09/19/2024
I was reading about what is called commonplace religion, that is, religion which is shaped around what is easy, formed around what others say and not by fervent prayer, God's Word, His will, and our own self-denial. Today we live in a feel good society in which people say "if it feels good then it must be good and right." But that isn't what the bible teaches us. We were never meant to shape our own religion, or alter the Word of God, we were never meant to form a commonplace religion that serves our whims.
“The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever.”
Isaiah 40:8 ESV
This led me to read Titus 2 this morning and as an aging man within my church, its opening two verses convicted me...
“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.”
Titus 2:1 KJV
And, older women were equally instructed and should be convicted as well. listen…
“Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good, and so train the young women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled.”
Titus 2:3-5 ESV
Some churches call their older members "Elders”; but whatever they are called, they are the ballast in the boat that keeps it upright through sudden storms and changing seas. They are not prone to abandoning tenets of faith when times are troubling, or to give into throwing things overboard to lighten the load when tested. Elders do not easily succumb to the intoxication of speed, nor do they unwisely set more sails when God tells them to seek safe harbor.
I suggest that we each read Titus 2 this morning; it teaches us that the world does not define the church... but that the church defines the world. It speaks to the value of age, the accumulation of wisdom, and how we, the seasoned hands aboard God's ship, the elders, should, more than others, anticipate and obey the captain's orders… having sailed under him through many storms and dangers. Our ship (the Church) is constructed of God's Word and captained by our Lord Jesus Christ... and we are on a voyage towards our home port where we will be in our Father's presence once again… let’s not abandon our course, let the wind blow us asunder, or mutiny against the captain’s commands, but lean on Him as we follow His skilled leadership and find our way home.
This morning I pray that that each of our individual churches will turn to their elders for direction. I pray that the older men and women of the Church will provide wisdom, and stability, and will temper the desire of the young believers who, in their quest to redirect the church towards what is trendy and easy, are prone to set new sails, and follow man’s will over God’s. I pray that the young will honor the faith of their parents in Christ as they seek God's presence. I pray that in this world of rapid change and worldly influence, that we don’t lose sight of the fact that God’s tenets are unchanging and true, and that they are steady through all weather and time; no matter the direction the world takes. Finally, I pray that God blesses the young as they seek their own salvation with fear and trembling, and struggle to understand a faith that is ancient and everlasting amidst the modern world they find themselves engaged in. I pray that the young will come to value the aged wine contained in the church's oldest vessels.
“Forever, O Lord, your word is firmly fixed in the heavens.”
Psalm 119:89
Prayer:
Father, thank you for the aged members of your Church who have followed you for so long, and who have remained true to your Word, your will, and the course you have set us on. Thank you for the lessons of faith that take time to learn, and for the wisdom that, like a fine wine, grows richer in flavor over time. Thank you Lord for showing us the unchanging nature of your commandments, and that no temptation or desire of man is new in this world… that at most they are clothed differently, but at their heart are the same. Help us Father to stay the course you have laid for us despite the temptation to do otherwise. Help us to defrock the old sins that have been clothed in modern garments, and to see that the truth of your Ancient Word has truly been upheld. Holy, Holy, Holy are you our God who was, and is, and is to come. Holy are you who knows the beginning from the end, who gives us your infallible Word, and who leads us through your unchanging nature accordingly. We praise you now as you have been praised through the ages. We worship you as you are worshiped eternally, and we hold fast to your Word because it has been, and always will be… true. You are our God, our Master, our Lord, our Father, our Abba, and our all in all; never changing, always true, loving, good, merciful, and full of grace. In all things we see you, and in everything we will remain true to your will. Blessed and Holy are you our hope, our promise, and our unwavering truth.
Amen, Amen, Amen!
“4 A generation goes, and a generation comes,
but the earth remains forever.
5 The sun rises, and the sun goes down,
and hastens to the place where it rises.
6 The wind blows to the south
and goes around to the north;
around and around goes the wind,
and on its circuits the wind returns.
7 All streams run to the sea,
but the sea is not full;
to the place where the streams flow,
there they flow again.
8 All things are full of weariness;
a man cannot utter it;
the eye is not satisfied with seeing,
nor the ear filled with hearing.
9 What has been is what will be,
and what has been done is what will be done,
and there is nothing new under the sun.
10 Is there a thing of which it is said,
“See, this is new”?
It has been already
in the ages before us.”
Ecclesiastes 2:4-10 ESV
Rich Forbes