WWUTT 748 Instructions for Young Men?

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In Titus chapter 2 verses 1 -6 we have all these instructions for older men, and women, and younger women.

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There seems to be only one instruction for young men, that they be self -controlled. But it's a big one when we understand the text.

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You're listening to When We Understand the Text, an online Bible ministry committed to teaching sound doctrine and exposing the faulty.

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Find videos and more at our website www .utt .com Now here's our host,

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Pastor Gabe Hughes. Thank you Becky. Today we will finish up our study of Titus 2, 1 -6 where Paul has given instructions to older men and women, and younger men and women in the church.

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To Titus he says, but as for you, teach what accords with sound doctrine. Older men are to be sober -minded, dignified, self -controlled, sound in faith, in love, and in steadfastness.

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Older women, likewise, are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much wine.

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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.

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Likewise urge the younger men to be self -controlled. And that's the last group that we have to focus on here, the younger men, in verse 6.

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And they have the least amount of instructions. Everybody else has had lists of things to do. The younger men just have to be self -controlled?

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Well, I tell you, they must take the most initiative. And I'm going to explain that here in just a moment. But first of all, as we've been talking about older and younger, where is the line?

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I think in our minds, we think of the line at age 40. So everyone over the age of 40 is older, and everyone under the age of 40 is younger.

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But more practically, we need to think of this in terms of how you will have generations in a family.

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So in the first 20 years, everyone under the age of 20, that would be your youngest generation.

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And even then, you've got so many different developmental ages, you're certainly not going to treat teenagers the same way that you're looking at the youngest kids.

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And teens are old enough, even though they're not looking at marriage yet, they're not looking at like a career or having a job yet, yet they are old enough to be looking at the older men and women in the church as spiritual mentors.

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Then you've got the generation that's between 20 and 40 years of age. And this is where a person needs to be considered an adult.

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Once they graduate high school, I think you've got two years, 18 to 20, to figure out how to be self -sustaining on your own.

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No more of these 30 -year -old children that are still living at home, okay? Figure out how you can live on your own and be looking toward getting married and having a job and where you're going to live.

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All of those things need to be figured out in that 18 to 20 range so that by the time you're out of college, depending on what you're being educated in, how much schooling you're going to need, when you're done with college, if you go to college, 21, 22 years old, you're ready to get married, start a family, settle down, have a job, buy a home.

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So you've got your new homeowners, you've got new parents, you've got newlyweds, you've got even single adults that are looking to get married.

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That's what you have in that 20 to 40 range. So they're going to be looking toward their spiritual mentors will be everybody over the age of 40.

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They'll certainly have their friends, but they're going to be closer in age. And then those that are going to help them with some of those big life decisions that they need to make are going to be the generation that is above them.

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So then you've got the 40 to 60 range. And you've got parents who are watching teenagers graduate high school and getting them ready for college.

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You might even have some parents in the older end of that spectrum who are even becoming grandparents.

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And so they are they're able to dote on the youngest generation, but especially being spiritual mentors to those that are under them in that 20 to 40 year range, sharing with them their life experiences, what

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I have learned, what God has brought me through, knowing how to encourage those young families through some of those spiritual trials that they will endure.

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But even this group still needs mentoring because in that 40 to 60 range, their parents are aging and they're probably needing to think about what to do with their parents or they're watching their parents die.

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And so even that that group above them, 60 to 80, who's been through this before, able to mentor those who are under them.

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And so then you've got that 60 to 80 range. And these are folks who are retiring. They are empty nesters.

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They have the most amount of life behind them and able to encourage those younger generations with the things that God has blessed them with and what he has brought them through.

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And then you've got the crown jewel in a church congregation, and that is your seniors over the age of 80.

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Once you get over the age of 70, you can probably count them all as seniors. But but these seniors in our church should never be forgotten, and it's easy to forget them.

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I've seen too many churches focus so much on a younger generation or a younger demographic that they forget their seniors.

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And sometimes when it comes to caring for our seniors, we need to be proactive because they get into an age and a weakness where they can't make it to church anymore.

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So you may have to go to their home or go to the care center where they're being cared for, sit with them and talk with them and enjoy just letting them tell you about what

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God has brought them through, how the grace of God has been poured out upon them over their lives and how he's been so faithful to deliver them and and sharing with you life experiences and history and all this other kind of thing.

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And we must show love and affection to our seniors out of appreciation for the years of commitment and service and steadfastness that they have shown to the church.

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It's a blessing to a church when somebody who is so faithful to the Lord for so many years passes away and then you have the experience of loss, of watching those faithful saints go home to be with the

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Lord, but also rejoicing in knowing that somebody who has given such service to God is now enjoying their reward with the

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Lord in heaven. That's something beautiful for the entire church to experience. And we can only all experience that when we are cherishing the lives of our seniors.

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Do not forget them. You, you have heard and you know that cliche from womb to tomb, right?

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Don't forget about those that are closer to the tomb. We still need to be caring for.

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We still need to be mindful of and and showing love and affection might just mean sitting down with them and having a cup of coffee and enjoying a good chat and letting them teach you about God's faithfulness to all generations.

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All right. And now that brings us to I just kind of wanted to share that because I was reflecting upon,

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OK, where's older and younger? But that brings us to the last group that we have to cover here in this section.

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And that's in verse six. Likewise, urge the younger men to be self -controlled. Notice that every group has been told to be self -controlled with the exception of the older women.

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But it's still kind of in there because they're supposed to teach the younger women to be self -controlled. Men need to be self -controlled.

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Women need to be self -controlled. The younger men just have that single instruction. Likewise, urge the younger men to be self -controlled.

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Remember that this instruction comes up more in the book of Titus than it does anywhere else in the

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New Testament. What does it mean to be self -controlled? Well, we set this against the character of the people on the island of Crete, where Titus has been instructed to minister.

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And remember that Cretans, according to chapter one, verse 12, are always liars, evil beasts and lazy gluttons.

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And this is what you get when you're not self -controlled. You are a person who lies. You do not tell the truth.

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You are not conscious or mindful of the words that are coming out of your mouth or the thoughts that you allow yourself to think.

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They are liars. They're evil beasts. They do what is evil in the sight of God, what is unholy and impure.

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They are inventors of evil is one thing that that Romans chapter one says. So it's kind of like we run out of evil, wicked things to do.

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So we'll invent our own evil. And then and lastly, they're lazy gluttons. Lazy is pretty self -explanatory.

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They don't want to work gluttons. They're overeaters. They would just gorge themselves on food, which they would not work for.

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So they were mooching off of somebody else's charity. By the way, I think our pot crazed culture right now is breeding lazy gluttons.

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Marijuana is not exactly a drug that encourages or motivates people to do something.

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It makes you lazy and desire food. And and so then we've got the millennials who want democratic socialism.

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So the government will give us our food. We don't have to work for it. And we can just be pot smokers. So it's that obsession with marijuana that is breeding lazy gluttons.

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And we must be self -controlled. Now, oftentimes when we think of self -controlled, we're thinking of abstaining from doing something to be self -controlled is to not do the bad thing.

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Right. But more than that, it is taking initiative and it is working. How do you combat the tendency to be lazy?

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You work to stay away from that temptation to just sit back and do nothing. You have to have a mindfulness to keep motivated and keep moving and desire to do those things which please the

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Lord. Zealous for good works is the way that Paul puts it in Titus two. They they are the people of God.

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They who have been purified by the blood of Christ and are zealous for good works.

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So we must get off our cans and we must actually work. And in doing so, we're being self -controlled.

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Self -controlled is also not surrounding yourself with a bunch of temptations and sins. And yet being able to refrain from giving in to them like, oh, look at how close

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I can get to this and not do it. Because I'm self -controlled. No, that's not self -control.

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Self -control also means being strategic and mindful of getting yourself as far away from temptations as possible so that you don't put your flesh in a position of potentially being tempted by that thing.

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This is also self -control. And so staying away from evil, not even putting yourself in a place where you might want to do something that would be sinful, that would be rebellious against God.

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But you draw all the more closer to Christ and you cling to him and you desire the

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Lord and those things which please him. All of this falls under the category of self -control that we would not be lazy because idle hands are the devil's play things.

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Right. You've heard that old saying before. And so as we keep our hands working and our minds focused on those things that the

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Lord has called us to in the tasks that he has set before us, then we will be men and women of God who are self -controlled.

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Now, as this applies to the younger men, and it's the only instruction that's given here to younger men.

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And it's because the culture seems to be fashion tailor made to take advantage of a young man in all of his weaknesses, his flaws, his fleshly appetites and his perpetual immaturity.

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You just look at the culture and you can see everything. All of our consumption, our worldliness seems to be fashioned to take advantage of the fleshly desires of young men.

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You look at it, all of it seems to be pivoting around young men, everything that's being produced, entertainment, music, video games, movies, television, consumption through various media devices, smartphones, sports, machines, vehicles that go, cars and boats, clothes, even women's apparel.

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Remember that clip from Vody Bokom I played on Monday. He talked about how difficult it was to find modest clothing for his teenage girls.

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Why? Because girls inherently want to wear less and more revealing clothing.

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No, they wear those things because they appeal to young men. They want to they want to earn the attention of men.

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And so a young man especially needs to be disciplined. He needs to be proactive to pursue the things of God and so keep his mind away from all of these different ways that the world is attempting to entice him and make the world all about him because it really is.

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All of our consumption culture seems to be built around young men and their fleshly appetites is why it's the most difficult for young men and why they need to heed the instruction to be self -controlled.

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And so as I've got about, well, let's see, about eight minutes left here. Here's what I want to do.

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I want to give advice to young men. And these are pieces of advice that I wish

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I had when I was a young man. Only some of this I got. Some of this was kind of haphazard and other bits of it.

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Nobody was directly giving to me. But these are pieces of advice that I give to young men. I've counseled middle school and high school guys.

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And these are the pieces of advice that I give to them. Number one, here's the number one piece of advice

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I've got for young men. Your identity is in Christ. It is not in the stuff that you have.

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It is not in a girlfriend. It's not in the job or the career that you want, not in your hopes and your dreams.

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And it seems like every young man, when he gets out of high school and he's heading into college, he enters into this phase of like,

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I just need to find myself. I need to find who I am. No, you don't. You need to seek

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Christ and you will find out who you are in Christ. Put all your focus and attention on him.

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Worship him with all your heart, soul, mind and strength. And you don't need to go through the little adventure trip to find out who you are, because really what's going to end up happening is the world's going to try to tell you through the stuff that they want you to buy, that they they will convince you you need to have in order to be happy.

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Find your joy, your satisfaction in Christ Jesus. And part of this will mean you need to be active and deliberate about going to church.

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You need to be reading your Bible. You need to be in prayer. Those are three things that I wish

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I had done more of in high school and college. And I feel like I wasted good years because I was not active in reading my

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Bible and studying in praying, even expressing my own thoughts to God and desiring to be with a body of believers and growing with them.

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So find your identity in Christ. Number two, grow up and be a man.

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Seems like simple advice. Seems like one of those things most teenagers would probably roll their eyes at.

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But you need to hear it. In fact, Paul said in First Corinthians 16 verses 13 and 14, be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men.

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Be strong. Let all that you do be done in love. That's verse 14.

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So being a man even means being gentle and loving and kind and compassionate to one another.

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Romans 8, 12 and 13. So then, brothers, we are debtors not to the flesh to live according to the flesh.

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For if you live according to the flesh, you will die. But if by the spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.

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So you must flee youthful passions. This was an instruction that Paul gave to Timothy. Second, Timothy chapter two, verse 20 verses 20 through 22.

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Now, in a great house, there are not only vessels of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay, some for honorable use, some for dishonorable.

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Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable, he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work.

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Here's verse 22. So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the

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Lord from a pure heart. And while we have that section there, along with those who call on the

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Lord from a pure heart, you must love authority and you must look up to them. Paul will even go on to say here in Titus, in the book of Titus chapter three, be submissive to rulers and authorities, be obedient, be ready for for every good work, speak evil of no one, avoid quarreling, be gentle and show perfect courtesy to all people.

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That's the instructions you have there in Titus chapter three. And young men, you are expected to follow them as well, including imitating everything that was said of older men in Titus two to be sober minded, be dignified, be self -controlled, be sound in faith, in love and instead fastness.

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And I would encourage you on your own just to save time for now for what I've got left in the podcast. But grab

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Galatians chapter five and start reading in verse 16 to the end of the chapter where Paul goes through the desires of the flesh and the fruit of the spirit.

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And you need to crucify the desires of the flesh and pursue those things which are spiritual and pleasing to God.

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Flee from sin. Don't put yourself in any kind of position to even be tempted by it.

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Cling to Christ and desire his holiness and righteousness. Grow up and be a man.

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Third piece of advice, invest in strong friendships. And we kind of had that a little bit there in Second Timothy to 22.

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Flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the

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Lord from a pure heart. Now, when I was in high school and college, I was kind of a loner. I liked getting attention from people more so when

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I was a teenager than I do now. But but I was a loner. I like to do things on my own.

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I just kind of like to cruise at my own speed. I really didn't have a lot of friends and I wasn't trying to go and hang out with with friends.

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But we need to have those strong friendships because we will languish if we do not have them. I wish

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I had been more active in finding a good church and finding some good brothers who would encourage me in the word and who

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I could learn, learn from and pray with. And we could sharpen one another. Proverbs 27, 17, as iron sharpens iron.

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So one man sharpens another. And Ecclesiastes 412 is where we read about a a strand of three cords which is not easily broken.

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So find two friends, find two other guys that you can be with. And the three of you keep one another accountable, growing, active and away from sin.

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Invest in strong friendships that you may grow all the more into the head who is

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Christ, as we read about in Ephesians chapter four. So that's my third piece of advice. Number four, learn how to be a good husband and father.

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Now, if you're already a husband and you are already a father, OK, you still need to know how to do those things well.

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And if you are not married, you are not a dad and you're not even that's not even on the horizon for you at this given point in time.

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You still need to learn how to be those things. This is the one area of these five pieces of advice that I have for you.

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This is the one area I think I did the best at. And it wasn't necessarily because I was trying to be is because of the environment that I grew up in.

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When I was in high school, I was working at a Christian radio station while all of my friends were bagging groceries or flipping pizzas.

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And the radio station that I worked for aired two programs back to back focus on the family with Dr.

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James Dobson. It was back in the days when focus on the family was actually good. I don't recommend it anymore.

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It's kind of gotten wonky. But anyway, focus on the family and family life today with Dennis Rainey. Those two programs were back to back.

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And I listened almost every day, five days a week for years. And it really trained me and conditioned me for being a good husband and father.

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So these are things that you need to be learning now, because when that day comes, you will already have those through those tools and be equipped for doing what you need to do as the spiritual head of your household.

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Learn how to be a good husband and father. Number five, hold fast to Christ. So I started with Christ in the advice and I'm concluding with Christ.

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You find your identity in Christ. You need to hold fast to Christ. Ecclesiastes twelve one.

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Remember also your creator in the days of your youth before the evil days come in the years drawn near, of which you will say,

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I have no pleasure in them. And this one has always served me well. Also, in Psalm 119, 109,

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I hold my life in my hand continually, but I do not forget your law.

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There are going to be times when the world is going to beat us up and it's in those moments where it's the most difficult to see

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God. And so you must have a mind and a heart that that are filled with the word of God so that when those tough times come, you will fall right back on those promises that you've been given in scripture because you are a believer in Jesus Christ and we've been promised these things by the sealing of the

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Holy Spirit. You come back to those promises again when life gets tough, which will happen for you later on if it's if it's not already happening for you now.

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So there's my five pieces of advice. Number one, find your identity in Christ.

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Number two, grow up and be a man, be a man of God. Number three, invest in strong friendships, other men who are going to help you do that very thing.

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Grow up in the Lord. Number four, learn how to be a good husband and father. And number five, hold fast to Christ.

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Let us conclude with prayer. Our heavenly father, we thank you for the guidance that you give us regularly and the discipline that you apply to us because we are your children.

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We read about this in in Hebrews chapter 12, that because we are your adopted sons, we are disciplined.

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It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons for what son is there whom his father does not discipline.

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If you're left without discipline in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons.

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Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and and we respected them.

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Shall we not much more be subject to the father of spirits and live for they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them?

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But he disciplines us for our good that we may share in his holiness.

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And so, Lord, I pray that you would continue to train us all the more according to your word and discipline us in your spirit that we may be holy men and women of God made in the image of Christ.

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In whose name we pray. Amen. For more about our ministry, visit us online at WWUTT .com.