GROWTH TALK | THE GLORY OF GROWTH III

[00:00:01] Hello World of Podcast listeners. Thank you so much for leaning in to listen to another episode of the Mark827 Talks podcast, and you've tuned in to the Growth Talk series of podcast episodes, and I'm really glad that you are here today for this episode. [00:00:20] Now, this is going to be a little bit different, I think, then the episodes typically are, because this is a continuation of a series of episodes that I did for Growth Talk several days ago, maybe even a week ago. I'm not completely sure, but it is Growth Talk and the title is the Glory of Growth Part One and the Glory of Growth Part Two. [00:00:50] If you have not listened to those first two episodes, I definitely strongly encourage you to do so. It will help you to pick up here on this, what I'm going to call Part three of the Glory of Growth and to understand what we've already talked about and to perhaps garner more from this episode. But I'm really excited to talk to you today. [00:01:16] The Enter the interesting thing about today's episode is that it may be consumed completely by the reading of Scripture, because the scripture text that we're going to use, which is out of the Book of Titus, Titus is one of the pastoral epistles. It is towards the end of your Bible. It is after first and second Timothy, and it is right before the Book of Philemon. So if you have not already grabbed your Bible, I would encourage you to do so, to grab your Bible and to locate the Book of Titus. And we're going to be reading from the second chapter, beginning at verse one, all the way through the end of the book. Perhaps in Part one and Part two of the Glory of Grace, we talked about how we as children of God, we as believers in Jesus Christ, those of us who are the church, that we should strive every day of our lives to get closer and closer to the glory for which we were created when God created us. And that is to be in the image and the likeness of God. The scripture says that all of us have sinned and we have fallen or come short of the glory of God. [00:02:51] So all of us are less than what we should be as far as our deportment, our behavior, our commitments, our communications, our relationships with people, even the management of our money. We just are not perfect people, people. We just are not good people. The Bible says that there is no man that is good. Only God is good, and that is the reason why we need to be saved. That is the whole reason why God gave Jesus on the cross of Calvary as a sacrifice, not only as a propitiation for our sins, so that, you know, the demand of death for our sinfulness would be satisfied, but then also so that the blood of Jesus would cleanse us from that stain of sin. [00:03:51] And then also the Scripture promises us, especially in Isaiah, chapter 53, that not only does salvation propitiate for our sins, but. And not only does salvation cleanse us of our sins, but salvation is a part of us being healed from our sins and our sinfulness. [00:04:18] So every day of our lives, we should be striving and doing everything that we can do to get closer to what our glory was meant to be. And that is to exhibit. [00:04:34] Exhibit the likeness and the image of God. So we ought to love like God. [00:04:42] We ought to speak and communicate with people like God. Even our, I think, estimation and appraisal of other people ought to be like God's would be. [00:04:57] So when we look at other people, even when we see things about them that we may not like, we would still be able to love them and to treat them like they are image bearers as well. [00:05:11] Because, trust me, that's how God does us. God always loves us, and we show him often characteristics and practices, habits, proclivities that would make him not like what we do and not like how we carry ourselves and not like how we treat other people, but he always loves us. [00:05:34] So I've actually already said more than what I thought I was going to say in this episode. Because strangely enough, as much as you know, I always like to add commentary. And I am a Baptist preacher, so it comes to me quite easily to add commentary. [00:05:51] I kind of thought that since the Scripture was so clear on God's desire for us to grow in our behavior and in our activities, that the Scripture pretty much says it all. I don't know how much commentary I will actually need to add. So Titus, chapter two, beginning with that first verse. And I hope you've already grabbed your Bible and that you're already at that place, so it says. But as for you. [00:06:25] And he's speaking to Titus here and giving Titus instructions on how he should minister to the congregations of the church that are at Crete. [00:06:38] And so he says, but as for you, speak the things which are fitting for sound doctrine. Older men are to be temperate, dignified, sensible, sound in faith, in love, in perseverance. [00:06:57] Older women likewise, are to be reverent in their behavior, not malicious gossips, nor enslaved to much wine, teaching what is good, so that they may encourage the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, to be sensible, pure workers at home, kind, being subject to their own husbands, so that the word of God will not be dishonored. [00:07:33] Likewise, urge the young men to be sensible in all things. Show yourself to be an example of good deeds, with purity in doctrine, dignified sound in speech which is beyond reproach, so that the opponent will be put to shame, having nothing bad to say about us. [00:08:00] Urge bond slaves to be subject to their own masters in everything, to be well, pleasing, not argumentative, not pilfering, but showing all good faith, so that they will adorn the doctrine of God, our Savior in every respect. [00:08:22] For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires, and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Christ Jesus, who gave Himself for us, to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for his own possession, zealous for good deeds. These things speak and exhort and reprove with all authority. Let no one disregard you. [00:09:16] Then we're at chapter three, and I must continue to read chapter three, verse one of Titus. [00:09:24] Remind them to be subject to rulers, to authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good deed, to malign no one, to be peaceable, gentle, showing every consideration for all men. [00:09:42] For we also once were foolish ourselves, disobedient, deceived, enslaved to various lusts and pleasures, spending our life in malice and envy, hateful, hating one another. [00:10:00] But when the kindness of God, our Savior, and his love for mankind appeared, he saved us. Listen not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to his mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit. [00:10:23] So I do want to give a little bit of commentary right there, because it is very key, important commentary, I believe. And that is, please understand that when we talk about the glory of growth, when I exhort you to be committed to growth, when the Word of God in this entire second chapter here, going into the third chapter, admonishes you to grow and to be dignified and to live just a. A noble lifestyle, understand that it is not saying that you must do these things in order to be saved. [00:11:03] It is saying that you should be committed to. To this type of lifestyle because you are saved. That you should be, in other words, pursuing the glory of growth. That you should be pursuing the glory that God created you to exemplify. And that is to be in his likeness and in his image. But that is not what saves you. [00:11:33] It's not what saves you. If you were able to achieve these things prior to being saved, you would not need to be saved. [00:11:40] There would have been no sin to be to be washed from you, to be cleansed from you. Adam would not have fallen into sin and plunged all of mankind into a sin sick situation. But anyway, let me go on. I didn't want to give too much commentary in this episode because I think the Word is just so clear as to what it wants to say to us here. But understand that salvation is not according to any good works. But he saved us not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to his mercy by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by his grace, we will be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life. This is a trustworthy statement. And concerning these things, I want you to speak confidently so that those who have believed God will be careful to engage in good deeds. These things are good and profitable for men. [00:12:55] So I. I'll end right there at the end of that eighth verse. But I also want to encourage you to read the entire book of Titus. It is only three chapters. It's not going to consume too much of your time, which I don't even think that should be one of your primary purposes when you're talking about considering things of God and giving God some time and some devotion on a daily basis. I'm not so sure why. We like to try to count the seconds when it comes down to how much time we spend on God's stuff. But anyway, it's only three chapters. [00:13:33] You should be able to handle that in, you know, 20 or 30 minutes, maybe to read the entire book. But I definitely want to encourage you again in this third episode where we're talking about the glory of growth to every day focus on getting closer to the glory that we've fallen short of. [00:14:01] We've fallen short of the glory of God. [00:14:04] We have fallen short of exemplifying our God likeness and the fact that we are image bearers of God. [00:14:16] And so every day let's learn some more from the Word of God as to how we can get closer to exemplifying the glory of God. Let's grow. [00:14:31] Let's grow. [00:14:32] Let's grow. There is a glory in growing. [00:14:37] Don't ever decide this is the way that I am. [00:14:41] I'm going to accept the way that I am. [00:14:44] Everybody else needs to accept the way that I am. [00:14:48] Because when you do so, you are playing into the hand of Satan. [00:14:54] God would have you to grow, to advance, to become better, to become stronger, to learn to do some things for the benefit of mankind, for the benefit of the kingdom, for the benefit of the church that you do not currently know how to do. Don't just say, I don't know how to do it. [00:15:17] Be willing to say, I'll learn. Because do you not know that to be created in the image of God, that means that you are intelligent, you can learn to do whatever you determine that you want to learn to do? [00:15:37] So once again, come on, I got to get off of this. I got to stop talking. I got to make myself stop talking here. Because I really want you all to ingest and digest the word of God that we read today. Please go back and read it over and over and over again until it makes a great impact on your life, because it definitely will. And until we have another episode like this, please be blessed and stand out because of your excellence.