Life is Better Together

Intro

In my office I have a very special painting

Growing up I met regularly with a guy named Jim. Jim discipled me and many others.

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Passage: Titus 2

1 But as for you, teach what accords with sound doctrine. 2 Older men are to be sober-minded, dignified, self-controlled, sound in faith, in love, and in steadfastness. 3 Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good, 4 and so train the young women to love their husbands and children, 5 to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled. 6 Likewise, urge the younger men to be self-controlled. 7 Show yourself in all respects to be a model of good works, and in your teaching show integrity, dignity, 8 and sound speech that cannot be condemned, so that an opponent may be put to shame, having nothing evil to say about us. 9 Bondservants are to be submissive to their own masters in everything; they are to be well-pleasing, not argumentative, 10 not pilfering, but showing all good faith, so that in everything they may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior. 11 For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, 12 training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, 13 waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, 14 who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works. 15 Declare these things; exhort and rebuke with all authority. Let no one disregard you.

Transition:

Main Exposition

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Main Point: Men and women of God are called to be disciples of Jesus.

What is a disciple and what is discipleship?

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Discipleship

A Disciple is someone who follows a teacher.

For the Christian, this refers to the process of learning the teachings of Jesus and following after his example in obedience through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Discipleship is the key to obtaining and sustaining a strong Christian lifestyle.

Discipleship not only involves the process of becoming a disciple but of making other disciples through teaching and evangelism.

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Being a Disciple of Jesus is not a stationary title meaning it is not just a noun it is a verb. It is something you choose to actively partake in.

Before you can teach others what the Bible says you first have to apply it to your own life.

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Apply before you teach.

Paul lays out ground work in Titus for how to functionally carry out Discipleship

Titus 2:1 “But as for you, teach what accords with sound doctrine.”

Titus 2:11–12 “For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age,”

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Discipleship is the teaching of sound doctrine in everyday life so that the man/woman of God will renounce ungodliness.

Ladies First, Paul says

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Women

Titus 2:3–5 “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 women 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.”

Older Godly women have a responsibility to first walk in the way of the Lord. Remember you must apply before you teach. It doesn't mean you can never mess up or that you can’t sin. You have to first be a disciple of Jesus before you seek to disciple others.

Older women must train up younger woman and teach them what is good.

Older women are to teach younger women biblical principles like being submissive to their husbands, loving them in true Biblical love.

Being submissive means following their husbands authority.

Women are to disciple other women to prioritize their faith, family and home over their career. It is biblically sound for a woman to have a carrier as long as it does not interfere with the needs if her family.

You may have caught “Train younger women to work at home.” Paul is saying that a young woman needs to learn how to be a homemaker for her family. This is a lost art in our culture and needs to revived. There are many women like Luana While, Martha Bruce and so many more who would love to teach you this lost art.

Tish is a great example of a woman who works outside the home but is still a wonderful home maker for her family. So go talk to her

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Discipleship is more than just teaching people bible verses, Paul is saying the discipleship affects every part of the believers life and one of the most important areas is the believers home.

We talked about the gals now Paul shifts his attention to the men

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Men

Titus 2:6–8 “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.”

Older men need to disciple younger men because young men are often but not always, physically strong, aggressive, hyper emotional, sometimes irrational, quick to make decisions and very passionate.

Not all of these attributes are wrong but all become very dangerous when they are not funneled in a biblically proper way.

Who fought all of the wars in the 20th century? Young passionate men who are driven by something.

Anger, lust, sex and greed will drive a young man to be a very destructive person which is why Paul fist thing out of the gate says: Young men need to be self controlled.

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Young men need to take their passion and drive and use it for God honoring purposes.

Titus 2:7–8 “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.

When young men control themselves they are modeling what is good. And what is that good? Integrity dignity and sound speech.

Integrity means you are honest. You don’t lie or cheat to get ahead. Its very tempting to lie or cheat when no one is watching but not so for the man of God. He is to uphold Biblical ethics and morality.

Dignity means to be worthy of honor and respect. Be someone who is respectable.

Finally, be someone of sound speech. Means no F bombs, don’t swear or make inappropriate jokes. Don’t laugh at crude humor or use inappropriate language.

Sound speech is more than just a list of what not to say but also train yourself to know what to say when. Be shrewd in speech.

It can be challenging to hold ourselves accountable and have self discipline which is why we need to be discipled by an older Godly man or women.

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Application: We need to be discipled by Godly men and women.

In order to be a mentor the person needs to meet the qualifications listed here in Titus.

Titus 2:2–3 “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.”

We need to seek our brothers and sisters in Christ who are older than us to disciple us. While Age is not a requirement but it is definitely helpful.

Old people are awesome and they have acquired wisdom through specific experiences that we haven't had yet. They have been in my shoes or close to it. Proverbs says that grey hair is a crown of glory.

2. People who disciple us are often called mentors. We need mentors because they keep us accountable to our faith and have agency to point out where we are striving and swerving.

Mentors help us point out problems in life that we may not see. They have wisdom and insight that can prevent you from trials and prepare you for problems and success in life.

3. If you don’t have a mentor you need to find one. Come talk to me or specially Alashia because Alashia literally mentors young galls as part of her career. Ask to be discipled.

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Conclusion Become a disciple of Jesus. Bend your knee to the Lordship of Jesus and then teach others to do the same.

Titus 2:11–14 “For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.”

We need discipleship because life is better together.

Outline

Men and women of God are called to be disciples.

Older Women must teach younger women biblical principles and older men must teach younger men biblical principles.

In order to be a mentor the person needs to meet the qualifications listed in Titus.

We needs mentors in order to keep us accountable and provide wisdom and insight in our lives.

Everyone needs a mentor. Everyone needs to be discipled.

Small Group Questions

What is a disciple and how does someone become one?

What is discipleship and why is it something you activity choose to do?

Why does everyone need a mentor and why is discipleship essential for the Christian walk of faith?

What is the benefit of being discipled by someone older than you?

What practical steps can we take to seek out a mentor in our spiritual lives?

Take time to Tonight to read Titus 2:4–5. How is this passage counter cultural today? Why is a woman's first priority her faith, family and home? What is home making and why is it important?

Break open the word to Titus 2:6–8. Young men are often physically strong, driven by passion and emotion. Why is it essential for a young man to be self controlled and direct his passion and drive to what honors God? Why is it dangerous if he doesn't?

How can young men embody the qualities of integrity and dignity in their daily lives?

What is Integrity and how can you grow to excel in it? What is Dignity and how do I live a life of dignity?

Why do you think men struggle with sound speech? How does what we say have an impact on what we believe? How does our speech reflect our character?

Titus 2:9–10 “Bondservants are to be submissive to their own masters in everything; they are to be well-pleasing, not argumentative, not pilfering, but showing all good faith, so that in everything they may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior.” Why do we need to obey our boss? How can we be God honoring employees?

Take a moment to read Titus 2:11-15. How does the Bible train the man or woman of God to renounce ungodliness? How does Jesus make us zealous for good works.