Letters To Leaders – Character

‘You, however, must teach what is appropriate to sound doctrine. Teach the older men to be temperate, worthy of respect, self-controlled, and sound in faith, in love and in endurance. Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good. Then they can urge the younger women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God. ‘ Titus 2:1-5

Today, Pastor Jeremy Smith continued the sermon series Letters to Leaders, a study of Christian leadership taught through the letters to Timothy and Titus. This part of the sermon series focuses on Christian character. Here are the links for the previous posts in this sermon series:

He tells Titus that he “must teach what is appropriate to sound doctrine.” “Appropriate doctrine” will bring about the change necessary to live up to the standards set by the Lord.

‘As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it. ‘ Isaiah 55:10-11

The preaching, teaching, and study of “appropriate doctrine” will change the believer’s life, who submits their heart to the Lord. This change will produce the Christian character change that will be effective in Christian leadership.

When you look at the pattern that Paul lays out, he starts with the older male church members, teaching them to be “temperate, worthy of respect, self-controlled and sound in faith, in love and endurance.”

Followed by teaching the older women in the church to be “reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine but to teach what is good.”

I believe that the Holy Spirit, through Paul, ordered it this way so that the older members of the church could be an example to the younger members of the church.

When Paul wrote to Timothy and Titus, the church was infiltrated by false teachers and “super” apostles that started twisting the Words of God. The false teachers made it about what we should do instead of who we are to become by studying and meditating on God’s Word.

An example of this happened when I decided to memorize scripture that my Pastor preached about five years ago. The verse was Psalms 86:5 NLT “Oh Lord, you are so good, so ready to forgive, so full of unfailing love for all who ask for Your help.”

One day, I had a meeting I had to be at for 5:30 PM. I don’t like to be late, so I don’t schedule too much to do before I have to be somewhere. On this day, a lady popped in at about 4:30 PM and needed help. I started to feel anxious, knowing that I had to be somewhere in an hour and that what she needed to be done would take about an hour.

Suddenly, this part of that verse exploded in my mind, “so full of unfailing love for all who ask for Your help.” My anxiety disappeared, and I dug in to help this lady with her problem. Not only could I help her, but I still made it to my meeting on time.

By God’s grace, I was able to help this lady and make it to my meeting. God controls time; however, He did it, it all worked out, and He gets all the glory.

We must immerse ourselves into God’s Word through reading, studying, and preaching as often as possible.

We want to live a life that is worthy of being followed.

Jesus would say, “Follow Me,” and they would follow Him.

Paul would say: ‘Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ. ‘ 1 Corinthians 11:1

The question we have to ask ourselves consistently is, “Is my life worthy of following?” or “Am I an example of a submitted Christian?”

If the answer is no, we need to bring this before the throne of God and ask Him to help us become the example He wants us to be.

Pastor Jeremy cautioned us that we are not to make ourselves perfect before we make our faith known to those around us. The Lord builds our character as we live out our faith through our trials. It is called “Character Building.”

‘Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us. ‘ Romans 5:3-5

‘Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. ‘ James 1:2-4

‘In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. ‘ 1 Peter 1:6-7

God builds our character on the trials we face. Our path is not “around,” “over,” or “under” our trials; for God to build our character, we need to go “through” our trials.

Heavenly Father, thank You for Your Word. Please help me understand that Your Word is the only thing that has the power to change my life to serve You.

I pray that You strengthen me through my trials and that I stand firm in Your will.

I pray that my life can serve as an example of a Christian who has submitted his life to You for Your glory.

I am thankful for Your grace, mercy, and forgiveness. I am grateful for Your Son, Jesus Christ, and His willingness to lay His life down for our sins.

In the name of Jesus Christ, I pray, Amen!! 🙏❤️