I think we're going here. All right. Our message this morning is on discipleship. The chapter is on discipleship. And by the way, if any of you, I think most of you have been here, if you're joining us and you don't have the book that we're kind of going through, the book is called Family Shepherds Calling and Equipping Men to Lead Their Homes. And so you can talk with Cliff afterwards if you don't have the book. But this chapter title is really a foundational, informative chapter on biblical discipleship. It's called a three-pronged approach to biblical discipleship. Let me just kind of ask you as we start here, because we throw these terms out as Christians sometimes, when you hear the word disciple or discipleship, what are some of the things that come to your mind? Because it's actually not defined, it's kind of assumed what discipleship is, but I think we need to just start there with defining what is discipleship, or what are some of the things that come into your mind when you hear the word discipling or discipleship? Teaching? That's right. Shepherding? Mentoring? Witnessing? Yeah, if you take the Great Commission to make disciples, baptizing them, teaching them, the first part there would be teaching them the gospel, if they don't know that, and then as they become a follower of Christ, which is what a disciple is, a learner, then there's the continual teaching. But all those things are elements. Any other things come to your mind when you hear the word disciple or discipleship? Time. What's that? Counsel. As you say time, I think of the time Jesus spent with his disciples. The men he was making disciples, he spent a lot of time with them as he was teaching them. Commitment. Influence. Relational, yeah. Discipleship, you know, requires relationship. Those are good. Any other things? And those are all excellent, by the way. What were you going to say? Discernment, yeah. Yeah, that's right. I know it's kind of hard to hear in here, but talking about being Christ-centered and focusing on Christ, because really we're making disciples not of us, but disciples of Christ. And yet, there's an element there. I remember what Christ said. He said, a pupil when he is trained, or you could say a disciple when he's trained, becomes like his teacher. And there's an element there that those who have influence, those who are mentoring us, we are going to become like them. And hopefully, they're becoming like Christ so that we can follow them as they follow Christ. And that was Paul's pattern. In the first part of the chapter there, in the second paragraph, he says, I'm talking about discipling our children and taking all that we said there, thinking of children. Discipling our children is not about teaching them to behave in a way that won't embarrass us. Just a second sentence, second paragraph. We're working towards something much more important than that. We're actually raising our children with a view toward leading them to trust and follow Christ. So he's using the term discipling. In the family here, we're raising children with a view toward leading them to trust and to follow Christ. Moreover, as members of a local body, we're striving to do this work in conjunction with other families who are doing the same. The result is a synergistic thrust. That word synergism means working together. Monergism would be the work of one person. So when we talk about regeneration or salvation, the Holy Spirit, that's a work that the Holy Spirit does. But we're talking about our sanctification there. There's a there's a synergism. There's a there's a working together along with the Holy Spirit working in our life to propel our children collectively into the next generation of kingdom service. And all this is done in utter dependence upon God's grace to do the work. And so what I want to do here is just kind of set this in the context of where we've been and where we were last week. And in your handout here, the second section is just a review. There's no new scriptures. And number two of verses that command or call for a father to instruct or to disciple his children. And so we went through those last time. And what I did under section 3, and I did kind of an inductive study, and this again may not be exhaustive, but I tried to look at other places in the scripture where someone decides the father also is, if not commanded, they're commended, or there's a positive example of others in addition to the father who can give biblical instruction to young people. Sometimes we think of that as a mother teaching her daughter what a godly wife is like, but really Proverbs 31 is the mother of King Lemuel giving him instructions about what to look for in a godly wife. And then verse 26 says the godly mother has kindness teaching on her tongue. We looked at that. Let's look again at the letter B, which is grandparents, the grandchildren. And one of the things that I'm encouraged about this group is we have not quite half, but a good percentage of people who are grandparents in this room. Let's turn to Exodus chapter 10. I want to ask if someone who's a grandpa here would read Exodus chapter 10, verse 2. Just be bold and read it out loud. It's taken the grandpa longer to find it, I think. I'll pick on my dad, ask him to read. And that you may tell in the hearing of your son and of your grandson how I made a mockery of the Egyptians and how I performed my signs among them, that you may know that I am the Lord. That's good. So he's speaking, of course, to grandparents in Israel to tell their grandchildren about what God did in their redemption and their salvation. So we're not Old Testament Israelites, but what would be an application of that for us as Christians, as grandparents, that same principle of what we, the content of what should be told to our grandchildren? What are some things that grandparents could tell their grandchildren about what God has done in the past? Yeah. Testimony of their own personal redemption. Yeah, absolutely. What else? It would be just about Jesus' spirit. Yeah. Your kids may not be alive by the Lord, but they have a certain responsibility to at least live in grace. Yeah. Good. Yes. It's so easy for us to put it on our own understanding because we've been living with it for so long. We can't formally think of taking care of things by ourselves, but I think that's a first thing. We have to learn how to take care of ourselves. If you can give examples of how to do that in the course of leading them for all of us, not for all of us, all of us. What do you say? I use verses to focus on the great signs and great miracles that God did in bringing that deliverance. I think kids need to hear that and have the idea that God is absolute sovereign. He's absolutely powerful. That's good. Yeah. Missionary stories and stories. Yeah. Yeah. Good. Let's go on to Deuteronomy chapter 4 and 6. Let's see if we can get another grandpa volunteer to read Deuteronomy 4 verse 9. When we take care and keep your soul diligent, lest you forget the things that your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life, make them known to your children and your children's children. And go ahead and verse 10 also Okay, so he's looking back as God was giving the law giving the commandments to Israel there and and He's telling them in verse 9 to take care, to keep your soul diligently, lest you forget the things that you've seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life. I'll tell you as someone who's involved in teaching, one of the best ways not to forget is to keep having to be able to teach something to someone else. The more I study and teach and pass on truth, the more it helps me remember. And here he's saying, don't forget these things. Make them known to your children and your children's children. This is even part of God's design, that we need to not forget these things that we've learned. We need to be passing them on to others, and here specifically, your grandchildren. Any other comments on that? Things that stand out to you in that verse there? Let's go to Deuteronomy 6 and just look at one more Deuteronomy 6 verses 1-2. that you might do them in the land where you are going over to possess them, so that you and your son and your grandson might prepare the Lord your God to keep all the statutes and commandments which I commanded you all the days of your life, and that your days may be plentiful. Amen. So these are just a few verses. There's actually more to talk about this. But the idea there is that your your role in your job is not done when your children leave the home. And in fact, that's I think one of the. one of the mindsets that unfortunately has infected a lot of people. They think that their job is kind of done now that their children are out of the home, but really, biblically, our job is never done. We're never retired from serving the Lord. We're never exempt from this. In fact, it's imperative for the older generation to have an active role, specifically here, grandparents. in the lives of their grandchildren and great-grandchildren. I was at the funeral for Bill Bell yesterday and it was just such a blessing. 17 grandchildren. It seemed like, I don't know all of them, but many of them evidently love the Lord and they did a wonderful video tribute to their to their grandfather. He has three great-grandchildren as well. But just such a testimony, such a moving thing to see. And they all talked about the spiritual influence that he had upon them. And it was really a good reminder to me in regards to my daughters and my sons that I need to be not only investing in them and shepherding them, but I want to have that kind of relationship with my grandchildren and great-grandchildren in the future. So, and this kind of takes us to the next point there, which is not just grandparents to grandchildren, but older believers to the next generation right here in Deuteronomy, Deuteronomy 32. And we may have read this one last week. But Deuteronomy 32, 7 says, Remember the days of old. Consider the years of many generations. Ask your father and he will show you. So there's that primary relationship. He says, ask your father and he will show you and your elders and they will tell you. And the elders in Old Testament Israel were those older godly men. It seemed to be a recognized group of godly men. But your father was to be able to tell you these things and also to ask your elders as well. And they were to be telling you these things of many former generations. And he goes on to talk about what God did in Israel's history. So any godly elder in Israel was expected at any time that someone could come and they could ask him and they would be ready as well to tell them about these great things. that God had done. Turn to Psalm 48. And Psalm 48 verse 12 says, walk about Zion, go around her, number her towers, consider well her ramparts, go through her citadels, that you may tell the next generation that this is God, our God forever and ever. He will guide us forever. In other words, look at these things that God has done so that you may tell the next generation that this is God, our God forever and ever. This is this generational passing on of truth. which certainly would include our children as well as those of the next generation that we have influence in their life. Two other psalms, Psalm 71 and verse 18. Since John has gray hair, I'll ask John if he reads this one, Psalm 71, 18. And what a what a great heart that is from an older Saint or someone looking forward to or looking ahead to his older age because even in my old age and my gray hairs I Do not forsake me. And the reason he's asking for him to have health to continue is not so he can have a comfortable life free from any responsibilities. It's do not forsake me until I proclaim your might to another generation, your power to all those who come. He wants to have more years and long life so that he can have a long influence and be able to tell others of God's power. A great, great heart, great prayer. One more psalm, Psalm 145, verse 4. Let me start in verse 1. Psalm 145, this is a psalm of David. I will extol you, my God and King, and bless your name forever and ever. Every day I will bless you and praise your name forever and ever. Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised, and His greatness is unsearchable. One generation shall commend your works to another and shall declare your mighty acts. And then the whole rest of the psalm is really an exposition of the attributes of God. If you want to study the attributes of God, I think you can find every attribute of God in Psalm 145. And it all begins with, One generation shall commend your works to another and shall declare your mighty acts. Just thinking about that note there, why do you think that's important here when he talks about God's attributes? How can the older generation in particular declare these things in a better way to the generation to come, the attributes of God specifically? We can see these things in scripture, but I know when you talk about certain things, Greg, for example, I know that you've experienced those and it makes me... There's something just about your life experience that as you're sharing these things, I want to give attention to that because I know that it's not just an intellectual study, it's things that you've gone through and that's good. What are some others? The first five references we read tell us what to explain, what to teach our children or our grandchildren, what is the nature of our discipleship, and so on and so forth. We teach the attributes of God. So the first two we read give us a purpose of why we seek God. And I think, you know, obviously that is in terms of the greater mission. Yeah, that's good. You could also add to that, even if a grandfather feels there are some things that he wishes he would have done better in raising his children, those are things that he can pass on to his son as well, who is their primary family shepherd, that he can be encouraging his son where he sees these things and then also exhorting him as he's learning things to be able to pass those on. It's a wonderful thing that fathers aren't left alone in this process, that ideally there's other godly family members, and we know not every family has a godly father and grandfather, but that's the ideal, and that's certainly what all of us in this room, if we're not yet grandfathers, should want to be, a godly grandfather, an influence in our children's lives. It's a wonderful thing. Any other comments? The attributes of God are unchanging. So I can't help but feel that when they communicate with greater authority to the children, there's more weight to be on the end of that. To my children, if they heard that they were able to learn from their grandparents things that are unchanging, great concepts like the attributes of God, that would carry their weight with it. Maybe I couldn't communicate to them. That's right. Good. Yeah, done. to do what God has called them to do. And in the Guru-m�rga, there are two in the same caste. So I think our responsibility is, no matter what age you are, to ask others for their counsel. I'm really good at that. I think with communication, I have a very, very good relationship, but I don't always ask for himself. So sometimes it comes across maybe as as unwanted. It's my responsibility to start that conversation. That's that's a good good application there because. God puts us in the body of other believers intentionally. It's not just young people who need godly older people's influence. We as fathers need help and we need to ask ideally our own father if he's godly, but other godly men, we need to be humble enough to ask them. Pastor Dale would often say if we were counseling with someone and they were He would ask them, you know, does your father know the Lord? Have you asked your father about this? You know, just kind of the principle of honoring your father and mother. And even if you don't go with his counsel there, you're honoring it, you're giving consideration to it, you're recognizing that he knows you well, he raised you, and he's a godly man. He has some input, but also elders asking spiritual leaders when there's an important decisions. That's an important part of the Christian life that I think a lot of people think that we should be strong enough to not have to ask what the scriptures do tell us to ask. Like you said, that's good. That's a good point. All right. Well, I'm not going to go through this whole section here, but what I did, and for me, I'm kind of an inductive, you know, I like to study things out and so if you want to study some of these things out further, it talks about how all of us need to, all generations need to hear God's truth. There is some warnings there under letter D in the second line there that Youth must beware youthful peer inputs. There's an example there in 1 Kings 12 of Rehoboam, who there was counsel from the elders of Israel, but then he went to his friends and he got their counsel, the younger men that he had grown up with, and he went with their counsel and it was disastrous rather than going with the counsel of the elders of Israel. Proverbs talks about how young people are naive and they lack discernment and warns about being companions of fools. So we need to keep those principles in line there. There were teachers of young people that are alluded to in some of those scriptures there. It doesn't give us a lot of details of what that looked like. Ecclesiastes really is a book written by the one who calls himself the teacher, and he lays out there in Ecclesiastes, remember God in the day of your youth, fear God, keep his commandments, and that's kind of the classic call of a teacher there in Israel to young people. And I'm going to go ahead and skip down to letter H there. We don't need to turn to all these, but just to put in perspective, there are some people where we see an example of a relationship they had with a godly leader. Joshua, of course, was used mightily of the Lord. It says in Numbers 11, 28, he was mentored by Moses or was his apprentice or assistant. Since his youth, Paul, we have the chronology in Acts, right? He discipled Timothy probably while he was in his teen years to maturity, kind of took him under his wing. He calls him my spiritual child in the faith. And then even as Timothy is a pastor in 1 Timothy 4.12, he tells him not to let people look down. In fact, let's turn there. This is a good verse addressed by a spiritual mentor to a younger man in ministry. 1 Timothy chapter 4. Let me ask one of the younger guys if you want to read verse 12, or if you consider yourself a younger guy. I'll do it then. Alright. Let no one look down on your youthfulness, but rather in speech, conduct, love, faith, and purity show yourself an example of those who believe. That's good. Then verse 13 also. Until I come, give attention to the public, reading the scripture, to exhortation and teaching. So he's writing here to a pastor here, but the principles here would apply to any godly young man there, that the way that we're not to have people look down on us because of our youth, he specifically says there's some things that you should be doing, and what are they? Set an example in what areas? Speech and life, basically. Love, faith, purity, those are things that young men in particular need to emphasize. And part of that process there is being devoted to the hearing of Scripture publicly, to the teaching of Scripture, to exhortation. Every chance you get to be filling your mind with the teaching of God's Word there and determine that however young you are, that you want to be setting an example. So even the young people can be an example, can be an encouragement to the to the older generation as they're seeking to live their lives for the Lord Jesus Christ. Maybe I can just ask if some of you older people have seen that dynamic where someone much younger than you in the Lord has, through their life, been an encouragement to you. I thought you raised your hand. Just for a show of hands. You don't have to share. You can just raise your hand if you want. Hopefully this is a dynamic that's not a rare thing, but this is what Paul called Timothy to do, to be an example. And that example, I think, can be encouraged. I'm encouraged sometimes by some of the young people, even in their teen years, who seek to be really growing and living for the Lord. And it's important for us to not despise those who are younger, to not look down upon them, but to seek to encourage them. And so from there I want to go to Titus, which is what the chapter is focused on. But I wanted to kind of set that in the stage of the fact that the Lord puts us in a community. Fathers have the responsibility very clearly in Scripture And yet fathers don't have all the gifts that God gives to the body of Christ. There are gifts and there are godly people that he puts in the body of Christ as well to be a help in this process. Titus chapter 2 talks about older men and younger men. Let me begin in verse 1. As for you, this is writing to Titus, and Titus in verse 4 chapter 1 was also child in the faith. In other words, Paul probably mentored Titus as well as Timothy. Titus chapter 2 verse 1 says, As for you, teach what accords with sound doctrine. Titus was apparently the main teaching elder there in Crete. Teach what accords with sound doctrine. Older men are to be sober-minded, dignified, self-controlled, sound in faith, in love, and in steadfastness. Older women, likewise, are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good, and so train the young men to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled. Likewise, urge the younger... So he's now talking to Titus as a man, towards the younger men. Likewise, urge the younger men to be self-controlled. Show yourself in all respects to be a model of good works, and in your teaching show integrity, dignity, and sound speech that cannot be condemned so that an opponent may be put to shame having nothing evil to say about us." So this is an important passage that kind of is where he begins in the chapter talking about the importance of He gives a three-pronged approach to biblical discipleship, or three legs of a stool, if you will. Here's a four-legged stool. But you can imagine, if this was a three-legged stool, or this right here, if you take one of the legs out, if you don't have all three, it's going to tip over. And so the idea there of an analogy of a three-legged stool, if you will, is that you need all three of these, and all three of these need to be strong, ideally, to have the stability. that is needed. In fact, page 28, middle paragraph there, he says, An examination of the first two parts in Titus reveals a pattern I call the three-legged stool of discipleship. These three supports are godly, mature men and women in the church, godly, manly pastors and elders, and the third is biblically functioning homes. I like to think of these as three interrelated gifts with which God has blessed his people. Using the word gift there, not like an individual spiritual gift, but these are gifts that God gives the community of faith to the body of Christ to build up the body. This stool is designed to support, constrain, shape, and protect believers and their children as they grow to maturity. Each leg in the stool is crucial as they work synergistically. Again, what does synergistically mean? working together, synergism, that they work synergistically in the discipleship process. Let's just talk about that for a moment. In this analogy here, which I think is a good analogy there, how would, if one of these legs of the stool was not in place, how would that be a problem? Just any one of those three. What's that? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. and you know we know in the example of Timothy that he didn't have a godly dad we know that from the book of Acts and also it says the Christian faith was in his grandmother and his mother and it was passed on to him and so in essence his home wasn't fully biblically functioning but God in his grace worked through Eunice and Lois but really Paul in essence as he discipled him later on in life Paul had to come in and help fill in that gap you know the Lord's grace can can overcome some of these things in life. But the point is when we're strong and when we're growing and when we have a stability is when all three of these things are in place. Yeah, what is it? Yeah, I mean, if you use the analogy, they're all kind of interconnected. And so they're not just three different things doing their own thing. Ideally, they're all they have the same center, the same goal is discipleship. That's good. Yeah. Yeah, yeah, absolutely. That's my heart and that's my desire. I recognize I have things to learn from you guys who are in this room here. I'm kind of facilitating and getting this going, but I have a part here in one part of this leg and I have a part in my own family, but we need each other. The more we work together towards that same goal and iron sharpen iron, the stronger that center. And be. So, yeah. We don't want to be seen as lacking failures. Like we are, we need each other in order to keep it. Absolutely. Absolutely. I think he intentionally chose his words there to not say a pastor, a father, and then men and women, but godly, manly pastors and elders, plural, biblically functioning homes, which would include, obviously, ideally a godly father and mother, but also the children and their relationships, and then godly, mature men and women in the church. And let's talk about that first one there, even outside of the context of men. Why is it important, because we read it there in Titus, for godly, older women to be an important part of those processes as well. It's not just about the male. Male leadership is important, but if you notice in verse 3, Titus is not called to disciple these younger women in verse 4 or verse 3. It's the older women. And why is that important? And why is this such an important part of it? And this is where he starts here in the chapter. But why is this so important? Why does he have to learn how to follow her as a woman? Yeah, and not just in relation to her husband, but her children and just her attitude and her There's a number of things there, self-control, purity, making home a priority, and all these different things. But it's interesting that he says there that the Word of God may not be reviled. Because when those things aren't happening, that's a way for the world to look at those who are proclaiming the name of Christ, and they actually revile the Word of God if this is what it produces in the life of a lady or a young lady. A young mom, the word of God is at stake there. Husbands need to be godly, sensitive leaders and do everything the Lord calls them to. But there is also an important role for other godly women to be helping that woman in a unique way with their unique insight and gifts. disciple other young and I think this this whole principle here again is something that a lot of Christianity doesn't think about or emphasize but this is when when Paul lays this out to these churches that are established this is one of the foundational things that older women would be specifically in these areas investing in younger women and also older men that they would have the sort of character and the dignity and command the respect and the way they conduct themselves and that Titus, even as apparently another young pastor there, he needs to be urging men to be self-controlled. He needs to be an example of these things he's trying to instill. And again, this is like Ben said, it's convicting as you read Deuteronomy 32. I mean, this is something that's been challenging me as I read this passage as well, that I need to be, this is one of my priorities, should be one of my priorities as a pastor. Any other comments on the whole general principle we're talking about here? This year for our family, Michelle, she is in deep. She's had someone take her under their wing and it was a tremendous thing. It was like a real way to call submissively to what you're not used to. And then when you see that going on at home, it changed me as well to be the husband that I need to be. So it kind of works off of each other. But it's very impactful. This is a good part of it. You can see it come into play. It's huge. So I'm very thankful for the church, you know, for the crisis that they're having right now. Praise the Lord. sensitive to our wives and their needs and how we want to encourage them along these lines. There might be a younger gal in the church that we see our wife could maybe have some insight and input to that maybe we want to encourage her towards. And maybe we don't even know who the Lord would have them to be, but just encouraging them along these lines, seeking relationships with older ladies or thinking of ways that we could try and help facilitate that as husbands, I think Also would come into play there. But specifically, this command is directed towards those older women that they need to be taking a proactive role in this. And so since we're not women here, we're not going to focus on this one. We're going to keep moving. But this is important to be praying about and encouraging our wives along these lines. Before we kind of look at this last section here, a couple other scriptures, and actually there's a good example of Elizabeth and Mary. Mary was probably, typically girls were betrothed at age 13 or 14 there, so she's a pretty young girl. She's pregnant. She's got all this stuff. She goes to Elizabeth and Elizabeth spiritually gives her spiritual input and they rejoice and they worship the Lord together. It appears that she had this relationship already with Elizabeth. She knew who to go to in this time. She goes to this godly older lady. I think they were at least second. I forget what their family relationship was, but she was a relative as well. But we see a positive example there. to a younger lady and an older lady. But point number L, they're believers who are equipped by pastors or teachers to minister to the young in the faith to maturity, so they'll grow up in the truth of Christ. This is also part of what pastors and teachers are to be doing. They're to be equipping all of the believers to do the work of ministry, the building up of the body of Christ so that we're not going to be young in the faith, that we'll have maturity and stability. studied that before in Ephesians, and then the last point is that all followers of Jesus are to make disciples, teaching them. So any true committed follower of the Lord Jesus Christ on some level should be seeking this in their life. But in terms of philosophical, especially since the text is a bit older, it's sensitive. The dogma is very distinct. We have very distinct and differing roles in creation. This is clearly outlined in that. But there are certain commandments and commands of discipleship are a little different for my wife and my daughters than they are for me. But that responsibility to teach that, to encourage that, that's my responsibility. But really think about my daughter's goals and help them set those goals. And what can I do to help you achieve those goals? What does God ask of you? What can you do? You know, not just to, um, to let them, what kind of a trait do they have in Christ? So I've been able to since I've been learning through the practice. That's good. I was encouraged when Lily said she wanted to talk to us about membership. She's 17, 18, but it's encouraging when young people take initiative. A young person a while back sought out and initiated pre-marital counsel for a relationship that they were in with an older godly couple in the church, and that was encouraging to me. some of the things I know you're trying to do in the college group as well. It's encouraging, but it's especially encouraging when you see young people kind of taking initiative or a young person coming up to another brother and saying, hey, I need help in this area. I want to try and get prepared for marriage. I want to get ready for this next stage of life. Can you help me? Those are just encouraging. Those don't happen all the time, but when I have conversations like that, it's very encouraging because the Spirit of God is at work in their heart. And of course, I never want to usurp the role of their own spiritual shepherd in their home, so I would want to work with them. But it's just an encouraging thing to see how the Lord... Same principle, like you said, we need to be disciples and making disciples, but as the leaders of our home, we need to kind of help be the primary disciples and bring those things along. But it's great when that becomes their own conviction. That's the obvious prayer and goal of us as parents. I've got a few things I underlined in this whole section here of godly mature men and women. And you guys can, if something stood out to you, you want to comment on. But one of the things that, on page 29, second to last paragraph, he says, when Paul refers to older men and women, he's speaking not merely of their age, but of the mature character God forges over time as men and women. walk with him. So the whole point of this older and younger is not you've got to find someone who's two decades older than you. It's finding those who you can see God's at work in their life and God's grown them in certain areas or at least it appears that way and you want to try and learn from them. He quotes Calvin there, nothing is more shameful than for an old man to indulge in youthful wantonness and by his countenance to strengthen the impudence of a young. Just being older automatically doesn't doesn't automatically make you godly. Yeah. Yeah. And yet, as young people, we're still to give respect and honor to those who are old and in order to automatically even as they to give respect and consideration to what they say, just by virtue of that, because they had more experience and hopefully they've had experience applying. I've got some other things underlined here, but anything that kind of you guys, I don't know if you guys are underliners or anything kind of stood out to you that you wanted to touch on. Yeah. Yeah. Moral character, that's a good expression to. Yeah. Yeah, that's good. Page 30 there, there's a middle middle paragraph I want to just read in our. Our time is coming up here, but this paragraph I think really is a key one in this whole concept and study. Godliness and maturity are not only gifts granted by God's Spirit to the individual believer, but the context of Titus 2 makes it clear that they are gifts granted to the church for the purpose of discipleship and mentoring. So God's design, in other words, God makes us godly not just so that we can be better people or better individuals, but so that we can help make others godly. God's design is for godly, mature men and women to impact the lives of younger believers. This is crucial when considering what it takes to equip family shepherds. If we're going to see a generation of young men rise to the occasion and begin to disciple their families, it will be due in large part to the reestablishment of the biblical paradigm of mature believers pouring their lives into younger Christians and demonstrating godliness and maturity to them by their daily lives. Or to put that more specifically, if this is going to happen, it's going to take us in this room, and ideally others, making this a prayer and a priority in our own lives. Just to kind of make sure we cover each of these legs here, the second leg is godly, manly pastors and elders and the way Titus, let me just read the passage here, Titus 1 verse 5, this is why I left you in Crete, so that you might put what remained into order and appoint elders in every town as I directed you. And then when he talks about their qualifications or their qualities, he starts first with the home. If anyone is above reproach, the husband of one wife and his children are believers and not open to the charge of debauchery or insubordination. For an overseer is God's steward must be above reproach. He must not be arrogant. So this is now kind of his conduct with others. He must not be arrogant or quick-tempered or a drunkard or violent or greedy for gain. but hospitable, and that one also kind of flows out of the home, a lover of good, self-controlled, upright, holy, and disciplined, he must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it. And so he puts his, the way he handles God's word last, not that it's least, but it is, both here and in Timothy, he starts off first with his relationship with his And then it talks in Titus about how if he can't manage or lead his children, then it's not appropriate, at least at this stage of his life, for him to be leading the children of God or leading God's family. And really all the character qualities here are not so much his talents or so much about his preaching ability, but it's these different godly character, what was the word there, moral character and godly attributes in his life And then he does need to be able to teach and be able to really know God's Word and be apt to teach and be able to refute if someone were to contradict sound doctrine, that he can give an adequate refutation of heresy and sound doctrine and have some ability there in teaching. But the focus really is not so much on his abilities as it is on his character, who he is and what he brings out here. which I appreciate from Voti is the emphasis on his, the home really is the proving ground for leadership in the house of God, which is not always how people think about it. Often he brings out, there's pastors who have been voted into churches and they've never even met the family of the pastor, haven't even taken these phrases into consideration. And so what he said, and this again struck me, in page 33 towards the bottom, third to last paragraph, he says, My prayer is that pastors will take it upon themselves to embrace biblical family religion, to instruct their churches as to the importance of the practice, and that's one reason why we're doing this study, and to model family shepherding to their flocks. And number four, to make a concerted effort to lead the church to examine the home life of all future candidates for leadership. And I just think that's a focus that flows right out of Titus. And then, because our time's almost gone here, let's move on to this last point here, which will really be the focus of future weeks, but biblically functioning homes. And he again brings out, it's the fathers, not the youth ministers, not the children's ministers or preschool ministers. Fathers are the ones charged with Top of page 36, the duty of discipling the next generation. Nor is this, as I've already argued, inconsistent with the centrality of the pulpit ministry. In fact, the home is actually a proving ground for elders. And so he says, it's impossible to overstate the importance of the ministry of the home in the pastoral epistles. And so then he says, it's a link that joins all three, bottom of page 36, there is a synergy between strong Christian homes, this is the last sentence, strong Christian homes and strong churches with the ministry of the family shepherd serving as an indispensable element in the health, well-being and future of the church. I've often quoted Richard Baxter on this matter, and his words are so appropriate here I cannot help but do it again. The life of religion and the welfare and glory of both the church and the state, you could say society, depend much on family, government, and duty. If we suffer the neglect of this, we shall undo all. And I think we're seeing in our culture, as the family has unraveled and as these principles that are laid out in this book, people have gone so far away from, we're seeing that not only in society, but we're seeing it in churches as well. And so my prayer through this study in the weeks ahead and we're going to... We're not going to meet two weeks from now. We'll be meeting on January 5th and then January 19th. I'm talking with Bob about getting another outside speaker to come and do maybe another men's breakfast. Hopefully get more men here and encourage them to come be a part of us maybe in January or February. The prayer there is that as we get back to these principles that God calls us to, that the Lord would strengthen our families, that He would strengthen our church families. I pray that many of you in this room would be able to have an impact beyond this church family as well as to others in the generations to come, that we would be telling the next generation of the mighty deeds of God. We need God's mighty help to do that. So let me pray we can spend some more time in fellowship afterwards, but let me commit is to the Lord. Our gracious God, we thank you that you have not left us alone in this process. And Lord, our responsibility is very clear and it's very convicting. And Lord, even as we think about what's often said about churches, that men don't see the relevance, that they're not challenged at church. And Lord, as we look at the Scriptures, Lord, there is so much There is so much relevance to us as men. This is imperative for us to be leading. And we know it's not just up to us. There are godly women who are also a very vital process in this, and our wives, and our children, and our families, and the family of Christ. I just pray that you would give us wisdom Your word is clearly spoken. We pray that your Holy Spirit would convict us and would encourage us and I pray for every man represented here that they would be putting into specific practice some of these truths that we have spoken of today. We pray this in the name of the one who is the head of the church and the one whose grace is sufficient Who has promised to build his church and we pray that you would do so through? Through these men here and their their families and future families. We pray in God's name in the name of Christ. Amen Bless you guys. Oh By the way I was supposed to announce this. January 2nd at Emanuel Baptist Church, James Wyatt is going to be speaking on what every Christian should know about Islam. James Wyatt is a very gifted apologist. I've listened to him speak on this before, and probably one of the most helpful speakers in this area. Islam, as you know, is a massive force in our world, and we need to have a good biblical perspective on it. Emanuel Baptist Church is right in West Sacramento, about 30 minutes from here. We've got some extra flyers. If you're interested, I would encourage all you guys. It's a Wednesday night, 6.30 to 8 p.m. January 2nd. So it's good to have someone like him in our area. It's a blessing. I wanted to make you guys know about that. And Len, do you have any announcements? Hi, thank you guys. I want to say I want to talk to you about chairs. It's one of the last things to do. We've got a lot of windows that need to work. Good. Alright. God bless you guys. I'm going to put all the information on here. And in our bulletin we have our...