper sitting there. He'd been left out there to die,
and his body, this horrible condition. He's sitting there. He'd heard
the brush moving. He was crying, help me. Help me. Won't somebody please
help me? This missionary said I stood
there and looked at that man dying with leprosy. And I thought
to myself, if I could go over there and stretch my body across
his as Elijah did that young man, and I could put my mouth to his mouth and
draw all of his filth and disease and death into me. Breathe into him all of my life
and youth and strength vitality That's what Christ did for me Now what sacrifice did you say
was too unreasonable What service was too demanding What consecration is too extreme
What devotion is too much? All right, read on. Last thing. Preacher, these things speak. These things speak. This is sound
doctrine. This is mature, mature food for
mature men and women in Christ. This is strong meat. This is
sound doctrine. And exhort. It's not enough just
to say it. You've got to press it. Folks
won't pay attention. You just got to keep on pushing
the issue and rebuke, reprove folks who neglect, oppose, contradict,
and deny these things with all authority. How on this earth
can you talk to people about things like this? How can you
expect these things from men and women? God sent me to do it. And I've
given you God's word. There it is, sir. You do with
what you want to. It's what God said. It's what God said. Let no man despise thee. Give
none excuse to. When our daughter was old enough
that she started to go out to other young people, like some
of you do, and I determined when, but she'd go out. And then she turned 16. Little
after she was 16, she was allowed to date. I determined when and
decided with whom, but she, uh, she's allowed to go out on dates.
But I started telling her stuff. You know what? I'd tell her will
have any idea what I'd tell her almost every time she went out
the door. Almost every time I'd say faith. Don't you forget who you are
and who's you are. Don't forget who you are and
whose you are. Your name's Faith Fortner. Everything
you do, everything you say, everywhere you go has a reflection and says
a lot about your mother and me. Don't forget who you are and
whose you are. More importantly, everything
you say, everything you do, everywhere you go speaks volumes about our
God in the gospel of his grace. Don't forget, children of God,
who you are and who you are. Don't forget. There was a fellow who graduated
from Princeton University here back in 1903, I think it was. His name was Willie, or William,
Billy Borden. He was the heir to the Borden
dynasty, the Borden-Derry dynasty in Chicago. When he was 16 years
old, he graduated from Chicago High School. And his parents
sent him on a trip around the world. And traveling around the
world, he became very concerned for the souls of men as a 16-year-old
young man. And he wrote home to his daddy.
His mama was a believer. His daddy hated God. And said,
he said, I believe the Lord would have me to be a missionary to
the Muslims. And when he got home, his daddy
said, son, If that's what you plan to do, you will not inherit
one dime from me. And you can never work in our
business. You're not going to do that.
So he went to Yale. Graduated from Yale. Came here
to Princeton Theological Seminary and graduated. Still determined
this is what God had him to do. He went to Egypt because he wanted
to serve as a missionary to the Muslims in northern China. And
soon after he got to Egypt, he contracted cerebral meningitis. And he died there while he was
in training, 25 years old. He counted the cost. After he
died, somebody gave his mother and daddy his Bible. And they,
just thumbing through it, found three words, just three words. Each of them had a date beside
it. On the date that his daddy told him, he was disinherited. The boy had a text marked where
he was committed to Christ in the gospel, and he said, no reserve. No reserve. Sometime later, the next dispute,
and he left home and went to Egypt to be trained for the training
he needed. And he got another word from
his dad, hard, mean. He said, no retreat. And just before he went to glory,
another text marked in the Bible with a date, no regret. 47 years now, God has shown himself
faithful to this sinner. And I've been begging him for
grace every day, every day, every day for 47 years to honor him,
to serve him, to glorify his name, to benefit his people.
And let me tell you what I can tell you with no question, If
God's pleased to take me to glory before I get down those stairs.
No reserve. That's how you serve God. Nothing
held in reserve. No retreat. No going back. And when it's done, I fully expect
there to be no regrets. Amen.