"Sound Doctrine" By General Pastor Peter F. Paine August 31st,
2014
I’m so glad to be here; I can’t
tell you how happy I am. I’m thrilled, I’m excited to
see my friend Preacher Howard his daughter, Glenda.
Is it all right if I talk about my good
friend, Preacher Howard, before I get into the message today? This room is filled with
people that I call
brothers and sisters and friends and I’m thankful.
I remember Preacher Howard, he came to me and
he said, “I heard that you have an interest in becoming a pilot.” I said, “I used to have
that interest.” He
said, “What do you mean you used to
have that interest?” I
said, “Well, you know, it’s not in my
budget to become a pilot.” He
said,
“Somebody told me your dad owned an airplane.”
I said, “That’s true.”
He said,
“Somebody told me that you said one day you were going to fly a plane.” I said, “That’s true.” He said, “What made you
change your
mind?” Well, now he
had my
attention. So he
took me to the airport,
and he showed me his airplane, and he took me for a ride. A week went by, and a
month went by, and he
said, “Are you ready to start your lessons to become a pilot?” but it
wasn’t in
my budget. A month
went by, and, Glenda,
one day your father walked into church carrying a big stack of books—I
never
read so many books in my life as that stack he was carrying. He had a leather-bound
portfolio that had—it
was red leather. Do
you remember that,
Preacher? It was
stitched in yellow; it
said, “Peter F. Paine” on it. There
was
a key on top of the pile of books and this leather portfolio, and it
was to his
Cessna. He said, “I
want you to get over
to the airport and start getting your lessons to become a pilot.” Preacher Howard and I flew
that plane all
over the country. We
got to meet some
great people. I
don’t know if you know
this about Preacher Howard, but he’s an honorary Tuskegee Airman. He got that because of
what he did and how he
treated folks. We
went to see Nelson
Mandela together. We
sat with the
president of the NAACP, Mr. Ben Chavis.
We travelled the country in that plane, didn’t we
Preacher? We met
some dignitaries. We
had some good times. I
remember one time we were flying over
I want to thank you for being y
brothers and sisters, here today.
I want
to thank you for your love. I
want to
thank you for your faithfulness. In
this
month, you’ve been studying on Sound Doctrine.
Just a show of hands right now—I’m not going to ask
you up to share—but
I want to ask you if you could just show me by a show of hands, how
many of you
have been blessed by this study this month, the sermons and the
teachings and
the testimonies on sound doctrine?
Around the room, hands are up, and I’m thankful for
that. When Parrish
shared with me that that was
your theme this month, it excited me and when I realized that I was
going to be
here with you today, I was excited, because I knew I was going to have
the
privilege to be part of this, and sound doctrine is near and dear to my
heart. So, I went
on-line and did some research on
sound doctrine, and I have to tell you, because it wouldn’t be fair—the
Bible
says give honor where honor is due (Romans 13:7)—it wouldn’t be fair
not to acknowledge
the fact that I stole some of my ideas today for this teaching from
John
MacArthur, a pastor. He
had some
teachings on-line about how that sound doctrine is very much the theme
of 1st
Timothy, 2nd Timothy, and Titus, when Paul’s
writing those pastoral
epistles. As I was
praying about what I
should teach, I couldn’t help but go back to that thought over and over
again,
so I wanted to acknowledge that before I begin to share with you today.
I love that sound doctrine is
something that we are talking about sound doctrine today, because it’s
something that’s not as popular as it used to be.
You know what? I’m glad that I’m well over
being popular. I’m
not here to be
politically correct. I’m
not looking to
please a big crowd; I’m looking to please an audience of One. I want to hear, “Well
done.” It’s nice to
have all the accolades of the
world, but they won’t get you to Heaven.
You see, you can have everybody in the world—there
was a man, Pastor
Davis told us about a man that ran a hardware store, and he was so
popular. Everybody
in town liked him, you see. There
was an upcoming election for mayor, and
they were looking for people in this city to represent the city as
mayor, and
somebody said, “Why don’t you run for mayor?
Everybody likes you.”
He said,
“If I ran for mayor, only half the people would like me.” You see, when you make a
stand for something,
you make a stand against something.
You
see, our goal as Christians isn’t to have everybody like us; our goal
as
Christians is to have the Lord love us, and to love the Lord in a way
that
others see Him in our lives.
I
need to get on with my teaching. Our
lead verse today is Titus 2:1. we’re
going to spend most of our time today in Titus chapter 2. I’m going to be making
some other references,
but that’s where we’re going to spend most of our time today. Of course, the Apostle
Paul is writing to
Titus, and Titus is fulfilling his ministerial calling on the Titus 1:5
For
this cause left I thee in
“For
this cause left I thee in Titus 1:5
For
this cause left I thee in Crete, that
thou shouldest set in order the things that are wanting, and ordain
elders in
every city, as I had appointed thee:
So
Paul writes this letter to Titus (this is the instructor talking to the
student) to strengthen the hand of Titus and to encourage Titus in the
task that
is set before him. This
letter that Paul
writes to Titus is not intended solely for Titus, but for the
congregations, so
that they will understand why Titus is doing what Titus is doing. So, when Paul’s writing to
Titus, he wants,
not only Titus, to know what his instruction is, what his direction
must be,
but he wants those that Titus is leading to understand, “Hey, Titus
isn’t—this
isn’t Titus’ idea; this is what he’s instructed to do.”
You know, all of us, as Christians, are
instructed to be about something.
We’re
supposed to be about something. We’re
supposed to make a difference. We’re
supposed to matter. We’re
called to be a
peculiar people; we’re not called to blend in, that’s not what we’re
supposed
to do. We’re called
to make a difference.
So,
chapter 1 of Titus deals with the leadership of the church. The church has to be set
in order with regard
to its leaders. There
are some careful
details given to the kind of men and the duty of those men that are to
be
pastors and that are to be elders in the church.
Then,
in Titus chapter 2, the focus shifts from pastors to the people, from
the elders
to the everybody. Chapter
2 is about the
character of a healthy church. What’s
our topic this month? Sound doctrine.
Titus chapter 2 is about the character of a healthy
church. Sound
doctrine and the character of a healthy
are the same thing. We’re
going to see
that more and more clearly today as we look through the Word. We will see in our study
today the fact that
sound doctrine is essential to a healthy church and a healthy church is
essential to sound doctrine. More
to the
point, we will see that they are essentially the same thing. Sound doctrine and a
healthy church really
are two ways of saying the same thing.
If you don’t think sound doctrine is important, I
hope that by the end
of the message today, you will have changed your mind and you will
believe that
sound doctrine is very important.
Scripture
is clear that God is concerned about the health of His body, the church. God is very concerned
about the church’s
spiritual health.
Those
of you who know me well, you know that I would rather preach than teach. I guess it’s because I
believe that education
without emotion won’t move us to action.
But, it is equally true that emotion without
education, or without
understanding, can move us in the wrong direction.
So, today is more teaching than preaching,
but, I ask you to be patient with me, and I ask you to please lend me
your energy. For
those of you who prefer more preaching
than teaching, I’ll be back! Today,
let
me teach.
We are talking about sound
doctrine, today. The
word ‘Sound’ in
Greek (hygiainō),
basically gives us our word, ‘hygiene,’ it means to be healthy. It is used nine
times in 1st Timothy, 2nd
Timothy, and in Titus. In
those three books, Paul directs Titus’
attention to the need for spiritual health.
If anything is clear in Paul’s writings in these
three books, it is that
the Lord is concerned about healthy doctrine and healthy living. Sound doctrine is sound
living. To borrow
Dr. King’s phrase, they are
inextricably tied.
Let
me make my case: Titus 1:9
Holding
fast the faithful word as he hath
been taught, that he may be able by sound doctrine both to exhort and
to
convince the gainsayers.
What
will be able to convince the gainsayers?
What will we use to exhort those?
Sound doctrine.
Now look with me
please at verse 13: Titus 1:13
This
witness is true. Wherefore rebuke them
sharply, that they may be sound in the faith;
Back
to front: If people
in the ministry are
going to be sound in faith, it’s going to be because they were rebuked
sharply
with what? sound doctrine. When
we hear
‘rebuke sharply’ in today’s vernacular, you might thin that’s somebody
yelling
at somebody. I
don’t think that’s the
context that Paul is speaking in here at all, I think it’s him
speaking—say,
listen, when we see a red light, what does it mean? stop. Yeah, it doesn’t mean,
“I’d like to suggest
that it might be a good idea to slow down at this intersection and look
for traffic.” When
you see a red light, it means ‘Stop.’
If you’ve ever been first at a red light when
it turns green and someone behind you has their finger on the horn, you
know
that a green light means, ‘Go.’ Right? And that’s the way sound
doctrine is. It’s
crystal clear. It
means what it means; it says what it says.
Living sound doctrine so that others may be
“sound in faith.” He
talks again about
sound doctrine and living it out by being sound in faith in: Titus 2:7
In all
things shewing thyself a pattern of
good works: in doctrine shewing uncorruptness, gravity, sincerity,
Now
look at verse 8: Titus 2:8
Sound
speech, that cannot be condemned; that
he that is of the contrary part may be ashamed, having no evil thing to
say of
you.
…having
no evil thing to say about you. Saints,
let me remind you today that this idea of sound doctrine is something
that we
have to take very seriously, because there will be people who will
oppose us as
we share the Gospel, and if we give them occasion to have an evil thing
to say
about us—Hello?—then they can dismiss this Gospel message because of
our lack
of character. That’s
why it’s essential
that we understand sound doctrine and that we live sound doctrine. The theme throughout the
pastoral epistles,
1st and 2nd Timothy and Titus, is clear:
It is the teaching of sound doctrine, followed by
sound living. Healthy
doctrine produces healthy living.
All this is in perfect contrast to the
teaching in these same three books of unsound doctrine which produces
unsound
living. If sound
doctrine produces sound
living, if healthy doctrine produces healthy living, then it’s equally
true
that unsound doctrine produces unsound living, or unhealthy living. Look at Titus chapter one
verse ten and
eleven now. This is
still Apostle Paul
writing, the teacher to his student. Titus 1:10-11 For there are
many unruly and vain talkers and deceivers, specially they of the
circumcision:
Whose mouths
must be stopped, who
subvert whole houses, teaching things which they ought not, for filthy
lucre's
sake.
How
can you recognize if somebody is teaching something they ought not if
you don’t
have sound doctrine. How
can you
recognize if someone isn’t teaching the truth if you don’t know the
truth. Someone
said, “Stop teaching, Pastor, just
preach.” I know you
can tell that I’m
reading from notes today, but, you see, I’m teaching today. Please let me teach today,
because this idea
of sound doctrine is important, and we can’t take it lightly. I didn’t come here today
to entertain you; I
didn’t come here to make you laugh.
I
came to teach something that we’ve got to get and get right.
In
verse 16, the Apostle Paul says: Titus 1:16
They
profess that they know God; but in
works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every
good
work reprobate.
Look
at Titus three now, in verse nine: Titus 3:9
But
avoid foolish questions, and
genealogies, and contentions, and strivings about the law; for they are
unprofitable and vain.
You
see, you can make some flowery speeches, but you’d better have some
profit your
speeches, right? Warren
Buffett was
asked one time, what was the most important part about making money,
and he
said, “profit.” He
said every dollar
that you have has to show a profit or a return on investment, or else
it failed
to do his job. We
have to give a return
on our investment, of the blood of Christ in our lives. Amen? Paul is
saying in verse nine this
stuff is unhealthy and it’s unsound.
What stuff? What we just read here: foolish
questions, genealogies,
contentions, strivings about the law.
He
said it’s unprofitable and vain, it’s unsound, it’s unhealthy. Unhealthy learning leads
to unhealthy living,
that’s why sound doctrine is important.
Unsound
doctrine is unhealthy and leads to spiritual death.
It’s clear that sound doctrine matters. If a church is to be
spiritually healthy, if
it is to be sound, whole, if it is to have strength, power, and
well-being, it
must have sound doctrine!!!
So,
Paul says to Titus these words: Titus 2:1
But
speak thou the things which become sound
doctrine:
Now it’s interesting here in
chapter 2, verse one, he didn’t say preach, he said speak. It’s
interesting
because this isn’t just sound doctrine from the pulpit, it’s sound
doctrine on
the job, it’s sound doctrine at the gas station, It's sound doctrine
when
you're out with your friends, it's sound doctrine wherever you go.
Speak thou
the things which become sound doctrine. Remember the preceding verse,
Titus
1:16 I just read chapter 2 verse 1, the preceding verse is chapter 1
verse
16. Let me remind
you what Paul said
again: Paul said to Titus, “Speak thou the things which become sound
doctrine.”
What was the first appreciated it chapter 1 verse 16:
“There are those that profess to know God but
deny Him…” People profess to know God but they deny him? Boy, oh boy!
If we
don’t speak the
things which become
sound doctrine, We
compound the problem,
because they're saying something that isn't true, and we don't know how
to
respond to it. Titus 2:1 addresses that problem with the
solution, and
the solution is
speaking those things
which become sound doctrine.
This
is how good overcomes evil; this is how sound doctrine overcomes false
doctrine. When
false doctrine is not
defeated by sound doctrine, the church becomes unhealthy. If left without resolve,
the church dies. In
Titus 2:1, Paul was saying to Titus, “Know
the truth; speak the truth.” Then in verses 2 trough 10 Paul teaches
references
to confirm that sound doctrine is resulting in sound living. Titus
chapter 2 verses
two through ten—I want to suggest some things to you. I’d like to read
verses
two through ten of Titus chapter 2. I want to suggest some things to
you: I’d
like to read verses two through 10 of Titus chapter 2, and what I’d
like to ask
you to think about as I read this, and I’m going to take a little time
to do
this without editorial. Please turn in your Bibles to Titus chapter 2,
and it’s
verses two through 10. I
want to ask you to think of someone you know
who lives this, or maybe somebody from Scripture who exemplifies this
that
would stand up and speak this to us, by way of their testimony. Titus 2:2-10
That
the aged men be sober, grave,
temperate, sound in faith, in charity, in patience. The aged women
likewise,
that they be in behaviour as becometh holiness, not false accusers, not
given
to much wine, teachers of good things; That they may teach the young
women to
be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children, To be
discreet,
chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the
word of
God be not blasphemed. Young men likewise exhort to be sober minded. In
all
things shewing thyself a pattern of good works: in doctrine shewing
uncorruptness, gravity, sincerity, Sound speech, that cannot be
condemned; that
he that is of the contrary part may be ashamed, having no evil thing to
say of
you. Exhort servants to be obedient unto their own masters, and to
please them
well in all things; not answering again; Not purloining, but shewing
all good
fidelity; that they may adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour in all
things.
This
is where preaching sound doctrine leaves the pulpit and is lived in the
people
in everyday life. The
first eleven
chapters of Romans are filled with teaching on doctrine, then in Romans
chapter
12, we leap from the learning to the living of sound doctrine. Romans 12:1-2 I beseech you
therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies
a
living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable
service.
And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the
renewing of
your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and
perfect,
will of God. That’s
action. In verses 4
through 8—I’m going
to skip through, those of you who are taking notes, and are in the very
good
habit of reviewing your notes, because I cannot possibly touched it all
in
service today. Even with this whole month of teaching on sound
doctrine, we
can’t cover it all in the preaching, we have to take some time to learn
it on
our own. If you'll
take some time and
study these verses, you will learn, you will grow, you will see where
you can
do better. I’ve shared this particular testimony before, so those of
you who
have heard it, please indulge me while I share it again for those of
you who
haven't. I remember when I hit a particularly rough spot in my life,
and by
rough spot I simply mean it was dry, I wasn’t growing; I wasn’t feeling
that I
could nourish anyone else because I wasn’t feeling nourished myself. I
had been
in ministry for several years at that time, but somehow, someway, maybe
somebody here can relate to what I’m saying, I had hit a place where I
felt
like it was just going through the motions. I think athletes might call
it,
"I was just phoning it in." I
was just going through the motions, and the motions were right, but
really it
was more rote than heart. Does that make sense? I sat down one night I
can
picture exactly the chair I was in, and where I was at, I said, "Lord,
I'm
going to read your word until I get answer. I know you answer me, God,
but I
just can’t take another day of feeling this way. I feel disconnected, I
feel
disoriented, I just feel that I have to reconnect with you." Hello? And
so
I began reading, and I don’t remember where I started, but I remember
when I
came to the eighth verse of the first chapter
of James, I read, “A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.” It
was as
if the Holy Spirit drew a circle around it, and said, “Stop right
there;
there's your answer.” The brilliant man that I am, I started to explain
to the
Lord I am not double minded; in fact, I am the very model of
single-mindedness.
Oh God, you can’t mean that’s my answer, because I live for you every
day, I
tithe, I fast—uh oh. You see, I had become busy about the busyness of
life, as
Pastor Davis would say, “I became busy with church work and not the
work of the
church.” I was crossing T’s and dotting the I’s, and I forgot about the
souls
that were important to God. I was like those who were standing by the
woman
caught in the act of adultery, and wanting to see how Jesus would
handle it by
the law instead of by the understanding which was that there was a soul
weighing in the balance. He called me back to single-mindedness, and he
said,
“See it the way I see it, do it the way I do it, live it the way I live
it.
You’ve become more concerned with the letter of the law.” The Bible
said-Parrish and I were having dinner last night, I think our waiter
must have
wondered about us, Parrish. There we were, two grown men, so happy and
loving
the Lord; we were so happy at one point we both had tears of joy
running down
our faces. Two guys who have known each other for more than 20 years,
and
loving the Lord, making mistakes together, and learning together, and
just getting
up one more time after getting knocked down again, and saying today
could be
the day. And I said, “Let it be today, Lord, I’m ready.” Parrish and I
were
just having great fellowship, and our waiter kept coming back, and he
kept
looking at us. I think he wanted to sit down and join us, it was such a
great
blessing. I probably said that for a reason, I just forgot what it was.
I don’t
know why I said that, but it was fun saying it. You
see, we have to live this thing that we're learning about.
We’ve got to live it every day. When he said, “prove what is that
good…”-Oh, I
know what I was doing, I was telling you about my testimony.
James
one and eight. For those of you that were
making fun of me for forgetting where I was at, live long enough, and
you'll do
it too. It beats the alternative. “Pete was a good guy, he never forgot
anything, but he died young.” So, James one and eight says, “A double
minded
man is unstable in all his ways.” If you’ll study-Here’s the point I
was trying
to make there-if you will study these Scriptures that we’re going over
today, right
now I would suggest, read Romans chapter 12, all of it, and think about
it,
“Lord, where’s my answer, in here, for how I should be living sound
doctrine
every day of my life?” Because, when I got that
answer that night-and
I'm going back to make reference to the testimony- when I got that
answer that
night, it was like someone turned on a light in a dark room for me. I
could see
clearly where I was wrong, and how to make it right. It
wasn't that I was living in sin, it was that
I had lost the focal point on my priorities. Amen? Sound doctrine is
all about
priorities. So in Romans chapter 12 verse two, this is prove what is
that good
and acceptable and perfect will of God. In verses four through eight,
we
are reminded that we are part of a body, and every part of that body is
needed. All of us,
in that body, must be
doing our part.
In
verses nine through twenty-one-I’m taking a quick breeze through Romans
chapter
12, here, but I hope you’ll take sometimes-in verses nine through
twenty-one, we
are exhorted to overcome evil with good, and that’s sound doctrine. Good doctrine must lead to
good living if we
are to have a testimony that will cause others to take note of God in
us. In Colossians,
the first two chapters
highlight sound doctrine, and then in chapter 3, Paul says, “…Seek
those things
which are above…” So, in the first two chapters he’s talking about what
it is,
and in chapter 3 he’s talking about how to do it. And make no mistake,
in Titus
2:15, the authority that Paul is referring to is not the authority of
an office
or a position, it is the authority of the Word of God; it is the
authority of
sound doctrine. Titus 2:15
These
things speak, and exhort, and rebuke
with all authority. Let no man despise thee.
You
have that authority if you have sound doctrine. With sound doctrine we
have the
tool to live a life in word and deed that will help those who will
receive it,
and take away the excuse of those who will not.
Sound doctrine is a big deal. By the way, it’s not
our doctrine, it’s
God’s. Luke 10:16
He that heareth you
heareth Me; and he that despiseth you despiseth Me; and He that
despiseth Me,
despiseth Him that sent Me.
In
other words, how you live will directly determine how people feel
about the Word of God. I want to say that again:
how I live, how we
live will directly determine how people feel about the Word of God. People judge the validity
of Scripture by
those of us claim to believe it, live our lives.
I’m teaching today, but let
me meddle a little bit. Let me see if I
can't step on some toes; let me see if I can’t just get in your
business a
little bit. Me see if I can’t bother you a little bit, bother you
enough to
where you go to God and say, “Is that right, Lord? Does
that possibly apply to me?” You see, we
invite people to church , and we want them to come, but then, when they
get
here, what do they find us doing? Are
we doing what the world is doing? Are we spending more time
with the pretty ones than the ugly ones? I heard a preacher say one
time,
“You’ve got to have some ugly friends.” I don’t know how to say this
but just
to say it, because I feel like I should say it: See,
what a pretty girl comes to church, a lot of you guys want to
give her a lot of attention; when her mother comes to church, you don't
want to
know her name. What a pretty girl comes to church, you want to help her
to her
seat; what her fiancé comes to church want to help him to the door.
Some
of you guys are saying, "I treat all
women the same." Tell
that to someone
else. I'm not lying, I know a pretty woman when I see one. You say,
“But,
you’re married, pastor, it’s easy for you.” That's
right. Not only am I married, I'm married to the prettiest
girl in the world, and that makes it even easier. But we’re still
called to live
right. So,
don't let your
excuse help you to do something that isn't right. Why did I say all of
that?
Not to put you in your place, but to make sure that there is a place
for those
who, do come, and they know they’re not being treated like objects,
they’re
being treated like souls.
I walked into a room full of people; I had a $1000
suit
on-thank you, preacher Howard; I’ve only had one, and you bought it for
me.
You
remember that suit, Preacher? It was green.
I wore that suit until it literally wore out. Let me tell you about the
last
day I wore that suit. The last day-Preacher Howard said to me, “You
need a nice
suit.” Now I had fine clothes-well, they were okay that’s what I mean
when I
say fine. But he said, "No, no, you need a nice suit." He
took me to a store in
So, when Paul says to Titus, “Here are
the
standards…” Paul is
saying to Titus,
“here’s the deal, older men are to live like this (remember what we
just read?);
older women like this; younger women like this; younger men like this;
and
everyone in the workplace like this…”
Here
is the reason: When
we don’t live lives
based on the Word of God, God is mocked and disregarded. Our understanding of sound
doctrine is
essential to our being able to live it, and our living it is essential
to
others being able to accept it. Titus 2:8
Sound
speech, that cannot be condemned; that
he that is of the contrary part may be ashamed, having no evil thing to
say of
you.
Non-believers
love it when Christians mess up. Non-believers love it when Christians
fail. It’s an easy
excuse to disregard
God’s Word, to disregard sound doctrine.
Listen to this: when
we learn it,
when we live it, they don’t have an excuse, they just have a choice.
You know
what? When you say truth, and it’s crystal clear that it’s the truth,
they can’t
find fault with you, they can’t find fault with how you live, they
can’t find
fault with where you worship, they can’t find fault with anything else,
then
it’s just a choice: Are you going to accept this truth I've presented
to you,
or not?
If it's based in sound
doctrine, it's not an opinion.
Let’s
wrap up this morning this way; sound doctrine comes down to this: Titus 2:10
Not
purloining, but shewing all good
fidelity; that they may adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour in all
things.
Listen,
Saints, we can’t adorn (or beautify) or (draw attention to) the
doctrine of God
if we don’t look like we are saved and we don’t live like we are saved.
It
really boils down to how sound doctrine is lived. Matthew 5:16
Let your light so shine before
men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which
is in
heaven.
We
spent the month looking at sound doctrine, here. I pray that you will
continue
to study it, and you will continue to live it. In areas where you find
you’re
judging yourself on a scale of 1 to 10; areas where you find you’re not
living
sound doctrine at a 10, that you will move in that direction. Maybe you won’t get to 10 in a day,
but examine yourself. Look at sound doctrine as
a way of learning, as a way of living. In areas where you find yourself
at a
two, or a three, or a four, or a five, move it up a notch, and then
another,
and then another. The reason I say that as I close today, is that
sometimes the
devil will tell us, you know, I can’t make that big of a change in my
life. But
you can make a change. You
can make a change. I
remember a day-I have to share this, because somebody isn’t quite
willing to
make a change yet. I remember the day that Debbie said she felt like
she had to
compete for my attention. I
was pastoring, I was leading a busy life, I was fulfilling a lot of
responsibilities, and yet, at home, I have a wife and three children.
My
wife said to me, "I feel like I'm
competing for your attention." Hello? This is the woman that I stood at
the altar and said “For better or for worse, for richer or for poorer,
until
death us do part.” She says, “I feel like I’m competing for your
attention.”
She says, “I feel like I have to make an appointment just to talk to
you.” I
could have said, "I've got a lot going on. I'm a busy man. If you don't
like it…" I could've said, "You know, there's other women that would
be happy to be married to me," but I'm not that stupid. I thought,
"How can I change it?" I prayed. God blessed me, because I heard
something that
very next day. I
happened to be listening to 90.1 on the FM radio. I don’t know if
that’s still
the same station it was when I-90.1. A preacher came on, and he said,
“Hey,
husbands, let me tell you something: if your wife feels neglected, let
me give
you a tip: when you walk in your house, make sure that for the first 10
minutes
the church in that house, nothing
has
your attention, but your wife and your children. If the house is on
fire, let
it be on fire, until you say hello to your wife and your children. If
your wife
wants to tell you how her day was, you listen. If your wife wants to
tell you
how the children did in school,
you listen. You give
them your undivided attention for the first 10 minutes that you're in
that
house.” I thought, “That’s got to be very simple. 10 minutes? I mean,
there’s
24 hours in a day. 10 minutes? That can’t be a big task.” So, me, Mr.
Big Shot,
with a pager; people call me because they can’t live without me. I walk
in the
house, only to realize that my pager beeps, and I have to return a
call, and it
hit me, my wife is neglected. We’re talking about sound doctrine, but
I’m
trying to get your attention that it’s time for a change. Will you let
me say
this, so that you can get the point? Will you let me show you my flaw
so that I
can help you see yours? I thought, “Oh my goodness. Thank you, Lord,
you just
answered my prayer. You just showed me what I can do different. In 10
minutes a
day, I can make a difference. that will be a starting point to make the
next
step, and the next step, and the next step." Hello? I remember the next
day, I walked in the house; I said, “Hi, Debbie.” She
said, “Hi, Pete.”
My pager went off. I didn’t even look at it. I just hit the off
button-this was
before cellular phones. I just hit the off button. She said, “Aren’t
you going
to look at that?” I said, “Not until I talk to you.” How are you doing
with
sound doctrine?Are
you willing to make
a change so that it has the priority in your life it's supposed to?
I
want to reach in the text that Debbie sent me. I’m going home tomorrow.
She’s
going to pick me up at the airport. She texted me, “I love you more
today than
yesterday. I will love you more tomorrow than today. I can't wait to
see you
tomorrow." What if I hadn't made that little change? What if I hadn't
made
that change? What if you don't make that change? I picked an example
where I
was the failure and I had to get it right, so that I could help
somebody today
as I close this message, say, “Yeah, there is something I’m doing
wrong. There
is something I can change. I might not be able to get it all done in a
day, but
I can make a step in the right direction to get sound doctrine as the
centerpiece of my life where it belongs. That wasn't the only change I
had to
make to make sure Debbie didn't feel like she had to compete for my
attention
, but it was a big step in the right direction.
I made many more steps . How are you doing with sound doctrine? I was
talking
about my wife because I think that's something that we can all relate
to. She's
the love of my life. What about the love of your life in a spiritual
context?
Are you willing to do what it takes to change? Take a step in the right
direction today, and another tomorrow, and another tomorrow, and
another
tomorrow until you’ve got the relationship you longed for the Lord
Jesus
Christ? Until sound doctrine is what people see when they look at you?
I love
you, Saints. I love you too much to try to make you laugh. I love you
too much
to try to make you feel good. I came here today with a message, and I
hope
you're willing to let it help you see the woman, the man, the boy, the
girl,
the person that God would have you to be. God bless you.
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