Transcript of our Sermon Audio File:

Well, let's take our Bible and turn to Titus chapter two. A little bit of reverse psychology today. If you remember when it was Mother's Day, I preached to the men, and being Father's Day I'm going to preach to the women. A little bit back to front, but we're working through Titus chapter 2 verses 1 through 10. We're taking our time because there's so much stuff here about discipleship across the genders, and discipleship across the generations. And in fact we're going to begin to look at verses 4 and 5 this morning, and we're going to allow it to spill over into next Sunday morning. A message I've entitled Young and In Love, because Titus is going to address that group of young women in the church who are young and in love. And he's going to help them think through their understanding of womanhood and motherhood.

So, let's stand in honor of God's word. Titus chapter 2, verses 1 through 5, but we're going to expound verses 4 and 5. Listen to the word of God, follow along. "But as for you speak the things which are proper for sound doctrine. That the older men be sober, reverent, temperate, sound in faith in love and in patience. The older women, likewise that they be reverent in behavior. Not slanderers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things, that they admonish the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, to be discreet, chaste, homemakers, good, obedient to their own husbands. That the word of God may not be blasphemed." So, reads God's word. You may be seated.

I like the story of the guy early in the morning who asked his wife if she could find some time in the day to alter his trousers. They needed to be taken up about an inch. And she said, "You know what, I can't do that. I'm just too busy today." And so he kind of was a little frustrated with that, threw the trousers on the bed and went out of the bedroom muttering something under his breath. A little later on in the morning, his mother who was staying at the home had kind of heard what was going on. And so she went up and grabbed the trousers off the bed and she altered them by an inch, and she pressed them, and then she put them back on the bed. Later on that day, his wife comes home, she's feeling rather guilty that she hadn't fixed the trousers. So, she takes the trousers off the bed and she alters them about an inch, and she presses them and puts them back on the bed.

Later on in the day the husband comes home and he's thinking, you know what, if they're not going to do it, I got to do it. So, he takes them down to the dry cleaners to get them altered by another inch. So, I think the guy ended up with a pair of shorts rather than a pair of trousers. But what's the moral of the story? The moral of the story is this. You can have operation without cooperation. Or let me put it another way. You can have activity without connectivity. You can have people working at cross purposes, trying to do a good thing. You can have energy without synergy. And I want you to think about that because in life, in business, in sports, in marriage, in ministry, people can be busy making things happen, but without coordination they can be working across or against each other. Things can get done but not in the best manner, and sometimes not with the best results, as our story proves.

The trousers were altered, then altered, then altered again. Good intentions, bad results because there was operation without cooperation. Now, you say, "Pastor, what's the point and where are you going with this in connection to Titus chapter 2, verses 4 and 5?" Well, as we come back into the flow of Paul's thinking in Titus chapter 2, Paul is advocating coordination. Paul is advocating cooperation, not just operation but cooperation. He wants the body of believers throughout the churches on Crete to work in a coordinated fashion, across the genders and generations so that the gospel might advance in their lives, and in other lives. That's the whole point of Titus chapter 2, verses 1 through 10.

Titus is to speak those things which are proper for sound doctrine. And what does that look like in the life of older men? What does that look like in the life of older women? What does that look like in the life of younger men and younger women? That's what we have been trying to tease out as we're working our way through Titus chapter 2. Paul wants through Titus, the churches on Crete to give themselves to discipleship synergy. To be working in a coordinated fashion, one generation discipling the next generation. One gender discipling the next gender. Now, much more will go on in the life of the church, but it seems here we're given a window into a vital aspect of church growth and church health.

If you remember back to chapter one, Paul established through Titus the importance of the pastoral office. There was something lacking in the life of the church on Crete and it was qualified elders. And so Paul says to Titus, I want you to go throughout the island in every city and appoint a body of godly men who will lead the church. And one of the things they will do is teach the word of God, which they themselves have been taught. So in chapter one he establishes the pastoral teaching office, and its importance. But in chapter two he reminds the church that it must teach itself. That the pastor is not the only teacher in the church, that older men can teach younger men, and older women can teach younger women. That the pulpit alone will not disciple the church.

It's a very important part of it. That's why we begin with that in chapter 1. But alongside that, with that, in cooperation with that, the body must disciple itself across genders and across generations. You and I know that the bulk of Christian discipleship doesn't start and end on a Sunday morning with a Sunday sermon. That's critical. Preaching is critical to the health of the church. But you and I know that the balance and the bulk of Christian discipleship takes place in homes with mum and dad, and the family. Can take place at the workplace as you get together with other believers and study the Bible and pray together. Takes place with a network of small groups across the week that augments the life of the church. It takes place around a dinner table, when we're out walking, or when we tuck our children in at night and pray over them at their bedside.

We need to be discipling across the genders and across the generations, and so that's where we're at in our text here in Titus Chapter 2, verses 4 and 5. We have looked at two groups already. We've looked at older men and what they ought to be, and what they ought to do. We have looked at older women, what they ought to be and what they ought to do. And now we're looking at the third group, younger women, what they ought to be, and what they ought to do. Just to remind you, it seems that Paul through Titus is addressing the whole family to some degree. Because in some sense you've got the constituent parts of a first century wealthy home. You've got older men, older women, younger men, younger women. You have got slaves and masters, and they're all addressed in chapter 2, verses 1 through 10.

And we're reminded again of the importance of the family. One because of its strategic nature. It's a platform for discipleship. It's a platform for Gospel demonstration in marriage and in parenting. And then as we saw last time in chapter 1, verse 11 we see it in the context of Crete, that indeed the home and marriage was a point of attack. Because false teachers were upsetting and subverting whole households. So, let's begin to delve into our text. And if you remember our series is called doing good, and we have been trying as we've worked through each passage or each section of a passage to identify some act that is good and gospel advancing. And here's what we've got in verses 4 and 5. Doing good involves building strong homes and healthy marriages. Because that's what older women are to give themselves to here.

The older women are to teach the younger women to love their husbands, and love their children. So, a couple of things by way of introduction. Who are the younger women? The Greek word means new or fresh. You could kind of go logically with this, in that the younger women is any woman younger than the older woman. I mean, that's just the no brainer, right? They've got the older women, and then those beneath them are the younger women by contrast. If we establish that an older woman is about 60 and up, then you could make an argument that the group being addressed in verses 4 and 5 is anybody under 60. But here's what I think. I think there's something more there, because the younger woman in our text is addressed and called to love her husband and her children. And to be a homemaker, and to submit to her husband. My assumption is we're dealing with young wives here, or young marrieds to put it in our vernacular.

They are less experienced in life and in marriage and in parenting, and so they need an older woman to come alongside them. So, maybe generally we're dealing with anybody under 60. I think specifically we're dealing with a young married wife who needs an older woman to come along and provide her a handrail. Now, there's several things we're going to look at in our text this morning and next Sunday morning. If I was to break it down, we'll see her counsel, her care, her chastity, her commitment, her competence, her compliance, her concern. I mean, that's exhausting just as a list let alone doing it. But that's what the younger women are called to here.

But before I begin to pick the text apart and let the Bible speak, I want you to understand that what we're about to look at is rather radical in today's world. You know, unless you have your head buried in the proverbial sand, you will know that what is dictated here and what is admonished and expressed here is so antithetical to our culture. Women defining themselves in terms of being a wife to a man, being a mother to children, submitting to that man's loving leadership. Making sure that the home is the center of her life. It doesn't define all that she is, but she runs a good home. She loves being a homemaker among many other things that she loves, and is good at. I mean that's so radically different from the chick flicks that people watch, the magazines that people read, the news feeds, the cultural trends within modern society.

Just understand that what we're about to read is counter cultural. It could get you mocked at the least, laughed out of court should you advocate this definition of womanhood. If you take your cue from this admonition to love your husband, love your children, be sexually pure, be discreet, be a homemaker, be obedient to your husband. That today is called archaic, misogynist and sexist. The roles and relationships and responsibilities outlined in our text puts you on collision course with the contemporary culture, and certainly modern feminism. Take the National Organization for Women, which is a feminist organization with the acronym at NOW, started in 1966. This is an organization that advocates protections for women, and rights for women, but you need to understand there's an agenda that constitutes the end of marriage and motherhood as we know it.

This is modern feminism. Modern feminism is several steps removed from the movement that started to get women's equal rights in society and rights to vote and so on, which was all good and proper. But this is several steps beyond this. Now it's about independence from men. Now it's about liberation from obligations in the home and in marriage. If you don't believe me, I'll quote one of the feminists tied into the NOW organization. "We must fight the institutionalization of the oppression of women, especially institution of marriage." Another feminist said this, "Freedom for women can not be one without the abolition of marriage."

I just finished a very interesting book called The Dark Agenda by David Horowitz, who's an agnostic. A Jewish agnostic. But in it he talks about the destruction of what he calls Christian America, and what's afoot in society with organizations like Planned Parenthood, and the National Organization of Women, and the progressive agenda in politics. In the book, he says that David Garrow, who wrote a Pulitzer Prize winning book on the story and the campaign behind Roe v. Wade, which is at the heart of the abortion issue. It has its origins in a group of radical women in the University of Texas. Members of the new left organization, Students for Democratic Society. During that time before even Roe v. Wade, here's what they were advocating in an underground newspaper called the Rag.

Quote. "We in Women's liberation deny any inherent differences between men and women. All of us are trapped by the society that created our roles. We are questioning the ideals of marriage and motherhood, and the very society that has created these roles and values that must be questioned." That's where we're at. You're watching it being played out, and those who are running for the Democratic presidential nomination. You'll hear it on talk shows. You'll hear it from the Me Too movement. You'll hear it from advocates for Planned Parenthood. This is a day in which we're in. This passage we're about to look at is so antithetical to them. They see this as a version of modern slavery for women. They believe any woman that buys into this is nuts. Surrendering her freedom, and the true expression of her femininity. However they define that.

So, just understand how radical it is. In fact, in a book called God's Design for Women, a British author, Sharon James, says of this passage, that if most people read it today, they'd say, "You must be joking. Marriage is a 50-50 partnership and neither partner leads nor submits. If we do have children, they must not interfere with our careers. We can pay someone else to care for them. Self fulfillment rather than self control is the vogue. Purity sounds alarmingly Victorian. After all, if we fall in love with someone other than our husband, we have to follow our heart. The only element of this teaching tolerable to modern ears is the call to goodness, provided that doesn't involve too much self sacrifice." So, I just want to put that right there.

The tribe of Issachar according to the Bible, understood the times they're in. And we need to understand that we're being subversive to the feminist movement with this sermon this morning. Because it's so contrary to the moores of that modern movement. But here's a few things I want to remind you about. This is kind of an extended introduction, and we'll try and cover a couple of points this morning. But as I thought about that, and thought about the women of our congregation and how this is going to fall on their ears. I want you to remember a few things as we work through this text. Remember that the word of the Lord stands forever. Isaiah 40 verse 8. Whatever the modern trend is, whatever the latest thinking is of those who want to shape society. You know, we want to build our lives upon the rock of God's inalterable, eternal, infallible word.

And the culture can do what it wants. Morality is not fluid. Morality is fixed, because the word of the Lord is fixed forever in heaven. The word of the Lord stands for ever. And as Christians, we allow the word of God to overhaul our thinking. We allow the word of God to overhaul our thinking. That's Romans 12 verses 1 and 2. Don't be squeezed into the culture. Don't be squeezed into the image of the present world, with all of its rebellion, and thinking, and mixed up values. Paul says, "Don't allow that to happen, but be renewed in your mind so that you might prove what is that good and acceptable will of God." What does it mean to be renewed in your mind? That is to think thoughts after God. If God has shared His mind with us through the Bible, we want to understand God's mind on womanhood, and motherhood, and marriage and life, singleness, work, sex, recreation, money.

Does God speak to those issues? He does, and we need to allow the word of God that stands forever to overhaul our thinking in the midst of a contemporary culture. Ladies, let the word of God define who you are. Think thoughts after God's thoughts. Number two, remember that marriage is honorable and good. We've just read modern feminists who believe that marriage as the Bible is about to define it, is a form of slavery for women. Is a means of their subjugation, and their subordination. It's an imprisonment, it clips a woman's wings. But remember, if the word of God stands forever, and we're meant to be renewed in our mind by it, you and I will embrace the thought that marriage is honorable.

God made man and woman in His image. He brought that first man and woman together. He told them to leave mother and father and cleave to each other in marriage, which is a covenant. Then to multiply and raise Godly seed, and bring their children up in the fear and admonition of the Lord. And together under God and alongside God, subdue the creation, and be a means of God's rule within history. What a high and holy calling marriage is? That's why Hebrews 13 verse 4 says what? "Marriage is honorable among all men at all times by implication." It's not a cultural norm? It's not a man made institution. It's a Divinely instituted institution. That Jesus blessed with his presence and recognized in His teaching that this was so from the beginning. This is God's will. This is God's word.

And I just want to remind you, ladies, as the world badgers you, as the world feeds your fallenness and tells you to rebel as Eve did, don't. Because the word of the Lord stands forever. Let your mind be renewed with thoughts after God's thoughts as revealed in His word. Embrace heterosexual, monogamous marriage over a lifetime, as God's will for your life. Because it's honorable and good. And in fact, when Adam stood there alone, God said, "That's not good. I got to find him a girlfriend." And God created Eve, Adam's equal. A reflection of God's image in female form, and God said, "That's better." This is God's will. Here's another thing, remember to fight your fallenness because I want to remind you, none of us are beyond temptation. And the feminine formula of today will feed your fallenness.

What do I mean by that? Well, let's go back to Genesis chapter 3 and verse 16 because we're in now the passage that describes what we call the fall, man's fall from grace. Man's rebellion. Man's turning against God. This is where sin enters the world and death along with sin. And as God judges Adam and Eve for their sin, He addresses the woman and I want you to notice something. Genesis 3 verse 16, "To the woman, God said, I will greatly multiply your sorrow and your conception. In pain, you shall bring forth children." Now notice this. This is the important text. "Your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you."

This is post fall. This is Adam and Eve in a sinful condition. This is the beginning of the battle of the sexes. This is the genesis of every division and every divorce in a home. And God says, "You know what's going to happen Eve, you're going to desire for your husband." You say, "What does that mean?" Well, the answer to that's over in Genesis chapter 4 verse 7 where the exact same Hebrew word is used in the next chapter, where Cain is told not to give into sin, which lies at the door. And here's what God says, "And it's desire, that is sin's desire, is for you. But you shall rule over it." The word desire in that context is sin wants to rule you. Sin wants to take charge of your desires and appetites, thoughts and actions, but you must rule over sin. Lest sin rule over you.

Carry that back into Genesis chapter 3 and verse 16. Here's part of the fall out of the fall. A woman will seek to control her husband. Now, remember God's design was loving leadership on the part of the man, and willing voluntary submission on the part of the woman to his loving leadership. That will work. But when sin enters the world, it messes with that formula, and Eve now having stepped outside the authority of her husband, when she listened to the serpent in the first place, she will now seek to control her husband. He won't like that. So, what will he do? Instead of leading her in a loving, humble servant manner, he will try and dominate her, and there you've got the two sexes at each other.

Lest we forget where we're at, I'm just setting us up for the radical nature of Titus 2 versus 4 to 5. And I'm reminding you that feminism in its modern expression will feed your fallenness as a woman, because it tells you you don't need a man. Don't submit to a man, don't follow a man, blaze your own trail. Do your own thing. Fight. Ladies, I'm not saying submit to domination. I'm saying don't fall for your fallenness, because the modern feminist movement will feed your fallenness. It's a echo of Eve, and it's an expression of man's fallenness. I'm going to add to that, if I haven't offended so far, this is likely to do it right here. Modern feminism, as I'm finding it expressed in the words that I've just expressed from their own advocates. Modern feminism is rooted in false religion. And at its root it's satanic. You say, "That's strong."

Well, I need to justify that biblically, so it's just not a man speaking but the word of God. Because it says in 1st Timothy 2 verse 14 of Eve, "That Eve sinned first because she was deceived." She was deceived. What was the deception? Well, when Satan, the serpent temps her back in Genesis chapter 3 and verse 4, she says, "You know what? I can't eat of that tree, because God says if I eat, I'll die." And the serpent says, "No, you won't. God says that, but God won't do that." It's an attack upon the character of God, the holiness of God, the sovereignty of God. Got a question, "Where is Adam? What's he doing?" She's off by herself exposed to the temptation of Satan, and she acts alone, and she acts having been deceived.

In fact, I think the implication of 1st Timothy 2 verse 14 is that sin was predicated on a role reversal. And Satan ever since has been talking to women to act contrary to God's word, and to act in opposition to their husbands' authority. In fact, I would suggest to you, and John MacArthur does a good job with this in his commentary on Titus. Study Babylonian religion, study Persian religion, studying gnosticism which was one of the dominant emerging religions around the time of the New Testament, and it's marked by role reversal. It's marked by sexual liberation, it's marked by feminine deity. And it's marked by hatred of the God of Israel. So there you have it. You and I need to waken up to just the radical nature of what we're about to look at. And I wanted to put the text not only in its immediate context, coordinated design, discipleship, but in a larger context within the Bible.

Remember, the word of the Lord stands forever. Remember to allow that word to overhaul your thinking so that you're not conformed to the contemporary culture, but you are living out the role of God's kingdom in your life. Remember that marriage is honorable and good. Remember to fight your fallenness, which will put you in opposition to your husband, and God's will. And remember that feminism at its root is Satanic, and it's been an ally to false religion. In fact, I have one other thought I'll throw in here, kind of fight your fallenness. Let me go to that passage I think. Because here's something else to bear in mind given the fact, hey... The modern feminist says, "Hey, we need to liberate ourselves from the institution of marriage. We need to redefine marriage and motherhood on our terms. We want it to be two women, we'll have it that way.

If we want to have children, we'll have them when it suits us. And if we fall pregnant will kill the child, because it's about us. This is the day we're in. This is the radical nature of Titus 2 verses 4 to 5. Well, in that context of fallenness and an expression of rebellion, following Eve's deception. And by the way, in Gnosticism, Eve is the savior. She redeems Adam from his folly and the brutality of the masculine God. But it's interesting, notice what 1st Timothy 2 verse 14 says, "And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived fell into transgression. Nevertheless, she will be saved in childbearing if they continue in faith, love, holiness, with self control." Here's another thought. Not only, remember that feminism is rooted in false religion and deception. Remember that to fight your fallenness, the desire to oppose your husband and God's purposes.

Remember that you can reverse the fall through motherhood and marriage. That's why this is so critical a passage, because if you heed Titus 2 verses 4 to 5, and you love your husband, and you love your children. And you build a godly home marked by purity, and discretion, and kindness, if you express submission to your husband, you're reversing the fall that Eve was party to. This is an interesting verse. Forgive me for such an extended introduction, but I trust it's helpful. Remember, you can reverse the fall through motherhood. Because it says here that through child bearing the woman can be saved. What does that mean? Not saved eternally. Not saved in terms of having your sins forgiven. Motherhood isn't an act of atonement.

Jesus died for our sin. If any woman or any man is going to get to heaven, it's by grace, through faith in Jesus on the ground of what he did on Calvary's cross. This is a word that can mean deliverance, or rescuing in a more practical or physical manner. Now, here's what I think the text means, and you need to tease this out yourself. Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived fell into transgression. It was Eve that was deceived, and led her husband into sin. Acting independent of her husband, being deceived by the evil one, the fall comes about. The salvation talked about here is the woman through childbearing can be rescued from the shame, and from the stain of the fall that she was party to through Eve.

And so it's interesting, while in the context of 1st Timothy 2, verses 12 through 19, a woman is not permitted to teach in the church as an elder or pastor. As a mother, she'll teach her children alongside her husband. As a mother, she'll disciple her daughters or her sons. And history attests to that. I'll get to this next week, behind every great man they say is a great woman. You can play with that a little bit. Before every great man there was a woman. That was his mother, and she influenced him. She may not be able to lead in the church or in the home, but she can lead leaders in the sense of discipling her children. And if she raises up Godly seed and affects the next generation with the Gospel, she is redeeming herself and rescuing womanhood from the stain of the fall. And she's reversing the effects of the fall through motherhood and marriage, because her children are coming to faith in Christ being made righteous. And they're out there reversing the effects of the fall.

Let me illustrate this and get into are text. This is all introduction by the way. This is free. This is extra. G. Campbell Morgan was a great British expositor. He had five sons who were all preachers. And one day someone came into the home, and over the dinner table they said, "Well, who's the best preacher in the house?" And all six of them pointed to the kitchen, to Mrs. Morgan. She's the best preacher in the house. What did they mean by that? It just meant hey, whatever we are, she helped us become. She's modeled godliness. She's taught as the Gospel. It's a wonderful story reflecting, I think, 1st Timothy 2 verse 15. Maybe I didn't need to go on that excursion, but for me, especially for a young woman, I just want you to know, I think you're going to be badgered. You're going to be hounded. It's going to cost you something to embrace Titus 2 verses 4 to 5.

A generation ago, forgive me, but we would have yawned at attacks like this. Because even in America, in the general public, this was the measure of motherhood, or this was the measure of womanhood. Marriage, children ordering the home. But you know that's gone the way of the buffalo. And we're now reading something that would get you shouted down, or cause some young woman in a college campus to run to a safe space. This is scary stuff. This is going to trigger them like crazy. So, let's get into the text. I gave you a long outline, but we'll see what we can cover for the time that remains.

I want you to notice first of all, what I call her counsel. Speaking about young women, her counsel. The young and in love need instruction from the old and in love. Look at verse 3, "The older woman is to be reverent in behavior, not a she devil in her talk, not enslaved to wine or appetite. She's to be a teacher of good things." Notice verse 4, "That or so that she might admonish the young women." The construction of a meaningful, productive life and the building of a loving and lasting home is not a DIY project. Just understand that. Listen young women, while you're single, hoping to be married, you're in the process of dating someone towards marriage, or you're married. If you're going to be good at marriage, if you're going to be good at motherhood, you need help. You need that from your own mother, from your own grandmother, from aunts.

But alongside them, there could be Godly women in the church who can come alongside you and remind you that life is not a DIY project, and certainly not marriage or motherhood. We all need help. And in fact, I would say given the context that this is first generation Christianity in Titus, we can expect that these young women come out of paganism for the most part. They're not old Jewish, with some kind of mosaic or godly worldview. They've come out of the Roman Greek culture. They're pagan, maybe broken homes, which littered that culture. They have no idea what it means to be a godly mother and a good wife. And so they are kind of going, "Help me." And Paul is saying, "Hey, I'm going to send you some help."

I want you to notice the conjunction that, or so that this is telling us what the purpose of the older woman developing herself is for. Because in verse 3, the older woman is told, "Hey, here's what you need to do. You need to become holy. Your life needs to be marked by just a sacred view of all of life. You need to watch your language and your tongue. You need to watch your appetite, and control yourself with regards to wine." Why? Why would you do that? Well, one that glorifies God. And two, that's a growth in grace on your part. But here were given another reason that you might be a good teacher of good things, and that you might admonish young women. How interesting is that? Develop yourself so that you might disciple others. Think about that.

I'm going to throw that over every woman in this congregation this morning, and in both services here at Kindred. You need to develop yourself so that you can disciple others. Don't develop yourself just for your own end, or just your own family. You're to develop yourself for other families, for other women. We want discipleship across the genders and across the generations. What does the word admonish mean? It's only found here, but at its basis it carries the idea of sensible, moderate, restrained. It's a cog nit of the adjective sober-minded that you'll find in verse 1, verse 4, verse 5, verse 6. So, what we've got here is an appeal on the part of older women to younger women to act sensibly.

Gordon Fee puts it, to wise up. And that's a great word, because remember as we have said, they're coming with baggage. They've got no model necessarily for a Christian home. They may be being pressurized by the culture around them. Their old girlfriends. And they're being pressured inside and out to be something other than God wants them to be. And so older women need to come along gently yet firmly. Hey, wise up. You can't do that. You can't be that. You can't say that. You can't think that. That's what's going on here. It's beautiful. It's a present tense verb. It's going on all the time, which would seem to infer this is life on life stuff.

Now, I've got two takeaways from this. Quickly two takeaways. Number one, by inference young women must not be controlled by their emotions, but by their minds. That's the job of the older woman. The young woman imagine, you know, in the trenches of motherhood, adjusting to marriage, realizing this guy's not always a knight in shining armor. He's a jerk. And they have all kinds of emotions, they're disappointed, they're struggling, they're overwhelmed, and their emotions are getting the better of them. And they're starting to think and they're starting to think perhaps in a way that's more informed by their emotions then by theology. And the older woman comes along and says, "Hold on a minute, calm down, sit down. I'm going to help you wise up. I'm going to help you come back to your senses, because the path you're on is taking you away from God's good and perfect will for your life." So, I just want you to understand young women are not to be controlled by their emotions, but by their minds.

Look at chapter 2 verse 1. Timothy, speak those things which are proper for sound doctrine. When the word of God is taught, either formally in the pulpit or in a discipleship environment, older woman to a younger woman, that produces sounds thinking. Sound theology produces sound thinking that will inform one's actions and hopefully moderate ones moods. And that's what the older woman is to help the younger woman to accomplish. I love that verse in Mark 5:15, although dramatic as a story, the end is the end of the Gospel. Remember the man who would cut himself running about naked, he was nuts and Jesus gets him, exorcizes the demon and saves the man. And then we read in the Bible, this beautiful verse and He sat down being clothed, and in his right mind.

One of the ends of the Gospel is to get you into your right mind. What's going on outside is nuts, craziness, rebellion. The Christian, we've got to be in our right mind. We've got to think soberly, and others need to help us do that. Listen ladies, again I know this can fall as a stereotype, but it's generally true. Women are more emotional than men. It's just a fact. And I don't say that in any disparaging manner, because the upside of that is there's a tenderness, there's a feeling, there's a sensitivity that's wonderful. But the down side is you can be often managed by your mood, by your emotions. And the Bible wants you to think, ladies, and older women need to help younger women think this. You've got to think, act and feel. That's the biblical order. Think, act and feel.

So you think thoughts after God, you renew your mind. You bring every thought into captivity. The word of God informs you. Because what is the word of God? The word of God is the mind of God revealed. And it can equip us onto every good work. It will instruct us in righteousness. It will admonish us. So, the first thing we need to do is to renew our mind, bring every thought into captivity to Christ. The Gospel will inform us. The epistles will inform us. The word of God will inform us. Now we know what the mind of God is, and whether we want to do it or not, regardless of how we feel, we act. Okay? We don't allow our emotions to hijack our will. Jesus was emotional, wasn't he in Garden of Gethsemane? Trembling, psychologically disturbed by the thought of what was coming. But he submits to what He knows to be the revealed will of God regardless of how He feels. He acts in sweet submission.

Not my will, but your will be done. This is the biblical way. Think, act, feel. Usually, usually, feelings will follow actions. You know that. You know what it's like the first 10 minutes at the gym, you're hating every minute of it. You're thinking about Dunkin Donuts. I mean, it's a battle. But you know you need to be there, so you brought yourself there. You know you need to lose weight. You know you need to be fit, so you acted. And maybe after 15, 20 minutes, your body starts telling you, "This is good. I feel good about this." And that's why even in our spiritual life we pray until we pray. Isn't that what A.W. Tozer say, "Pray until you pray." Come on, we love to think every Sunday morning, we come here, it's a psalm 122. I was glad when they said unto me, let us go to the house of the Lord.

Well, in the minivan on the way there, that's not true. There's kids who are crying, and you're going to man, "I, you know, I don't really want to be here this morning." And then you come in, and for the first 10 minutes of the worship service, whether in the body or out of the body, we have no idea who you are. And then all of a sudden, man, the worship, the lyrics, the gospel centered songs, the preaching of God's word, the warmth of Christian fellowship. And you start to feel good about it. But you made the right decision to come whether you felt like coming or not. Because you see, we think we act then we feel. And usually when we delight ourselves in the Lord, He usually gives us desires with our heart that accompany that.

But no, that's not where the world is. Where's the world? Feel, act and maybe think. I mean, come on you know that's where the culture is at. Everything is cast as a feeling. Everything is cast as an emotion. It's scary. That's why everybody's in therapy, because they're trying to define their feelings. I mean, that's a road to nowhere. Think biblically, then act willfully, and don't worry about your emotions. If the action is the engine, the emotions is the caboose. It usually follows. But we've got to think and think strongly. We don't want to be like the Miss USA pageant contest, contestant in 1994 who answered the question, "If you could live forever, would you and why?" Here was her answer. "I would not live forever because we should not live forever. Because if we were supposed to live forever, then we could live forever, but we cannot live forever. That is why I would not live forever."

I mean, that's... Man, that's insightful right there. I'm not picking on, because she was a beauty contestant, it's just, that's where the culture is at. That's the kind of answer you'd get from the average Joe or Josephine. I mean, it's just where the culture is at. That's why I love that moment in the movie The Iron Lady. I'm reading a book right now called God and Margaret Thatcher. I grew up during the Thatcher era. I was a big fan. What a wonderful woman. Strong, patriotic, you know something of her story. So, as I was thinking about this very verse, about let the older women admonish, bring to their senses, wise up the younger women, make them think rather than feel. I thought about that moment in the movie where Margaret Thatcher's played by Meryl Streep. And she goes to visit her doctor, and her doctor asks Mrs. Thatcher, "Well, how are you feeling?" To which Mrs. Thatcher classically replies, "What am I bound to be feeling? People don't think anymore. They feel. How are you feeling? No, I don't feel comfortable."

One of the great problems of our age is we're governed by people who care more about feelings than they do about thoughts and ideas. Thoughts and ideas that interests me. Ask me what I'm thinking. Can I challenge you? Here's a good thing to do this week. Instead of, when you meet a friend or a family member, don't ask them, well, how are you doing? Ask them, what are you thinking? That'll help your family. It'll help your community. It'll help your church. It'll help our country. What are you thinking? Because you see thoughts and ideas, now that's worth thinking about. Because great thoughts produce great lives. And the older women are to come alongside the younger women who are pulling their hair out because life's tough it is. Raising your family demands everything. You can be disappointed, exhausted. You can lose your sensibility, almost sanity.

And the older woman will come and say, "Hey, let me help you think straight here. Let the word of God inform you." Here's another thought. We'll, this will wrap us up. We just, at least we've got one point done this morning. These women will seek... That's the younger women. They'll allow their minds to rule their hearts, and they will embrace the idea that I have so much to learn from older women. Again, we kind of touched on this, but I want to just drill down on it, put you in remembrance of good things. Because those who have said many times, I think our culture is drowning in what C.S. Lewis calls chronological snobbery. You know what? If it's not recent, if it's not contemporary, if it's not hip, then it's to be be forgotten, jettisoned. It's past its usefulness.

And it's interesting, here we are in the first century of the church and Paul is saying to these young, emerging Christians, these young wives and mothers who are the future of the church. He says, "Hey, before you go any further, hitch your wagon to an older woman. Find your Mary. Find someone who will show you the way. Someone that's been down the road of life, that is willing to come back a little bit, grab you by the hand and help you through those early years of marriage, motherhood. Who is going to help you not fall for Satan's lie, the one that deceived Eve. Who's going to remind you that marriage is honorable, that raising children is one of the greatest things a woman can give herself to. Because some day her children will rise up and call her blessed. Now, women are to embrace the wisdom of older women.

Write down Jeremiah 6 verse 16, just look at it in your own time. It's a verse I've often reflected on, where Jeremiah says to Judah on the eve kind of, of their exile. Given the fact that they have kind of lived in rebellion against God. He says, "Seek the old paths and the good way." Basically, hey, you need to follow your ancestors. You need to go back to go forward. Can we embrace that? I love the fact that we're a multi-generational church. When I stand at the back and watch you's come in, I love when I see our senior saints come in. I love it when I see our singles come in. I love it when I see our young marrieds come in. That's the way I think it's meant to be. Older men, younger men, older women, younger women, discipling each other across the genders and across the generations.

And I want to say to our young wives, and our young women, embrace biblical tradition, honor ancient wisdom. Don't be a carbon copy of your peer group. There's an arrogance with today's generation that's dangerous. Be humble, be teachable, be willing to receive wisdom. So long as it's good. Just because someone's old doesn't mean they're wise. I think we said that a couple of weeks ago, didn't we? You know why, you could be being discipled by an old fool. That would be no good. But if we can get you someone that's wise, and mature, and can connect with you, that's good. It's good for you.

The book of proverbs says, this is... As our team comes up, and we kind of ready ourselves to wrap this up and pick it up next week. Just jot some of these verses down, I'll read them for you. What about proverbs 12 verse 1, "Whoever loves instruction loves knowledge. But he who hates correction is foolish." If you don't listen, and if you don't learn, it's foolish. If you don't hear the wisdom of someone that's lived longer, that's foolishness. What about proverbs 13:18, "Poverty and shame will come to him who disdains correction. But he who regards a rebuke will be honored." Proverbs 15:31 to 32, we'll wrap this up. "The ear that hears the rebukes of life will abide among the wise. He who disdains instruction despises his own soul."

Let me finish with this story. I just finished up a quick read. One of John Maxwell's books on leadership, it can be very practical and helpful. In his book Influencing People, or How to Influence People, he tells this story regarding the importance of listening, and increasing in knowledge through being rebuked and listening, and being admonished. He tells the story of a tennis pro who's out on the court giving a lesson to this young tennis player. And as he watches this young tennis player's swing and his management of the court, he stops him on several occasions and seeks to give him some advice on how to improve his swing. And how to move strategically across the court. But the student kind of interrupts him, and his interruption and tells him, "You know what? But I think here's what's wrong, and I think here's how I can fix it."

And this goes on several times throughout the hour of instruction, until at some point the tennis pro starts nodding in agreement with his student. And after the lesson was done and the student disappears, this older lady who was kind of eavesdropping and watching this, she says to the tennis pro, "You know what? Why did you go along with that arrogant man's stupid suggestions?" To which the tennis pro smiled and replied, "I learned a long time ago that it's a waste of time to try to sell real answers to anyone who just wants to buy an echo." It's a great answer.

And as you seek discipleship, and you sit under the word of God, I've got a question are you really willing to receive some new answers that will bring about reformation and repentance? Or do you just want an echo that leaves you in charge and feeling comfortable, or believing you know what? I can fix this myself. That's foolishness. That's stupid. It's dangerous. So as we head down this road of life together, and as the church we seek to coordinate and cooperate in our efforts to disciple across genders and generations. May the young women seek out the older women. And may these older women help them to manage their moods through clear biblical thinking and submission to the will of God. And may you as a young woman be open to rebuke and correction, to recognize that you know what? You haven't earned those stripes on your arm yet. And so stand to attention, hear from your mother, hear from your grandmother, hear from some spiritual mothers, because there's a cacophony of voices out there that are spreading Satan's lies, and are advancing the rebellion that began in Eden.

Our culture is going backwards, not forwards. We're entering into difficult days that might be last days. Where people are lovers of themselves, rebellious, disobedient to parents, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God. Let's pray. Father, we thank you for our time this morning in the word. We thank you that heaven and earth will pass away, but the word of God will not pass away. We thank you that you haven't left us to lean on our own understanding with regards to our gender, our identity, how we manage our feelings, what place they have in our lives. We thank you that you have shown us in your word the construction of a good society, with the marriage of a man and woman with children as its cornerstone. And so Lord, we bow afresh beneath the authority of the word. We want to hide it in our hearts like the children over in our children's ministry that we may not sin against you. We want it to be a light unto our path, a lamp unto our feet.

I pray for the women of our congregation. We thank you for them, even on this Father's Day because behind every good man is a good woman. In fact, behind every good man there's stands a woman before him, not just behind him and beside him. And I pray that indeed they would be the true mothers, and true wives, and spiritual mentors that you've called them to be. Give them strength and boldness not to be conformed to this world, but to renew their thinking after Titus 2:4 and 5. That they might prove that your will is good, and it is acceptable, and it produces productive lives. For Jesus' sake. Amen.