The more and more I read the Bible the more I am convinced that God wants the life-changing truth to actually change our lives. Or perhaps better said, the life-changing truth of God actually does change lives!

In other words, Christians are to be people who are changed by their faith in Christ. Christians are to be people who walk the walk along with talking the talk.

This truth is very clear in Paul’s letter to Titus when he begins addressing the different folks in the church. In Titus 2, Paul urges Titus to “teach what accords with sound doctrine,” and he then explains what to expect from each group. He speaks of older men, older women, younger women, and younger men.  The only characteristic that is common among all 4 of those groups is “self-control.”

• 2:2 “Older men are to be … self-controlled”
• 2:3-5 “older women are to …train the younger women … to be self-controlled”
• 2:6 “Likewise, urge the younger men to be self-controlled”

We understand then that in that church on the island of Crete that Paul was concerned that the Christians there should be self-controlled.  All of them should be. The men, the women, the young, the old, all of them are expected to have self-control.

The lack of self-control is an enormous problem today. And the result is that our lives are out of control! The ripple effect then of this problem is many people claiming to be Christians who have no self-control. Christians whose lives are out of control.

Men who are gone too much. Women who worry too much. Kids who play too much. Kids who do not play enough. Parents who work too much. We sit on the couch too much. We play sports too much. We watch too much TV. We are busy too much. Our lives are out of control. We need Self-control.

But the real truth is that self-control does not come from self. Self-control is a fruit of the Spirit. In other words, once you get saved God empowers you to have self-control. Self-control comes from the Spirit not from self!

If you are convicted because your life lacks the life-change that comes from faith in Christ, I suggest you start with self-control. Do you have it? Is it missing? Are there areas of your life that are out of control? Turn to God. Ask Him, through the Spirit, to give you self-control.

He will. He does. According to Titus 2, God expects all people in the church to be self-controlled!

Yesterday was Mother’s Day, and I was excited for an emphasis-day on honoring my mother!

I decided to preach in a manner that I do not normally prefer. I preached a “How-To” sermon on “4 Ways to Honor Your Mother.”

You can listen to the whole sermon here.

Honor your mother is part of the 5th commandment that God gave to His people through Moses in the 10 Commandments in the book of Exodus. If Honoring your mother is one of God’s 10 great laws, then obviously it is important. Just think – if you were going to create a world and then give it 10 laws, what would be your 10 laws? Would honoring your mother be one of the 10? Obviously, God thinks moms are important!

Here were my 4 Points:

1. Obey her.
   Ephesians 6:1 says “Children obey your parents.”
   –If you want to honor your mother, obey her. Few things hurt a mother more than her children failing to listen to her instruction. Rebellious & Disobedient kids are not honoring their mother. They are dishonoring her. If mom says to take out the trash, you honor her when you take out the trash. You dishonor her and shame her, when you do not take out the trash.
2. Praise her.
   Proverbs 31:28 says “Her children rise up and call her blessed.” 
   -If you want to honor your mother, praise her. Speak well of her. Everyone likes to be spoken well of. Mothers especially love to hear their children speak highly of them. The whole basketball world has been raving over the recent MVP speech from Kevin Durant in which he praised his mother. Can you imagine how great that made her feel? I am sure his words meant more to her than his basketball skills. He honored his mother by praising her.
3. Imitate her.
   2 Timothy 1:5 says “I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure dwells in you as well.”
   -If you want to honor your mother, imitate her. Find ways to be like her. Learn from her ways and copy them. One wise man has said that imitation is the greatest form of flattery. Your mom will receive such honor when she sees that you are like her. You are taking to her ways.
4. Trust in Jesus.
   Psalm 16:2 says “I have no good apart from you.”
   –If you want to honor your mother, trust in Jesus. All mothers desire for their children to be the best son/daughter possible. Apart from Jesus in us, we are unable to be our best. We are hardly good without Him. I have had many great influences upon my life. Coaches, teachers, friends, and neighbors have all influenced me in varying ways to honor my mom. But without a doubt the biggest and best influence upon me to honor my mother has been God. Christ alive in me causes me to desire to honor my mother.
   -On this note, lets remember that “Honor Your Mother” is one of God’s commandments. God gave us the laws to show us our need for a savior. As we hear of God’s standard to honor our mother, we should run to God for grace and strength to be able to honor our mother.
   -As Jesus said, “Apart from me, you can do nothing.” -John 15:5.