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Pursuing Godliness in a Godless World, Part 3

Leading the Way / Michael Youssef
The Truth Network Radio
January 15, 2025 12:00 am

Pursuing Godliness in a Godless World, Part 3

Leading the Way / Michael Youssef

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January 15, 2025 12:00 am

Is godliness an optional advanced study course in the Christian life—or the core curriculum of following after Jesus? In his five-part series, Pursuing Godliness in a Godless World, Dr. Michael Youssef reminds us that we have been saved for a purpose—to bear fruit and to become more like our Savior. Follow along in the short book of Titus, where Paul outlines for his protégé the importance of godliness in the Christian life—and learn what it means to present your life as a sacred offering to a holy God.

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Thank you for making time for Leading the Way, the Bible teaching of Dr. Michael Yousef, Atlanta pastor and the author of more than 50 books, each one guiding readers to a deeper and more passionate walk with Christ.

Shop available titles at ltw.org. Today, Dr. Yousef takes you into the second chapter of Titus as he continues his series, Pursuing Godliness in a Godless World. He encourages you to stand firm on the foundation of biblical truth, even when the culture denies the power of God's word. In a day when so many preachers are saying that we need to ditch the Old Testament, we need to give up the Old Testament, I'm going to show you in this book how to read the Bible, that the two Old and New Testaments are interrelated. You cannot have one without the other.

One does not make sense without the other. And so I hope you're going to read that book and you're going to apply it to your life. It will strengthen your faith and your trust in the Word of God. If you'd like to call and order How to Read the Bible, just call and speak with a ministry representative at the Leading the Way Call Center. Here's the number 866-626-4356.

And again that website to order securely online, ltw.org. Hey, right now, let's listen together as Dr. Michael Youssef continues his series called, Pursuing Godliness in a Godless World. Let me begin by sharing a little bit of a historic fact about the monastic movement. You know what I mean by monastic movement, where the monasteries are, where the monks and the nuns go to. Many people think that this has began with the first century of Christianity.

It's not. It's actually started in the 300's. And believe it or not, it started in Egypt, not in Rome.

And it started by a very wealthy man, Anthony, or Antonio as it was referred to, who gave all his wealth away, literally to the poor. He sold everything, gave it to the poor, and decided that in order to pursue godliness or holiness, he's going to go out in the desert and he's going to be alone with God. After 12 years out in the desert, the word got out and his fame was spread and people flocked to him for wise counsel, for advice, for spiritual guidance and wisdom, which defeated the purpose for which he wanted to be away in the desert alone with God. And so, after 13 years in the desert, he wanted to get away from people, so he went to an abandoned tomb. Well, a few years later, they found him. They kept searching for him. They found him in the abandoned tomb. So he decided to go and live in an old Roman fortress, in fact still there to this day, but they found him there too. So after 20 years of this, he finally built a monastery. The monastery of St. Andrew is still there in Egypt, in our Isis in the desert, in the 300s. No matter where he went, people followed him.

I'm going to tell you more about him at the end of the message. He couldn't get away from people. He couldn't get away from crowds. And I thought, what an incredible object lesson to every one of us who are in pursuit of godliness. That we cannot pursue godliness away from people. We cannot live out our faith in isolation. We cannot pursue godliness if we are not in a godless world. We cannot grow into Christ likeness in a vacuum. Godliness cannot really bear fruit and that fruit become clear and obvious if we're not rubbing shoulders with people. Today, as we continue the study in Paul's epistle to Titus, we look at the first half of chapter 2. There you're going to learn that God wants us to pursue godliness in relationships. Relationships both with the believers and with the non-believers outside of the church.

Relationships with those who are near and those who are far. And that is why the first 10 verses of chapter 2 of Titus, Paul covers the whole waterfront. I mean he leaves no one out.

Old men, old women, young men, young women, employers, employees, leaves no one out. So turn to Titus chapter 2 verses 1-10. In verse 1, the very first thing Paul is saying to Titus is this. That healthy doctrine produces healthy spiritual living. That sound biblical teaching produces sound practices. That teaching the truth of God and of his word will produce Christians who are in pursuit of godliness.

That's really the bottom line here. And then in verses 2-10, Paul gives Titus a number of injunctions. Please listen carefully. Perhaps there is no time that we find these injunctions to be more unpopular than our time. I want to repeat this. Perhaps there is no time when we find these injunctions in the word of God to be more unpopular than in our time.

Let's look at them together. First he speaks to the old men. He said they are to be temperate, worthy of respect, self-controlled and sound in faith, love and endurance. In an age in which so many old men want to look young and hip, these are sobering words. In fact, when I hear some of my friends would say, oh to be 20 again, I say give me a break. I don't want to be in my 20s or 30s or 40s or 50s again.

I enjoyed every one of those ages and I'm glad I'm where I am and I'm looking forward to the future. Not worry about wanting to be young again because those of us who have walked with the Lord a long time should rejoice in that privilege. The person that Paul has in mind is the kind of person who has God's perspective, the person who does not panic, the person who does not overreact, the person who doesn't go into extremes. Even when he is under stress, even when he is under pressure, he is stable and he is dependable.

Why? Because he had been feeding for all these years upon the word of God and the power of the word of God and the wealth of the word of God because he has been drinking deeply from the springs and the wealth of God's grace. He rejoices in his obedience to the word of God.

Not say, oh that I would be young again. At the age of 83, having traveled 250,000 miles on horseback, not on airplanes, on horseback, preached 40,000 sermons, wrote 200 books and booklets. At the age of 83, John Wesley regretted that he has been unable to read and write more than 15 hours a day without his eyes getting tired. At his 86th birthday, he made a big confession of a big sin that he now increasingly developing this tendency to sleep in till 5.30 in the morning. Beloved Godly, all the saints bring stability and wisdom that should be cherished.

Hear me right please. One of the saddest things is a man who was on fire for God in his youth but then his love for the Lord has grown cold when he got older. That's the saddest thing for me. Because in the pursuit of godliness, it should be the other way around. That we grow as we grow in years, we grow in love for God, we grow in love for others. And that growth and love manifest itself by growing in patience and growing in generosity and growing in forgiveness and growing in eagerness to share the good news of the gospel. Verse 3, same goes for older women. Now ladies, I'm going to leave it up to you if you decide to be in that category or not. I am not going to set an arbitrary age here. In fact, I'm told that there are seven stages in a woman's growth.

They said baby, girl, young miss, young woman, young woman, young woman, young woman. Amen. I think we know that just as men can be inclined to physical abuse, women can be inclined to verbal abuse. Both are destructive.

They really are. They have no room among those who are pursuing godliness. And what the apostle Paul means here by malicious gossip, listen carefully, repeating of information that is not certain.

That's what he meant here. You say, why is that so bad? Listen carefully. Because it ruins reputations. It maligns character. It causes untold pain and suffering.

It even destroys lives. And James said, the tongue is like a spark that can literally burn a forest. And that is why you must be very careful in giving or receiving information. I always tell folks, I say, what's wrong with Matthew 18? I know in practicing Matthew 18, sometimes you incur some misunderstandings. But that's worth it. It is worth it because you are obedient to the word of God. Don't go and talk about your brother.

Go and talk to your brother. And if you have ever been a victim of gossip or false in your windows, you understand the pain associated with it. In fact, as I said, the person who receives the gossip is just as guilty as the person who spreads the gossip. And then Paul said that godliness is incompatible with drunkenness.

Why? Because you cannot be under the control of the Holy Spirit when you are under the control of a chemical substance of any kind. Verses four and five. What then are these older, wiser women to do with that wisdom? They are to pass it on to the younger women. Tell them to love their husbands, children, be self-controlled, pure, and to be kind and uplifting to their husbands.

Why? Here is Paul's passion. This is the very heart and the core of everything he's saying. The whole reason for pursuing godliness. Verse five, lest the word of God be maligned.

That's really his passion here. Disrepute upon the word of God. Then Paul goes on to speak to younger women and younger men too. Verses five to eight.

I really think this is the time for me to explain the statement I made earlier. And I said perhaps there is no more time when these biblical injunctions are unpopular than this day. In fact, they're not only unpopular, they are rejected altogether by men in the church.

Please hear me right. The worldly influence on young Christians is undeniable. The worldly attack on the Christian foundation of marriage is relentless. The war on biblical marriage is hotter than a blazers. The viciousness by which our culture attacks God's designed roles for husbands and wives is constant.

It's everywhere you turn. So what some churches and church leaders have done, they decided that these scriptural passages, these biblical injunctions that speak of husband and wives roles, different role of a husband servant leadership and the wives biblical submission, a loving submission, are first century stuff. And that they are irrelevant for our culture.

That they are non-binding today. This God ordained institution of marriage and family as the primary foundation for a healthy society. They are archaic and unnecessary. Here are some biblical truths before I get to the scripture.

Neither chauvinism nor feminism are biblical. These are satanic inventions to destroy God's plan for marriage. They are intended to produce division in society between men and women. But these satanic attacks on this God ordained principle are not new to our society.

Did you know that? They're not the 20th century invention and that is why Satan began doing what he's doing now in the garden of Eden. From that time on Satan has been trying to destroy God's plan for marriage for mankind.

Listen to me. The two distinct roles of godly servant spiritual headship on the part of the husband and a biblical submission on the part of the wife are ordained in creation. They're not made up by the apostle Paul as some liberals are saying.

They're planned by God in creation. And what God ordained this formula of marriage. It's a very delicately balanced formula. Very delicately balanced.

What is it? For the husband to exercise a loving, selfless, caring servant leadership. And for the wife to uphold and honor and uplift him. As I said, it is like a delicately balanced chemical formula. You see, if you mess around with one compound of that chemical formula, the whole thing goes out of whack. When there is unfaithfulness, abuse, and selfishness on the part of the husband, the formula goes out of whack. When the husband does not place his wife's needs ahead of his own, that chemical balance goes out of whack.

When the wife is trying to compete with her husband, beating him down and stripping him of his dignity, the formula goes out of whack. You see, with the fall in the Garden of Eden came the distortion of men and women's proper roles as God intended them. There at the Garden of Eden is where the battle of the sexes began.

Not the modern day thing. It began in the garden because only one person behind all this and that's Satan. The disastrous consequences of that rejection of God's ordained role for men and women in marriage persisted all the way to the New Testament. And when you come to the New Testament, when God the Son left the glories of heaven and came to earth born of a virgin, lived as the poorest of the poor, hung on that cross and died, rose again, the New Testament is basically saying, men, men, men.

You see how Christ loved his people and he loved them so much that he gave up everything including life itself on the cross. Now, you do that to your wives and for your wives. And the New Testament says to wives, you see how the Church of Jesus Christ, the elect of God, the believers so joyfully, willingly, thoughtfully and thankfully submit to Christ in worship and in adoration, in thanksgiving, you do that to your husband. Let me just say in passing, the secular media loves to take these injunctions out of their context, out of this gingerly balanced chemical formula and they twist them in order to make the Christian faith look terrible. They say, ah, see, the Bible teaches that women are subservient to men. Read my lips.

No and a million no. Never anywhere in the scripture says women are to be subservient or men are superior in any way. The Bible is very clear. We are equal of value to God and we ought to be of equal value to one another. You see, both Adam and Eve were created in God's own image and pray, tell me, how can God want one person of his creation who created in his own image to be superior to the other?

That is not an issue of value of creation. Men and women stand at a level footing under the cross but they are to fulfill different roles. They are to complement one another.

No one's superior, no one inferior. Ah, but the media love to distort the truth of the scripture. They love it and here in Titus, Paul is speaking to the older men and the older women saying, model God's ideal to the younger husbands and wives. Then he says to the younger men and women, follow God's formula regardless of who does and who doesn't. Why should a husband exercise selfless, self-giving, and leadership? Why should a wife be uplifting to her husband, her loving husband, her caring husband? Verse five again, so that no one will malign the word of God.

You know what's going on here? I am convinced what the world is desperate to see is for this formula to work as God intended it to be because the world will truly see a fulfilled, happy, joyous, Christian family in the pursuit of godliness. We cannot think of ourselves. We have to think of the one whom we represent.

It is not our reputation but the reputation of God whom we worship. Finally in verses nine to ten, Paul speaks to the employer-employee relationship. Don't let that thing about slave master throw you off because this is not the kind of slavery that we are familiar with in more recent history. This was an employer-employee relationship because in Rome at that time there were 20 million slaves or what they refer to as slaves, 20 million. There were professionals of all kinds. There were doctors, there were engineers, there were teachers, there were professionals of all types. The best thing I can think about is be like our guest worker program.

That's more like it. But this is about workplace conduct on the part of the Christian. And Paul gives us five ways in which we can exhibit godliness in the workplace. First he said, work diligently and obey the rules. Secondly, work enthusiastically to please the boss. Thirdly, work quietly to be respectful of your superior. Fourthly, he said, work faithfully and give more than what you take in.

Finally he said, work as to prove your trustworthiness. Let me tell you, you behave like this at work and you have an open sesame for witnessing for Jesus Christ. This is the greatest open door for witnessing. Unfortunately, many Christians by their lives neutralize the very words they speak.

Let me conclude by going back to Saint Anthony. He realized that he could not pursue godliness by shutting people out of his life, whether it be in the desert, monastery, he couldn't do it. So he ultimately discovered and then finally said, listen to what my translation of it. He says, we live and die with our neighbors. If I sin against our brother, we have sinned against Christ.

If we gain our brother, we please God. Practical words on life, relationships and work from Dr. Michael Youssef on this episode of Leading the Way. Hey, did you know that Dr. Youssef's messages are available at ltw.org? When you go there, look right there at the top of the page, then click the listen link. You can also download the Leading the Way app, visit YouTube or subscribe to the podcast. And speaking of podcast, in these moments remaining, let me challenge you to consider listening to a life changing podcast, also produced by Leading the Way. In an age of increased skepticism, doubt and misinformation, how do we equip our children and grandchildren to discern what is true and why?

How do we navigate a world that feels like it's spinning out of control? In 2019, you helped Leading the Way launch Candid Conversations, a podcast designed to address the complex issues of our day with biblical truth. Candid Conversations is a weekly podcast featuring Jonathan Youssef and special guests with topics ranging from theology to relationships to mental health. The Candid Podcast is helping listeners discern biblical truth amid the noise of this world. With listeners in over 130 countries, Candid Conversations is resonating with listeners worldwide. In fact, it's already in the top 1% of podcasts globally. Join the conversation. Check out Candid Conversations with Jonathan Youssef on your preferred podcast platform today or at ltw.org slash candid. Subscribe today wherever you listen to your content, including Apple, YouTube, Amazon Music, iHeart, Spotify, Pandora, and more. This program is furnished by Leading the Way with Dr. Michael Youssef, passionately proclaiming uncompromising truth.
Whisper: medium.en / 2025-01-15 06:14:56 / 2025-01-15 06:22:52 / 8

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