We're more easily picked off when isolated. The world will hate you. For resisting them, they don't have to verbalize it, just going to do it. It's gonna try to get you to stop. Being that.
Salt of the earth, light of the world. They won't stand for it without even trying. They'll make no effort. They just won't like what you represent. Who you represent?
And our response to that is, well, the world will hate us for resisting them. We ought to shine as lights in the world. This is Cross Reference Radio with our pastor and teacher, Rick Gaston. Ricky is the pastor of Calvary Chapel, Mechanicsville. Pastor Rick is currently teaching through a topical series.
Please stay with us after today's message to hear more information about Cross Reference Radio. specifically how you can get a free copy of this teaching. And now here's Pastor Rick with a brand new topical message called Roles of the Godly. These questions and answers so far have been good feedback.
So we continue. We still have several more to go. The first question. and I'm reading it as it was submitted. ROLES OF A GodLY MAN Husband Dad.
Well, I would like more context. to handle that one. Of course, being a pastor, I'm I have no shortage for words.
So we're going to talk about it. If a young man is asking me this question, then you know, then it takes on a different type of response. What if it's a disgruntled wife or daughter?
Now you got a different response.
So that's why you would like a little bit more context.
So I hope I do justice to the person that asked the question.
So, you know, again, if you have someone that's an unhappy spouse and they're looking to bring charges against. Their husband Whom they may feel is delinquent or juvenile or whatever is the case. And see, the pastor said.
So, I just want to remind you of Jesus being put in this kind of a situation, also, Luke chapter 12. Then one from the crowd said to him, Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me. But he said to him, Man, Who may be judge or Arbitrator over you. Jesus said, I'm not touching that. That's a hot potato.
And I'm not saying the person submitted that submitted the question is in this Uh category But I am saying I don't know how to handle it. if it were a young man asking me, How do I be a godly man? I said, well, when you find someone that can tell you, let me know. It's a big question. It's a good question.
Anyway, on the other hand, I'm going to handle this as a basic question. and give a fundamental response that applies, of course, not only to a godly husband or dad, but also a godly wife or mother. And if you'd approaching it that way, I think it it's a very easy question to answer. But to live it out, of course, is The sanctified life.
So, Genesis 17, verse 1 is the text that I will start off with to answer. This question about godliness. When Abraham was 99 years old, Yahweh appeared to Abram. And said to him, I am Almighty God. Walk before me and be blameless.
Well, there it is. Be blameless. above reproach. And I'm not trying to Overly simplify. The response, but Christ's likeness.
hovers it. in any of any form. It is easier to follow Old Testament rules than to live like Jesus. That's why they're legalistic Christians. It's easy for them to hide behind Old Testament things.
Than to have that Christ-like Life. And I get a little bit ahead of myself, but When I die, if I die, Well, we all want to leave behind a good testimony. And we can all do that. But will you be missed? That's uh a wild card thrown into the mix.
A Jesus, of course, was missed. Not only Was he blameless and left behind that extraordinary testimony But of course He won the hearts of people.
So, coming back to godliness for a husband or provider of the home. May not may be the mom. to protect, to provide. without undue provocation.
Well that gets tricky. Because one person may say something that the other person takes offense to, but it wasn't intended to offend. That's how we are.
sometimes.
So it is up to the participants to work it out as though Christ were there. Which is Very difficult. James talked about that. He says, Do not grumble against one another. Brethren, lest you be condemned.
Behold, the judge is standing at the door. Don't factor Christ out. James is another one of those Bible characters that's never been on the interstate. Do not grumble against one another. Anyway, I think another helpful thing in being Christ-like Is strive not to be the wicked person in the Bible.
And there are many of them. This is the beauty of character studies. The figure in the scripture is like the guy you don't want to be. And to help be interested in the Bible teachings.
Well, like I just read from James 9, do not grumble against one another. Is that me? Not me. I mean, you're asking yourself that question. It keeps you in.
It now is interactive between you and the Holy Spirit. Just the Bible verses alone. Don't be the fool in the Proverbs. How difficult is that?
So one of the benefits of character studies, they teach us how to live, how not to live. John Adab, who is he? He's that creepy guy That got his friend Amnon True. for no better word, molest. the sister, the daughter of David.
Creepy people like that. Hard evidence.
Somebody could just give you the creeps.
So not be creepy. But some people They do something that is creepy.
So I realize that In a question like this, how to be a godly husband. And you know, if we were to announce a marriage seminar, they would flock to it. It would just be an outpouring of interest. Write a book on marriage or things like that, and you become a A best-selling author. And I found them ineffective, and I've also noticed they line their pockets pretty well by writing these books.
And it will come down to the individual's commitment to each other. through thick and thin, for better or for worse, No matter how accurate a Bible teaching is, you still got to do it. It's almost like teaching you how to ride a bike in the classroom. You gotta go out and do it. He said, Never you will just you can't ride a bike.
Or swimming is another thing.
So blameless. Being blameless meaning above reproach so that no one can find legitimate fault with your conduct. And the one-size-fits-all response. What? Be like Christ.
That's what the New Testament is telling us. 1 Timothy 5, verse 7. And these things command that they may be blameless.
Now the context of that is It's not universal, but the end, the be blameless part is. The context is the widows in the church were really trying to get money from the church and live this carnal lifestyle. While doing it, And Paul put his foot down. in writing Timothy about this. Command this That they may be blameless.
But if you say, okay, well, I'm not in that category, okay, well, Philippians. that you may become blameless and harmless.
Now, Being harmless Just to be harmless, you know, not the initiate of the pain in the necks of life. It's quite an accomplishment.
Some seem determined to be Not one of those people. They are harmful, very irritable. You see them coming one go the other way. If they're in an event, who's going to be there? And you mentioned their name, I don't want to go.
I don't want to be that guy. I want to be the guy that who's going to be there?
So-and-so. Oh, man. Yeah, I'm going. I'm in. That's the kind of guy that, when they die, they are missed.
So, Paul says that you may become blameless and harmless children of God. Without fault. Man, just laying this on me. Paul, don't you know I'm carnal? I'm born in iniquity.
Yes, but you're born again too. There's a counter. to that. And he says, in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, You would think so, well wait a minute, my environment gives me a pass. If my environment is corrupt, Then it's okay if I'm corrupt.
No, that's not what he says, it's actually the opposite. Be children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world.
Solomon instead of his well The beloved.
So do the shulamate. Like a lily among thorns, so is my beloved. All these ugly, sharp, nasty things around, and there's this beautiful thing in the middle, and that's supposed to be the Christian life. Supposed to be the church. In the midst of a world that pricks and sticks.
It is supposed to Bloom. Spiritually, one size fits all. Be Christ-like. as the Philippian Verse that I just read from Philippians 2.15.
Now Such an endeavor. will draw fire to your position. You are kind of hiding out in your little foxhole of life. And nothing's messing with you spiritually. Until you start messing with the other side spiritually by trying to be Christ-like, and you will draw the attention.
of your flesh, your carnal nature will automatically Go against you. And while the flesh cannot be killed in this lifetime, it can be crucified daily, and it's going to take effort. And all of us know about that. Anyway, you'll draw fire. Because life won't stand for it.
Because of what this life is. And the flesh is always useful to Satan. That's his portal. unless constantly again resisted.
Now, we are more easily picked off by the enemy when we are isolated.
So One that does not go to church, does not make friends, in the second part of the response to how to be godly. is to be around the godly. Have some of that rub off on you until it rubs off of you onto someone else who needs it. But if you're isolated, you're going to miss out. Acts 2:42, they continue steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine.
Got to have the doctrine, or else you can just be a cult. But he gets to the fellowship. to be with each other. You know, we're not living with each other. We're not shipmates out in the Mediterranean floating around or out in the Pacific somewhere.
We just get to see each other twice a week, really, and sometimes in between. That's not too much to ask. Nor is it too much to bear.
So Coming back to what I was talking about, we're more easily picked off when isolated. The world will hate you. For resisting them, they don't have to verbalize it, just going to do it. It's going to try to get you to stop. Being that Salt of the earth, light of the world.
They won't stand for it without even trying. They make no effort. They just won't like what you represent, or who you represent. And our response to that is: well, the world will hate us for resisting them. And we ought to shine as lights in the world.
1 Peter. Back to that part about being blameless above reproach Peter said, having a good conscience. that when they defame you as evildoers, Those who revile your good conduct in Christ may be ashamed because they got nothing. He said, what? You're accusing me of something I did not do that you do.
Do enough of that. You'll make converts. find yourself in that position enough, you will make converts. I think the best way to make converts is to make friends. You know, you begin to break down these barriers that otherwise would not look, Christ is not going to routinely part the Red Sea so you can walk through on dry land.
If you're in the workplace, And you are a good worker, you are breaking down defenses. That's not poor English for the fences. Defenses, anyway. I just saw, I saw, I drove by a business. Big sign about Jesus is Lord outside.
and the front of the property looked like it had been abandoned. You can't even tell what kind of business it is because there's so much overgrow, you know, things growing up. Like wonderful testimony. If you're going to fly that flag, if you're going to put a Christian bumper sticker on your car, You You might go crazy. I would never do that.
Yeah. 'Cause I draw bad testimony. Could you believe that as a Christian? No, I'm making fun of something that you can identify with. Anyway.
I'm not saying if you got Christian bumper stickers, you got more courage than me. On that one. But if you're going to fly the flag You know, remember, the world does not speak your language. You have to break it down for them. And starting off on the wrong foot does not help.
What are some hidden features? that belong to being Christ-like. Too bad this is a hidden feature. That's a critical one. To be Christ-like, you cannot be spiritually free.
Fragile. Easily broken, delicate, brittle. flimsy Fragility does not work well for those who follow and serve. Spiritual hemophiliacs. They brush up against something, they're bleeding all over the place.
There's not a lot of that in Christians, but it happens. There are some that are like that. And they really take more from their environment than they give if they're routinely like that. We all have our bad days and bad moments. Spiritual brawn contributes to spiritual stability.
You know, just like I'm going to have to be tougher. I don't like to hear that either. I don't want to just, you know, toughen up, you know. I don't want to do that. One of the nice things about going to bed.
is you really don't have to toughen up unless you got some you know body aches or something going on. But ideally having to be tough is a challenge. Be friends, have friends. You don't have to have close friends, but you should have. You'd be friendly enough.
to not darken the room when you come in. Be blameless, be responsible. And all you have to do is always do your job. Just do your job. You know it, whatever and wherever it is.
Don't be a spiritual minimalist. when maximum effort is called for. How do I get these things? Say it with me. Genius Sheer genius Of course not.
I think about, you know, what have I seen over the last 40 years as a career? What have I experienced? What works? What doesn't work? Why?
Why was that person such a pain? Why was that person such a vessel? in the hands of Satan in the church. And that's how you're going to be in a sermon one day. No.
Remember Lot Relative of Abraham. Lot the believer. He lived closer to man's world than God's kingdom, What was the outcome? His compromise destroyed his family. Death.
His sons-in-law, probably the wives of those two sons, in addition to the other two daughters, if you factor it that way. For sure, he lost his wife. She really wanted to stay. Back in Sodom. Noah, on the other hand, his conviction and consecration saved his family.
and the human race. Abraham's faith produced Patriarchs of the faith. In Isaac and Jacob, and Jacob was a bumpy ride. Jacob was not this born this you know, evangelist. He was every bit of an opportunistic individual.
And then the day came when he wrestled with God. I have tried to wrestle with God and get get the blessing and The blessing has been, hang in there, kid. It's like, what? I don't want to endure. I'm coming to you.
I can handle the easy ones. I need you to get the big ones. But yet, you know, the dust settles and there you are. God could have wiped out the Egyptian army that was chasing the Jews without parting the sea. God could have given all of those who came to arrest Samson a bad belly ache that day.
Nobody had to come.
So we just, you know, as my pastor used to always say, often say, blessed are the flexible, they're not easily broken.
So we could put out maximum effort and still fail to achieve ambitions, and that's painful. I threw myself into this. I poured myself, and this is what I get back. Not worth it. The other guy, he doesn't do half this, and he gets back, you know, tenfold.
Elkanah was the husband of Hannah, the mother of Samuel. He applied all he had to please his wife Hannah. And yet she craved more. No fault. Elkanah the husband, nor really of Hannah.
She didn't do anything wrong that we know of. If anything, Panenna, her wife-in-law, she did do stuff wrong and she had kids. And that proved that The inability to bear children was not Elkanah's fault, the husband. It was Hannah. It was on her.
She could not bear the children. She had to bear this load in a society that was not very. kind to you. It put a stigma on you.
Now, if you look, we talk about Bible characters. If you look at Panina and you say, that is not Christ's likeness, do not be like her. Provoking everybody, needling Hannah, ha ha, you can't have kids, I do. Pick that up in 1 Samuel chapter 1. 1 verses 4 and 5, and whenever the time came for Elkanah to make an offering, he would give portions to Paninna his wife.
and to all her sons and daughters she is prolific. A fruitful womb. And he was providing and protecting without provocation. But to Hannah he would give a double portion, for he loved Hannah, although Yahweh had closed her womb. And then it goes on.
Then Elkanah, her husband, said to Rahanna, Why do you weep? Why do you not eat? Why is your heart grieved? Am I not better to you than ten sons? Of course he is blameless.
But it wasn't what was on her heart. And the tears, tears always indicate something bigger is happening on the inside. I don't know about laughing until you cry, that's a special time. That's in another category. Who doesn't want to laugh until they can't breathe?
It's a weird thing about us. It doesn't happen all too often in life, and it should not be forced. But that's not what I'm talking about when I talk about tears. Whether they're sorrow or tears, you're filled with the Spirit, whatever it may be, tears are an indicator. The tears are a shadow of the thing.
And the shadow of the thing is not greater than the thing itself, it's lesser.
So, the godly husband, the godly man, the godly woman, the godly wife, in both cases, one size fits all, be Christ-like. And that's going to call for you to pay attention.
So advice to husbands and wives and daughters and dads and moms and sons Get around other Husbands and wives, dads and moms and sons and daughters. And Don't overestimate. a best selling author's words Even if he's using God, don't overestimate what's coming out of that. Those who are serving Christians. Are the ones to pay attention to versus the self-appointed sages?
There are those that think they're just the self-appointed ones, and they're the ones that need to dole out the advice. In the early days of ministry, giving out advice seemed to come easy. But as the years go went by, it is very difficult. And My approach is just Be down to earth. Don't fluff anybody.
Don't look for what they want to hear. Look for what God is saying. And if He's not saying anything, then don't say anything. And if you don't say anything, you'll not be considered profound. Can you live with that?
Every time I come into the pulpit, I try to have something profound to say. From the Lord, but I don't force it, I try not to, and I'm not talking as though I've mastered this at all. I'm just telling you what goes on in my head. I try to hit a home run at every pitch.
So you should know them if you They won't be the ones that are boasting. And if you don't boast discernment, I don't know. It seems like to me, more often than not, when someone says I have the gift of discernment, they don't. They don't. If they did, they wouldn't say that.
I I can think of them and and you go to what church?
Okay, let me write your name down. How do you spell that? Is that two T's? Anyway. Solid Christians.
are not specialists. We're Christ-like. or we're trying to be Christ-like. And try to remember that the other Christian that truly loves the Lord, but it may be irritating you a little bit, they want to be Christ-like too. First Corinthians thirteen, love suffers long and is kind.
You catch that end is kind. I think a lot of Christians forget that part. They forget the part about suffering long, too, because we don't like it. I think a lot of Christians go to a church, they don't want to hear that. They don't want all the truth.
It continues. Love does not envy. Which is one of the reasons why you have people that want to be, they want to go to churches where the pastor is a preacher, not a teacher.
so that they could be the teachers. Because they're envious. I'm just telling you what some I my take is on some of them. Love does not parade itself. is not puffed up.
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