[Music] you join the prayer father we are indeed grateful to you for the privilege of gathering together in this place and setting our minds attention and hearts affection on you entering into this two-way conversation that we call worship having the privilege of saying things to you and about you that we know and believe to be true and then anxiously anticipating those moments where you in turn speak to us clearly and powerfully through your word to the end that our lives would be touched and challenged and changed and transformed and even conformed to the very image
of Christ and it is to that moment that we've come and we do say speak Lord for your servants desire to hear and to heed what it is that you would say we pray this in Christ's name and for his sake amen well it is good to be here with you on this evening I have looked forward to this there are men all over the place who are just incredibly jealous that I have the opportunity to do this my son Trey is here with me he's 17 years old been travelling with me for the last
three and a half years so if you see a tall lanky handsome caramel-colored young man walking around here that's probably my boy and if he's in trouble let me know I have the opportunity this evening to set the table for us as we go through this weekend and I want to do that by turning our attention to two things one in the manifesto if you have that with you pick that up if you open it on the inside the third panel on the inside I want you to see a couple of things that I think
are extremely poignant as it relates to the message tonight third panel first one says God's plan are you there third panel on the inside says God's plan God's plan for gender is wider than marriage all women whether married or single are to model femininity in their various relationships by exhibiting a distinctive modesty responsiveness and gentleness of spirit then look down at the third one their mature Christian women mature Christian women have a responsibility to leave a legacy of faith by disciple 11 in the word and ways of God and modeling for the next generation lives
of fruitful femininity amen hallelujah praise the Lord that's just good y'all in light of that I want us to look at Titus chapter 1 and chapter 2 we're actually going to go backwards and you'll explain why we go backwards here in a little bit we're gonna start in Titus chapter 2 and here's what I want to share with you there will be many speakers over the course of this weekend who deal with Titus chapter 2 I am going to give you the view from 35,000 feet tonight we're going to look at this in a brought
from a broader perspective tonight and I want to put this together when Nancy called me about coming she said I want you to open us up and we we always want a pastor to open us up and just speak these women as a pastor so I'm privileged to do that and I want to speak to you about Titus to womanhood within the context of the ministry of the local church Titus to womanhood true womanhood within the context of the ministry of the local church and in order to do that here's what I want you to
see tonight that God gives us a picture in Titus chapter 1 in Titus chapter 2 of what he has provided for our sanctification for our discipleship if you will the way that God shapes our lives as believers there are many tools that God uses in that process but there are three principal tools that we see here in Titus chapter 1 and Titus chapter 2 and I'll give you those three tools and then we'll look at these passages of Scripture they are as follows number one godly mature men and women in the church godly mature men
and women in the church and by the way all that all of that's important hey godly and mature men and women and in the church all that's important secondly he gives us and this may be the most controversial part of this whole message and for those of you who don't know me and don't know about my ministry or my preaching you need to know that I avoid controversy at every turn and really do not at all like to be controversial so this is very difficult for me alright number two God gives us godly manly elders
and pastors sit again godly manly elders and pastors and you'll understand in a few moments why I put manly in there okay godly manly elders and pastors and then there's a third piece he gives us biblically functioning homes biblically functioning homes now these are the three things that God gives us now this is a Women's Conference so let me say this as we begin okay though I don't mean to over generalize here but there are some differences that I have come to recognize between men and women in my years of ministry for example one of
the differences that I've recognized between men and women and my years of ministry is this with with men if I'm at a Men's Conference and men want to know me they want to know what I do man knows what you do he knows you that's a man's perspective women's conference if a woman wants to know you she wants to know who you're connected to Amen somebody yes I know what you do but tell me about your wife and your children that's when you feel like you know somebody here's the other thing I've noticed when you're
dealing with a subject and you're talking to women here's the way women hear what you say they hear you say something and they say well that might work in an ideal situation but I've got this problem in this problem in this problem so can you make that specific so that I know the paint-by-numbers steps to do so that my particular situation can work out perfectly in that context help you here's what you need to know I am going to be sharing the picture of the ideal tonight here's the second thing you need to know no
one in this room is living in the midst of the ideal tonight amen so here's what we're going to do as we look at the picture of the ideal when I talk about things that are in place in your life I want you to just say Amen and thank God for His grace and His mercy bringing those things to pass in your life because it's because it is the mercy the Grace and the Providence of God that has whatever piece of this puzzle is in place in your life actually in place in your life so
you're gonna thank God for that here's the second thing you're going to do you're going to acknowledge confess and repent when you recognize things that aren't in place in your life because of your sin here's the third thing you're gonna do you're gonna beg God to change those things that aren't in place in your life because of things beyond your control here's the fourth thing you're gonna do you are going to seek God for all of these things and not give up on what you don't have that's what we're gonna do so I'm telling you
right now before we even start no one in this room is going to be able to say yes that's me most of the people on this in the we're going to have to say you know that is the ideal but my husband that is the ideal but my church that is the ideal but my family that is the ideal but so let's just put all of those out there right now on the table recognize that we all have them now put them in your pocket and listen to this and don't get distracted by what you
don't have can we do that tonight amen all right let's begin let's go backwards Titus chapter 2 here's the first thing godly mature men and women in the church this is one of those gifts that God gives to us for our discipleship our maturity our growing in Christ look at this in verse 1 but as for you teach what accords with sound doctrine older men are to be sober minded dignified self-control sound in faith and love and in steadfastness there's the picture of the older men older men are to be now since this is a
women's conference we won't spend a lot of time here for a number of reasons because number one we spend a lot of time here then you go to your husband telling them what I said they're supposed to be and you're not gonna use me like that but older men are to be look at the second one verse three older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior notice that with older men and with older women we're talking about what they're to be we're talking about character in other words I said godly mature men and women
in the church not just mature men and women in the church there are two kinds of people who are former sinners to at least two kinds of people there is one type of person who is a former center and again we're all sinners saved by grace but you know what I'm talking about there are those people who were out there in the world something fierce and they are not anymore and there's one type of person who's not out there anymore because God has gotten ahold of their life they've been transformed they're being conformed to the
very image of Christ they had been saved and they have been delivered and this process of sanctification is taking root in their life as a result of the justification that they have found in Christ and glory to God for those people but there is a second group of people it's not out there in the world like it used to be and that's just because they can't do it no more if you can't say hey man you ought to say ouch I'm talking about godliness we're talking about character here so this is not automatic for people
who just happen to be older this is character that's formed over time as a result of our justification and the fruit of that our sanctification so that's what we're talking about in light of that look at this first with older men they're to be sober minded dignified nothing like an undignified older man Amen self-controlled difference between an older man and a younger man basically self-control over time as a man gets older and he matures in Christ the difference is self-control you see him at a stoplight in a sports car younger man stoplight sports car that's
just bad something Bad's about you know the car comes up with next to them revs their engine okay fine I'm a young man I'm in my car they're in their car they're revving engine engine it's time to race now put an older man behind the wheel who is dignified and self controlled and there's a young man in the car with him granddaddy they just revved their injury I think we're faster than them I do too like turns greens granddaddy just pulls off nice and slow granddaddy why why didn't you put you listen you said you
know we're faster I said I know we're faster well I gotta prove it yeah but see great you supposed you self-control difference between older man and younger man look at the next part of the text sound in faith in love and in steadfastness that's the picture that's a picture of character forged over time now look at older women older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior perhaps the only thing worse than an undignified older man is an irreverent older woman amen to just an irreverent older woman now we could spend a long time here
tonight talking about what it looks like to be an irreverent older woman but let me just give you one example and we can be done with it right here an irreverent older woman here is the mark of an irreverent older woman you hear her long before you see her the words of that theologian Forrest Gump that's all I have to say about that older women likewise ought to be reverent in behavior not slanderers or slaves too much wine not slanderers women you need to know you have a unique power in your tongue you have a
unique power to build up and to tear down you use more words than we do and you use them more effectively than we do just like the older man is exemplified by self-control the older woman is exemplified by the way she uses her speech not slaves too much wine they are to teach what is good here's what you need to understand the picture that's painted here is of an older woman who as a result of having walked with God being conformed to the image of Christ opens her mouth and pearls of biblical wisdom come out
she speaks God language the opposite of being a slanderer she is the picture of Ephesians chapter 4 speaking those things that are fitting and suited for the occasion speaking those things that build up but more importantly speaking those things that are found in God's Word she is a woman who speaks forth God's truth now this is not a picture by the way Titus 2 is not a picture of a woman who happens to be a Bible teacher that's not the picture that's not the picture that Paul is painting here in Titus chapter 2 he's not
painting the picture of a woman who teaches multiple women but older women who in a relational perspective speak words of wisdom speak God's truth into the lives of younger women as they have occasion and opportunity and look at the end thereof and so verse 4 train the young women to love their husbands and children not amazing train the young women to love their husbands and children now we usually think about love from this respect why would a younger woman need to be trained to love or her husband because she doesn't know how yes but that's
why she married her husband because she loved him well maybe but if she was brought up in this culture she probably didn't know what love is she thinks love is an overwhelming uncontrollable sensual force and she speaks phrases like this thing is bigger than both of us and she says things like we don't choose who we fall in love with he has to say it like that to her it doesn't work or she says things like this is my favorite the heart wants what it wants what does that mean she has no idea how to
love her husband she has no idea that her husband is you know 70% water and the worst the rest is ego she didn't know how to love her children younger women don't know how to love their children they say crazy things like I love my child I could never expect my child cuz I love my child they need an older woman to come alongside and say if you love that baby you better wear him out to be self-controlled pure working at home teaching them to be keepers of their homes that the word of god may
not be reviled what a statement in order that the Word of God may not be reviled in other words when older women are not in the practice of training and teaching younger women how to exemplify true womanhood there is a sense in which we are defiling the Word of God why is that so what we see for example in Romans chapter 1 in the degradation of culture that picture there from Romans 1:18 on we see that the beginning of the degradation of culture and men running towards sin is a rejection of what we see through
general revelation and that is that there is a God and that he is the creator of all things as a result of that we have our own sense of order our own understanding of what manhood is our own understanding of what womanhood is and if we are walking in the midst of a culture that denies true manhood and denies true womanhood several things will inevitably follow one of those things that will follow is this according to Ephesians chapter 5 marriage is designed to be a picture of the relationship between Jesus Christ and His Church so
if the Bible tells us what a man is and what a woman is and the Bible tells us what marriage and marriage is a glorious earthly representation of a heavenly relationship between Christ and His Church and I decide not to listen to that but instead based on my culture that rejects God I redefine manhood so that it sissified I redefine womanhood so that it's no longer about being a woman but a man who happens to be biologically capable of having children I redefine marriage so that we sort of negotiate for ourselves a better understanding than
the creator of the universe now what I'm doing is marring the picture of the relationship between Christ and His Church and the Word of God is being dishonored it's being defamed and we can't have that so these things need to be taught so God has given us this incredible gift of godly mature men and women in the church and these relationships between godly mature men and women in the church and younger men and women in the church so as mature women in the church you have an incredibly important role you have the role of striving
for maturity of walking and maturity of exemplifying biblical womanhood and not holding it through yourself but passing it on to younger woman as you have occasion and opportunity to do so so God gives that to you when you are less mature a woman and you turn around and give it away to another when you were more mature woman this is what he gives oh I know what you're saying yeah I get that and I understand that but you just don't understand my situation I would like to be a godly mature woman but I didn't have
an example of that when I was growing up altogether here's what you need to know I didn't grow up with godly manhood in my life I did not grow up with godly examples in my life I just came back from Los Angeles and God's providence last weekend I had a conference in the LA area grew up in Los Angeles I grew up in drug infested gang infested South Central Los Angeles California was raised by a single teenaged Buddhist mother never heard the gospel - my freshman year in college grew up on with my mother so
I didn't have much connection with my father's side of the family well my father died four years ago at the age of 55 our grandfather is now dying have the opportunity to go while I was there for that conference to speak to my grandfather he was in the hospital he has stage four cancer congestive heart failure renal failure it's just a matter of time I was able to see him minister to him to say my good-byes before he would finally go home they sent him home to die and here is the reality I'm 41 years
old was not raised on that side of my family and I said my family's been decimated there's no men left so now I'm getting all the calls about what to do because like it or not on that side of my family I'm now the patriarch well I never saw that before no I didn't guess I'm just got to rely on this there are a lot of things that we don't get to see but God's bigger than what you didn't get to see God's bigger than the failures and your families my wife Bridget and I last
two generations both sides of our families 25 marriages 22 divorces that's our legacy that's it here's what I want you to know God is able and he is sufficient you're here tonight and you say I've never seen that I don't understand that yes you have it's here there are godly mature women in the scriptures read of them learn from them and trust the Spirit of the Living God who abides in you he is sufficient so so when I say that here's what I'm saying to God well I say yes I see that but you know
I didn't grow up with that or I didn't have a godly mother I didn't have a godly father here's what I'm saying to the god of the universe God I understand what your word says but my circumstances were not anticipated by you and you're not powerful enough to overcome them don't you dare don't you dare and if you are an immature woman what do you do find a godly mature woman and glean from her whatever you can my wife that spent so much time doing this when we were young we got married the summer between
my sophomore and junior year in college I just turned 20 years old this year I've officially been married longer than I wasn't glory to God and so here we were we didn't know how to do it we didn't we just we didn't know come here from Sikkim I mean we just we didn't we didn't get it we didn't understand so what it would do we found godly mature couples and hung out with them until they looked at us and said you know what can we have some space do that there's a second leg remember the
first leg is godly mature men and women in the church and so if you are a mature woman in the church you need to give your life away the younger woman if you're a younger woman in the church you need to not be prideful and seek out godly mature women in the church and actually listen to what they have to say imagine that there's a bunch of high school young ladies who stood up in the room let me give you a little newsflash not only do you not know much you don't know nothing the sooner
you realize that the better off you'll be amen and I said that exactly the way I intended to you don't know nothing I would say you don't know anything but that's just not strong enough you don't know nothing all right look at the second-leg godly manly elders and pastors in the church why do I say that well here's what's interesting the older women and young women there's a list there's guidance they're you know older women you give them these things younger women you look for these things from the older woman and then for the younger
man you look at the next one it says likewise urge the younger man to be self-control yeah that's it and younger men ought to be saying Olympia where's our list by the way women ought to be saying this too cuz men are walking around going yeah I'm looking for a proverbs 31 woman and a Titus a woman and young women are walking around going yeah I'm looking for man where is your passage your passage is in Titus chapter one that's the list for young men ah but I know there's some sophisticated women here and if
they wait a minute that's not the list for men that's actually the list for pastors that's the list for elders yeah I know but it's also the list for men well no it's not the list for men because it's the list for pastors and elders let me give you three reasons why this list is actually a list for all men here's three reasons reason number one it's my weakest reason reason number one and no list in Titus chapter 2 I said is my weakest reason but it's a reason there's no list in Titus chapter two
so it's got to be one somewhere right here's my here's my second reason pastors are called in 1st Peter chapter 3 chapter 5 and verse 3 to be examples to the flock let me ask you a question how can a pastor be an example to the flock if he has a list of qualifications that don't relate to the rest of the flock pastors I want you to be an example to the flock but what I want you to be is something the rest of the flock is not called to so the pastor looks at the
flock and says look at me as I'm an example of what you're not called to be that's doesn't work here's the third reason I argue that this list is the list for all men because there's nothing in this list that any one of us is willing to give up on for any one of our sons let's look at it Titus chapter 1 beginning in verse 5 this is why I left you in Crete so that you might put what remains into order and appoint elders in every town as I directed you now here comes the
list the first part of the list goes to his life in his home and look at this part of the list and I just asked you are you willing to give up on any of this for your sons it says if anyone is above reproach the husband of one wife no not my son I want my son to be a play from the Himalayas I want him to have women strewn all across the land absolutely not next verse and these children are believers not open to the charge of debauchery and insubordination mmm I want him
to raise my grandkids to be the worst badass kids that you ever saw in your life no well now let's look at this character look at the next part of this for an overseer as God's Stewart must be above reproach he must not be arrogant or quick-tempered or a drunkard or violent or greedy for gain they're the negative ones again none of us is willing to give up on any of those look at the next ones verse 8 but hospitable a lover of good self controlled upright holy and discipline again were not willing to give
up on any of those look at verse 9 well verse 9 go specifically to his teaching ministry right so maybe that doesn't apply to every man really he must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught anybody want to raise the son who's a heretic no look at the next part so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine now I don't want him to be able to wash his wife in the water of the word I mean of course of course I you know I want my husband to step up and
be more godly I want my husband to lead in the word I want my husband to teach the scriptures to us as a family I want my husband to be the priest of our home I want my husband to be the chief disciple air in our home but you know it's not really gonna be required for my son and finally and also to rebuke those who contradict it yes to be an apologist by the way Jude makes it clear that all of us are called to contend earnestly for the faith that was once for all
delivered to the Saints so I say again this is the list for all men so for you young women here in the room when you hear young men say I'm looking for Titus to woman or proverbs 31 woman you just look at him and say you know what I'm looking for a tithe as one man what you got so here's the beauty God gives us godly manly elders and pastors to model for us what manhood is this is extremely important let me say a word to you if you're single mother if you're single mother your
son needs this if you're a single mother your son desperately needs to be in an environment where he has a pastor who thunders the Word of God with both his lips and his life do not sit your son in front of some weak mealy-mouthed sissified almost man who calls himself a pastor godly manly preachers of the word who stand on God's truth and defend God's truth and paint a picture on an ongoing basis though frail and imperfect of what manhood is supposed to look like my mother didn't even know the Lord when she was raising
me and understood this when I was old enough to find a little trouble in south-central or for a little trouble to find me my mother decided time's up he's a young man there's some things he needs that I can't give him suck out on a bus for three days and went from Los Angeles California to Beaufort South Carolina to spend a year and a half with her oldest brother who was a retired drill instructor in the Marine Corps and I got out of trouble why because my lost mother had a picture of manhood it was
the best that she knew and she wanted to see to it that that's what her son grew into I thank God for His Providence in my life through the work of my mother how much more for those who know and love the Lord Jesus Christ who is the ultimate picture of what a man is supposed to be how much more should we yearn and desire and long for our sons to be set before men who are men and paint a picture of that for them there's a last piece remember the third piece there's godly mature
men and women in the church it's godly manly elders and pastors the last piece is biblically functioning homes now we've already seen evidence of that in Titus chapter 2 because when you look at the instruction of the older woman - the younger woman that instruction centers around her role and function within the context of her home you see that the love your husband and children be sensible - pure to be a keeper of your home or worker at home or all of these things they center around this context of that ministry that a woman would
have but here's another thing I want you to see that you may not have ever seen before keep reading in Titus chapter 1 look beginning in verse 10 for now for what what what's that for for remember in verse 9 holding firm to the trustworthy word is taught so that he can instruct and sound doctrine and rebuke those who contradict sound doctrine for why does he need to have this kind of character and this kind of teaching and rebuke unsound doctrine for there are many who are insubordinate empty talkers and deceivers especially those of the
circumcision party they must be silenced because they are upsetting whole sunday-school departments by teaching for it's not what it says they must be silenced since they are upsetting whole families by teaching for shameful gain what they ought not to teach they're upsetting whole families here's what you need to know the primary teaching and disciple in unit that makes up the church is the home Ephesians chapter 6 verses 1 through 4 children obey your parents in the Lord for this is right out of your father your mother which is the first commandment with a promise that
it may go well with you and you may live long in the land fathers do not provoke your children to anger but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord that echoes the teaching of Deuteronomy 6 it echoes the teaching of Psalm 78 it echoes the teaching that we find strewn throughout proverbs and it says this that our homes our places of teaching and instruction for our children that it is our responsibility to teach God's Word in our home so here's the picture child is born now listen to this this is the
this is ideal and most of us didn't have anything like this but this is the picture child is born child comes into the world child is born into a home with a mother and a father that mother and that father know God and love God that mother and that father understand biblical manhood true womanhood and live and exemplify those things that mother and that father understand marriage and paint the picture of the relationship between Christ and His Church that mother and that father give instruction and sound doctrine to that child throughout that child's life and
they raised that child in the discipline and instruction of the Lord they take that taught child to a healthy church and in that healthy church this child over the course of its life here's thunder from the pulpit the Word of God just like that child has taught in the home the child sees it thundered from a godly manly man who lives as men ought to live and by the way when I say a manly man I'm not talking about our train you know me mind you woman me speak you do know I'm talking about Christ
and his example of true manhood so he sees the life of this man hears the words of this man and it echoes what he hears in his home then there are these people they're older and they got gray hair some of them don't walk so fast anymore but they also echo what this child hears taught in her home they love this child's mother and father mentor this child's mother and father and so this child has the cycle going on in her life a godly home a godly church with godly leaders exemplifying biblical manhood and womanhood
godly mature men and women in the church who also exemplify biblical manhood and womanhood that's the picture now before we go and mess it up with all of the things about that picture that are not true about us just embrace it for a moment that's the picture that is the incredible gift that God has given us okay now what about you and me and you say to me I don't I don't have that in my life I don't have all three of those things in my life number where we started here's the first thing you
do can you just thank God for the pieces of that puzzle that you do have in your life do you have godly mature women in your life for whom you can be grateful just for a moment just before you get mad at God for the other pieces that aren't there do you do you at least have that in your life and can you just be grateful for that in your life have you become one of those people in your life can you be grateful for that in your life if you if you don't have that
and if you don't have it because of your own sin can you just confess that and repent of it because there are some women in this room right now and your younger women and the culture has lied to you and has told you that everything is about youth everything is about your generation you want nothing to do with older women shame on you repent there are older women in this room right now and you are older and mature but for whatever reason you're stuck and you refuse to stand up and give you a life away
and instead all you think about is what you can be given that next if that's you would you just confess that as the sin that it is and turn around and give your life away yes but you don't understand I made mistakes in my life oh you know really okay that's fine you're right you're disqualified only those people who've never making this bit make mistakes in their life are qualified to be mature Christian leaders so only those people so if you're one of those people could you stand up please the ones who've never made mistakes
and you do you hear how ridiculous that sounds oh I've made too many mistakes in my life I can't be mature who do you think you are Christ came and died for the ungodly yeah but I didn't do it right I didn't raise my kids right how about this I don't know about you but this blesses me sometimes when an older man will put his arm around me and say listen I want to tell you something I see this in you and I just want you to know I've been on the other side of that
it doesn't end pretty I messed up my life I messed up my family don't do that you know what I'll take that I'm grateful for that if if that's all you got give it away how about that second leg well we just don't we don't have a healthy church we don't have healthy leaders in our church first of all before we get there if you do have a healthy church and you do have healthy leadership in your church can you just be grateful for that can you just thank God for the opportunity they hear the
word of God and if you don't if you don't and it's because of your own sinner rebellion will you confess that because there's some of you here and you don't go to church because you haven't found the perfect one yet you know that old saying don't you find the perfect one don't go because when you get there won't be perfect anymore and some say I don't have that biblically functioning home you know what before we get there if you do and you've got a godly husband if you do and you have this picture being lived
out this imperfect picture being lived out it just be grateful for that but if you don't and it's because of your own sin then because you've embraced the lie instead of living in biblical submission to your husband you're one of these women who says yeah well I'll do that part of Ephesians chapter 5 that says I'm supposed to submit to him when he does that part of Ephesians chapter 5 that says he's supposed to love me like Christ loved the church but until he does that then I'm just not even gonna be no sorry doesn't
work that way if you're waiting for your husband to be worthy of your submission it's not gonna happen in fact that's why they call it submission amen your husband is never gonna be worthy of your submission but you submit as unto the Lord because he is worthy of your submission so you offer that submission to Christ but you give it to your husband on behalf of Christ that's what you do know your husband's not worthy of it but here's what I know first Peter chapter 3 and verse 7 verses 1 through 6 God can actually
use your submission in your husband's life here's what I also know what I know is this if your husband is not being what he's supposed to put to you got two choices cuz number one God's gonna get your husband I just believe that with every fiber of my being God's gonna get him he's not being with these posted what he's supposed to be you got two choices God comes to your home for your husband to take him to the woodshed and number one you've been a biblically submissive wife so your husband gets to go to
the woodshed by himself or number two you've been holding on to your submission until your husband gets right so you get to go to the woodshed with him how many Ellen will take number one maybe add but remember our also said that for some of us in this room you don't have one of those things or more not because of your own sin or your own fault because the things that are out of your control here's what I want to say to you listen to me God's bigger than what you don't have now you know
what to pray for you know what to ask him for I don't have godly mature women in my life so I'm just gonna give up you better not you begged God for it and you look for it I don't have godly biblically functioning church so I'm just gonna give up you better not you get on your face and you beg God for it yeah but my husband won't go to church my husband won't take us a church my husband has this in a church that's Kirk you get on your face and beg God you know
what to look for you know what to ask for don't have a biblically functioning home God is bigger than what you don't have my times up but I'll leave you with this freshman year in college young man comes to the locker room shares Christ with me spends 3 and a half weeks with me three and a half weeks answering my questions I come to faith in Christ Friday November 13 1987 six months later my Buddhist mother's converted six months after that our garden-variety pagan father who abandoned me and my mother when I was 2 years
old was converted God is able here's what else I want you to know because some of you are out there and you're saying yes but my situation is less than ideal hear me when I say this I am a frail fragile and imperfect man but I'm grateful to God for a 17 year old girl who got pregnant with me when she was in high school who did the best she could with what she had and I am grateful to God that in his Providence in spite of what we did not have God has made me
a man that my mother can be proud of you have no control over what you don't have none whatsoever in fact you don't even have control over what you have but here's what I know God is able be grateful for what you have be honest and repentant over those things that you don't have because of your own sin and Trust and the great god of the universe to make up the difference for those things that you don't have and can't even see how you would receive them cuz here's what I know God can do more
with what you don't have then you can do with what you do [Music] you
