There are many flowers that are known for their beauty, elegance, and even medicinal purposes. Regardless of what they produce, many of them act the same way. Botanists call it heliotrophism. There is one flower in particular that many of you will be familiar with that exercises this miracle. It is the sunflower. Heliotrophic flowers track the sun's motion. Sunflower is renowned for this. Sunflower will face the east and as the sun travels west across the horizon, the sunflower will turn and follow it and face it as it sets. the west. But not only will a sunflower turn as the sun crosses the horizon, but it will even grow towards it. If you would, please turn to Titus chapter 1 verse 8. Titus chapter 1 verse 8. We will finish, Lord permitting, our last four adjectives or moral descriptions for the bishop or overseer. And as a reminder, these qualifications or what God expects from this bishop or this presbyter or this leader is what God expects from all of us. Now, unfortunately, on this side of glory, we will never attain perfection because sin still lingers in us, but all of us should be growing in these areas and these characteristics. We need to ask ourselves, how does my life hold up to these? These qualities are what God expects from everyone, and let us look at our last four in verse eight. We've already reviewed verse eight, hospitable, and last time a lover of good, and this morning, Lord permitting, we're gonna look at four of them, self-controlled, upright, holy, and disciplined. Shepherd, or the leaders of the church, must model this in word and conduct, but as a reminder, these are for everyone who bears the name of Christ. So this first word, or self-control, Sophrona is found four times in scripture. It can also be interpreted sound mind or sober. It literally means sound or safe. It means to be moderate. It means to be balanced. The root word here for self controlled is friend in the Greek. And this is where we get our English word diaphragm from. The diaphragm, as many of you know, is the inner muscle of the body that regulates physical health, controlling breathing and heartbeat. That is, the man who is self-disciplined is self-controlled. His passions are in check. He doesn't fly off the wall. when he is offended. This is more than just wrongs or sins done against him, but it is a well-balanced life. And depending on your translation, it may say temperate or sensible or sober, but it describes a man that is not commanded by himself, but is commanded by God. And we're going to look at a man in Scripture this morning who was not temperate and not Disciplined but instead quite the opposite and I got it excited this week as I was Studying this and I pray that same excitement will spread to you. And if not, we're still gonna study it anyway So if you would please turn to acts chapter 24, we're going to look at two individuals Felix and Dracilla acts chapter 24 to read verses 24 and 25. After some days, Felix came with his wife, Triscilla, who was Jewish, and he sent for Paul and heard him speak about faith in Christ Jesus. And he reasoned about righteousness and self-control in the coming judgment. Felix was alarmed and said, go away for the present. When I get an opportunity, I will summon you. You'll notice here in depending on what version you have in verse 25, it says self-control. The translation, depending on what you have, is a poor translation, I think, and it should be closer to disciplined, maybe, not self-controlled. And the only reason why I mention that is because in our text, in Titus chapter 1, verse 8, the same Greek word is not translated. This word disciplined in our text is translated here as self-control. I think it can be translated disciplined, although self-control and discipline do have many characteristics the same, and so we're not going to be dogmatic about it. So Paul was brought before Felix, who was the Roman procurator of Judea, who was appointed by Claudius in 53 AD. Felix heard of Paul speak of Jesus Christ. We'll see that in verse 22. But Felix, having a rather accurate knowledge of what? The way. So clearly Felix would have heard about the way, and he was interested to hear about Paul's faith in Jesus Christ. So Paul reasoned about righteousness and self-control and the coming judgment. And here's the question. Why did Paul mention these three? Verse 25, Paul picks three adjectives, and they're not random. This is why. Because Felix was unrighteous, he was oppressive, and he was a worldly governor. What exactly did Felix do? Felix, first and foremost, was married three times before. And interestingly, two of the three wives were both named Drusilla. He must have had a knack for that name. But much of this has to do with his actual current wife, Drusilla. Drusilla was engaged to Epiphanes, the son of Antiochus, king of Comene at age six. That's right. Herod's daughter, Josilla, was engaged to be married at age six. The agreement was that Epiphanes had promised to embrace Judaism prior to the ceremony. Found out it didn't work, so Josilla's father, Herod, broke it off, only for her to be engaged nine years later at age 15. So at age 15, she marries Asusus, king of Emicines, who marries her on the condition that he would be circumcised. He was, until Felix got his eyes on her. He was able to manipulate her. He fell in love with her, even though she was already married, through a Jewish magician named Simon. and he was able to convince her. So here she is right now, and this word, self-control or disciplined, it could be translated temperance. Now, I want you to notice the audience who Paul is addressing. It is Felix and it is Drusilla, a pagan and a Jew. Now, Felix was interested in this religion. He was interested in Paul. He had heard of the way, but he was interested. How did he hear about him? Well, probably because of his past experience with Peter and Philip in the book of Acts. Felix may have genuinely wanted to hear about what Paul had to say, but most likely he summoned him and kept him for two years because he wanted Paul's friends to come and to buy him out. And we see this in verse 26. At the same time, he hoped that what? money would be given to him by Paul. And even prior to that, in verse 23, he gave orders for the centurion that he should be kept in custody but have some liberty that none of his friends should be presented from seeing him. Basically, Felix wanted his friends to come in and post bonds so he could make a little extra money with having Paul there. Ironically, though, Paul's friends didn't roll that way, so he just stayed there for two years or so, and then was released later on. And so why exactly are we, am I telling you this? Paul mentions these three adjectives, these three descriptions, because this is something that Felix failed in. He did not receive a passing grade. See, Paul noted righteousness because of how Felix related to men. Felix was not a righteous man. He was unrighteous. Felix was renounced for defrauding widows. He was also known for alienating the poor, and as we see in our text this morning, he was known for taking bribes, a governor who could be bribed. And so Paul scales the wall of Felix's heart. He says, essentially, Felix, you could be bribed, but God can't. God will dispense equal justice, unlike you. And Paul also noted, as you'll see in verse 24, He mentioned self-control, or temperance, or discipline, because Felix and Drusilla were living in what? Sin and adultery. Drusilla, who was a Jew, should have known about this even more than him, and technically had two husbands. So Paul takes these two current conditions, their life status, and says, there is a coming judgment. There will be a universal judgment on all transgressors. And we see Felix's reaction. Felix was, what? Alarmed. Your version may say scared. The Greek word is emphobos. What do we get from that? Phobia, right? We get fear. It's not uncommon for a prisoner to shake and tremble for a governor. But how rare is it for a governor to tremble before a prisoner. It's not unusual to see a judge dignified and self-possessed, but here is a poor, trembling wretch on whom the words of the prisoner falls almost as a death sentence. and he can't take it anymore. Felix was fearful. In light of his past and his current sins and the judgment to come, he was fearful. Now we're not gonna turn to it, but many of you are familiar in Acts chapter 16 regarding the Philippian jailer. Do you remember what happened? The Philippian jailer asked, what must I do to be saved? Felix, on the other hand, instead of asking what he should do to be saved, told Paul to go away. Instead of asking what he should do to be saved, instead of breaking off with his sins, he asked Paul to leave. Felix sought refuge not in the forgiveness of sins, but in sending away the message and the messenger. Essentially, Felix says, I don't want to hear this anymore. Stop talking. And not only did he send Paul and the message away, but He thinks he'll have another moment like this again. Another moment where he's bare before the truth, where spiritually speaking and conscious wise, he's naked before God. He thinks in the future he can fabricate the Spirit's movement. Beloved, I want to encourage you this morning and even those who do not know Christ. If you are alarmed, as alarmed as Felix is this morning, when you see your sins and the consequence of the coming judgment, and you just throw it off, and you send the message away, or you block the messenger out, you may not have another opportunity. You may not if you are not in Christ this morning and you are alarmed and fearful and you think you can just turn it on and turn it off at your own whim. You are grossly mistaken. So which will you be this morning if your will is assaulted? by the truth that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. And when the word of God infiltrates your heart and your mind, what will you do? Will you ask God to leave and the truth to leave? I don't want it anymore. We'll talk about this later. Or will you ask, as the Philippian jailer asked, what must I do to be saved? There are many like Felix. There are many like him. They don't want to seek forgiveness. They do not want to put off their sin. If Felix was to be a Christian, he would have had to what? Send his wife back. He would have had to break from his sin. And today, and you'll see this in the outline, some of you may choose between unlawful amusements and eternal salvation. Some of you will have to choose your sin over salvation. Just like Felix, many are brought face to face with the law of God. And as you look at it, the stirrings of the Holy Spirit is not addressed. Felix looked to a future time when he could make that decision. And how many are like him? They live in sin, pursue a career of pleasure or business, and when it's convenient, they will attend to it. Another time, he says, go away, and when I get an opportunity, I will summon you. You have full opportunity right now, complete opportunity. Another time, you may not have another time. Tomorrow is never promised. The day is not promised, but even more the prompting of the spirit is not promised. The wind moves as it wills. And for you to say, I'm gonna put it off till later, you may not get later. You may not have a moment in your life. Felix was doing small talk with Paul afterwards. And I want to pick this up in verse 26. At the same time, he hoped that money would be given to him by Paul, so he sent for him often and conversed with him. What is left out? It is his fear. The favorable time had left Felix. The spirit prompted and attacked his will. And he said, no, I don't want you. Get out. You're not welcome. And he died in his sins. And so if you're not in Christ this morning, and if you see your life as failing to reach the mark, and if you are alarmed, at the coming judgment that you and I will have to face God face to face and give an account for our life. Christ is your only hope. And if you are alarmed this morning, if you are fearful, praise God. Do not do what Felix did because you may not have another prompting in your life. So, Paul used Felix and Drusilla's lack of discipline to point them to Christ. He said, get out. I choose my sin over the Savior. Discipline, I want to sidestep here for a second and give you, it's not in your outline, for lack of space. But I want to give you some characteristics, discipline. I want you to ask yourself, do I have these characteristics? Discipline is not just choosing to wake up to do devotions before work because you feel like it. Be disciplined means to do something even when you don't want to do it. Man who is disciplined in regards to relationships does not go to two extremes. One extreme of a relationship is to be completely dependent upon other people. And the other unhealthy side of it is completely being independent of everyone else. A disciplined man has good and stable relationships. A disciplined man takes the Word of God and fuses it and weaves it into every avenue and area of his heart and his mind. A disciplined person knows the balance of when work has consumed his life. Disciplined man will look at that and say, I don't need that because of the cost of getting it. A disciplined man will say, no, I don't need to work any extra hours, even though the money would be great. I need to spend time with my family. That is the priority. A disciplined man will say, I won't do this because this brings dishonor to the Lord. A disciplined man will say, no, I'm not getting involved in this because it will compromise my integrity as a Christian. A disciplined man will get the rest that he needs so that he can function as effectively as he can for the glory of God and for the good of man. A disciplined man will do something not because he always feels like it, but a disciplined man will do it because it's the right thing. A disciplined man will be fit in mind, body, and spirit so that he can be all that God has called him to be. A disciplined man does whatever he does as best as he can to the best of his ability by the grace of God and gives God all of the credit. A disciplined man will own his sin because he sees his sin as his own and will cry out as David says, against you have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight so that you are right when you speak and justified when you judge. A disciplined man is sober in all of areas of his life and cries out to God for help. May I add that the kind of discipline that God requires of us is impossible without his help. Why? Because discipline actually becomes abstract, becomes ethereal, without any type of standard. But not only does there need to be a standard, there needs to even be an enablement. carrying it out. And so, when you see the goodness of God expressed in your life, your heart and your mind will face Him. And as you track throughout the horizon of your life, you won't only face Him, but a disciplined man will grow towards Him as well. Point number two, Noah as upright. Please turn to Genesis chapter six. Genesis chapter six. We're gonna be looking at verses eight through 10. Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord. Verse nine, these are the generations of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation. Noah walked with God, and Noah had three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth. You'll notice that one of the descriptions of him is that he was upright or that he was righteous. The Greek word here means to point upwards. Now, this is not his posture of his back, but it is the posture and the position of the heart. He is morally just and upright. This uprightness or this righteousness means to conform to God's standard. This refers to the outside of the man looking in. It shares several characteristics of that of holiness which, Lord permitting, we will touch. Noah was a righteous and blameless man who walked with God. He was a solitary saint. He stands alone in his generation. His character is described, as I mentioned, from the outside in, even though he is only able to achieve that as a result from the inside out. He was externally righteous because of what God had done to him inside. He's righteous and he discharges all of the law. And you know what's really interesting as well? Noah lived prior to the giving of the law on Mount Sinai. The law on Mount Sinai had not been given yet. And so technically, from Adam through Joseph, and even 430 years after that, as the Israelites left Egypt, as they were in the wilderness, they were waiting to get the law, and here this is a righteous man, and the Ten Commandments haven't even been given. Moses hadn't gone up to Mount Sinai yet. We're still hundreds and hundreds of years away. He was a righteous man. You see that Noah was blameless, but do not confuse blamelessness with sinlessness. Noah was a blameless, righteous, and just man. And as I already mentioned, solitary goodness is possible here. When I say solitary, we mean separated. We mean set apart. And we're not talking about monks here, okay? Here's the encouragement. You can be upright exactly where you are working. You could be upright around family and friends who don't know Christ. How do we know? Because Noah lived longer than you and I. Not only that, Noah was exposed to a longer and probably greater degree of evil than you and I will ever be exposed to. He had it worse than you, longer than you. Work environment, family dynamics, situation is no excuse. If anyone had an excuse to sin, it would be Noah. It is possible for you to be just and righteous where you are right now at your work environment. Even in a pagan environment, it is said that a flower can grow on a dung hill and even reeking rottenness can make the flower bloom. I want you to notice as well the companionship of the saints. You'll notice in verse 9 is that Noah walked with God. Noah had regular communion with the Lord. It's similar to be holy, which we'll look at in a little bit, but Noah had regular communion with God. That is, his heart and his mind always had God at his front gaze. He put the Lord first. God alone was Noah's sufficiency. Do you walk with God? You can't walk with someone without spending time with them. And what will you find after walking with someone? You'll keep their pace. You might even have the same rocking and swaying you begin to take after them. See, Noah was alone among his generation, but he was not alone. He walked with God, and you can be encouraged by Noah, beloved, this morning, as God has placed you wherever he has placed you, regardless of the scenario or situation of work environment or family and friends. Noah was blameless and just and upright, and you can be the same by the enablement and grace of God. It may be difficult, but be of good courage, because you are not alone. Communion with God was the foundation of all of his righteousness. When you are with someone, you not only be able to walk with them, but you begin to talk like them, don't you? You may even find yourself having the same interests as them. You ever find your children talking like you, walking like you, looking like you? I saw that. Don't come to me afterwards and ask. But for many of you parents, your children even laugh like you. Some of them even have the same quirks as you. And why is that? Because children take after their parents. And this is what happens when you are communing with God. You begin to love what He loves and hate what He hates. you begin to take after him. Now, I must pause right now and make one brief note, and you'll see it at the bottom of the first page of your outline. It is this. Communing with God will be impossible if we are not fighting against sin. Habitual sin will compromise intimacy. Some of us this morning may be facing a different direction and the Lord may have to discipline us to reorient what side of the horizon we're facing. He may even have to discipline us to change our posture as well. In verse 22, Noah did all that was commanded. You know, it must have been really difficult for him. We don't know how long it took to build the ark. I mean, no one probably would have seen a boat, and here this guy is building an ark. Most likely people have not seen rain before since prior to this, the world's temperature, the earth operated almost like a greenhouse. Noah may not have seen rain before and here he is building this large boat. I mean, this must have been difficult. People are walking by him and saying, what are you building? We're expecting rain. They're saying, well, what's rain? What are you talking about? What rain? And he did it for a long time. We don't know how long it took him to build that boat. Noah was 500 years old when the Lord told him, and he entered the ark in chapter seven, verse 11, and he was around 600 years. Now, we don't know at what point, but we can say it took him less than 100 years. And so what do we learn from Noah? Noah was a righteous man, but he was still a sinner, just like everyone else. And here's the question. Who is the key to his life? The answer is in verse 8. Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord. It is said that when grace comes, merit is far off. Lastly, briefly, we're going to look at holiness. Please turn to Hebrews 12, verse 14. Hebrews 12, verse 14. Holiness describes inside out, while uprightness describes outside in. They're similar, but those are the discrepancies. See, because God is described as being holy, but never described as being upright or blameless. Now, there are several aspects to holiness. There is the setting apart, there is the sanctification. I've given you several definitions and descriptions in your outline. You have the setting aside, the consecration, and then you have the growth. And I must ask you this question. How has your growth been? in godliness or in holiness in the last 10 years. Have you grown? Do you find yourself having a greater sensitivity towards your shortcoming and sin in your life and a greater desire for godliness and purity and holiness? Do you find yourself loving the things that God loves? hating the things that He hates. Does what break God's heart break yours? Do you have an increasing desire for the Word of God? Do you enjoy communion with other Christians because they like talking to you about the same thing that you like talking to them about and it is about the things of God? Do you get excited to hear the Word of God? Do you get excited to sing corporately with people around you? Or is this just something we do? Do you, in light of where you are today, do you look back and see what God has done for you and thank Him? Is that thanking lived out in your life. Brothers and sisters, as with any creature, growth occurs when there's intake, isn't there? Same way, when we're saved, we are set apart, the holiness, because as I have already mentioned several times, a flower not only faces the sun, but grows towards it. This holiness or sanctification is used in Greek pagan relations as in the Old Testament to describe a building or an altar or anything else that was used for religious purposes. This object was set apart. for holiness and devoted to religious purposes. You'll see a general description of sanctification. It's a general term that means to make holy, pure, to consecrate, devote to God, or to regard as holy. And if you miss anything so far, I want you to walk away with the three characteristics of holiness. It's important. First is position. The holy man or woman is set apart. But not only is man or woman set apart, but they have a purpose for the setting apart. It's for God. But not only is there a setting apart, not only is there a position and purpose, but there is a progression. That is, they grow in the likeness and image of the One who has set them apart, and that is God. The Word of God is like the sunlight. You cannot be holy unless you're being filled. Holiness is a progression, not just a position or place. And in order for there to be true holiness in your life, beloved, we must not only have the Spirit dwelling, but we must be filled. And there is only one source to be filled, and that is by the regular intake of the Word of God. Hebrews chapter 12 verse 14, strive for peace with everyone and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord. This peace. could refer to several different things based on the context. We can even go back to verse 11. For the moment, all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceable fruit of what? Righteousness to those who have been trained by it. So the context could be persecution in verse 11, could be factions in verse 14, sexual immorality in verse 16, or all of them. But we just need to be focused on Jesus Christ. Jesus has us beat in persecution, in humility, and in being able to withstand sin. Heaven and earth will pass away, but God will not admit one unrepentant and one unpardoned sinner in heaven. In verse 14, you'll see the holiness without which no one will see the Lord. Everybody here will see Him. You will see Him. When you drop dead, when I drop dead, when we have to appear before the judgment seat of Christ, you will either receive your welcome into heaven as a result of Christ alone, or you will depart and will be forever in separation with Him. That is a reality. This seeing here is not necessarily with the eyes, but the seeing is an embracing. This carries the same connotation in Matthew chapter 5 verse 8, blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God. Holiness is a God-word focus in which man's chief aim is to submit himself to the will of God. His first aim is to please God and not man. I want to turn back just for the sake of time. I want to look at verse 14 real close. Holiness does not occur just by in passing. This word strive here in verse 14, strive for peace with everyone. This word strive is dioko, the English is weak. This is a progressive chase. You and I will never arrive completely at holiness on this side of glory. But with God's help, we should be fighting and pursuing and striving for holiness in Christ likeness. A holy man will never be at peace with sin. And as you pursue holiness in your life, you will not be at peace with sin. They said that alpine hunters, when pursuing antelope, and you hunters would appreciate this, said that alpine hunters, when pursuing antelope, would leap from Crag to crag, we'll pursue all day, spend cold nights in the mountains, descend cold valleys, up and up again, and never tire, not rest, until he has found his prey. In the same way, we must strive for holiness. Holiness is never gained by standing still. Holiness is not passive. Before we were saved, We chased after sin, and now we chase after holiness. You'll notice a couple observations. We're not going to turn to it for sake of time, but I do want to mention these couple of observations in terms of characteristics of a holy person. And I want to ask yourself, is this true of me? A holy person will endeavor to turn away from every known sin and to keep every known commandment. They may sin, but they do not remain and abide in it. They hate it. They confess it and turn from it, and they will fight against it. They will build in their lives safeguards to protect themselves. Number two, a holy person will strive to be like Jesus Christ. Why? Christ forgave others. He was meek and humble. And remember again, meekness and humility is not born out of weakness, but out of power. Meekness is power controlled and under restraint. Jesus Christ was unselfish. He was a faithful witness to the truth. He denied himself. He was patient even in light of undeserving insults. He was full of love and compassion. Third, a holy person will pursue and love brotherly kindness. A holy person will love to bless the brethren. A holy person will pursue a spirit of mercy and benevolence towards others. They will not stay idle all day for fear of offending people. A holy person will pursue purity of heart. They will pursue the fear of God. They will pursue humility. And just in case you're confused, this fear has nothing to do with judgment because Christ has paid it all. This fear has to do with the kind of reverence and fear that many of you spouses here have towards your spouse, husbands and wives have in that you don't want to break your spouse's heart. Man or woman who fears God is the one who realizes that he and she is always in front of an audience of one. And though you may be able to hide from other people, God not only sees, but he's there. Holy person will pursue humility and will pursue faithfulness in all of his duties and will be spiritual reminded. It is said that a soul destitute of holiness is in no capacity either of faith or of sight to see the Lord." So in closing, what direction are you facing? Who are you tracking and following as the sun rises and sets? And lastly, Who are you growing in and towards? Let us pray. Father, we confess that we have shortcomings in our life and that apart from you, we have no good thing. We confess as well, Lord, that many of us have been facing a different direction And we may have even been growing in certain areas that do not conform and do not affirm as this vessel that is set aside for consecration, for holiness. Father, we confess that apart from you, we can do no good thing and that everything within us is as filthy rags, but those who you set aside, you sanctify. And so Lord, we ask for your help as we wage war against the sin in our lives, help us to be sensitive towards it, help us to rejoice that we have been accepted in Christ Jesus alone, and in light of that, may we live lives by your enablement, pleasing in your sight, in Jesus' name, amen.