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ADORN THE DOCTRINE
Titus 2:9-10 Exhort servants to be obedient unto their own masters, and to please them well in all things; not answering again; 10 Not purloining, but showing all good fidelity; that they may adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour in all things.
I. Adorn
A. Definition 1
1. To decorate or add beauty to.
2. To make more pleasing, attractive, pleasant
a) Does not change the actual object, just the way that it is presented
3. How does Paul say to adorn the doctrine?
a) By how we act and how we present ourselves
(1) This particular passage of scripture is addressed specifically to slaves
(2) The worst job in the WORLD!
(a) Yet they too can adorn the doctrine
II. Impressive
A. Bad Interview
1. Wrinkled Jeans
2. B.O. – slovenly appearance
3. Mumbled
4. Unprepared
B. Good interview
1. Dress well
2. Good grooming, showered
3. Speak clearly
4. Give considered answers
C. Going to a fancy restaurant
1. There are entry requirements
a) Black tie
b) Decorum
c) Be prepared to pay the bill
III. Adorn the doctrine
A. Make it look good
1. Disney – bad show
B. Package it well
1. We don’t change the contents just the container
2. We don’t change the message just the way it is delivered.
a) Do it with excellence!
IV. Witnessing
A. In Person
1. Dress well
a) Dress like a Christian ought to dress
2. Speak clearly
a) Your words and your deeds ought to match up
3. Know your material
a) Spend some time in personal study
2nd Timothy 2:15 Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
4. Emphasize the positives
a) Talk about healing
b) Talk about deliverance
c) Talk about Salvation
d) Talk about Heaven
(1) Talk about the things that will uplift someone, not tear them down
B. By other media
1. Do the best job that you can.
a) Packaging
b) Appearance
c) Content
d) Ease of use or understanding
V. Adorn 2
A. 2nd Definition for adorn
1. Furnish with power or authority
a) Recognize and acknowledge the power and authority
Imagine a family of small mice. They live inside a great Grand Piano. Throughout their small world, the music of the piano came and filled all of their dark spaces with sound and harmony. The mice drew comfort from the beautiful music that filled their lives. They understood for there to be sound, there must be a cause. So they believed in a great UNSEEN PLAYER who would fill their lives with music..
Then one day an adventurous little mouse climbed up high into the piano. He came back to report that the secret of the music, was not some great “UNSEEN PLAYER” but the wires that were stretched across their piano world. The trembling and vibrations of the wires caused the music. Now only the most conservative still believed in the UNSEEN PLAYER.
Later on another mouse went even further into the piano. He came back to tell the others that not only were there wires that vibrated, but the real secret of the music was in the hammers which struck the wires. The hammers would rhythmically strike the wires causing the vibrations, which he claimed the mice had mistakenly called “music.” The mouse went on to say that this proved that they were living in a purely mathematical and mechanical world which could all be “explained” without the need for a great “UNSEEN PLAYER” Eventually the UNSEEN PLAYER became a myth to the mouse community… Meanwhile the pianist continued to play.
B. God exists and He is powerful
1. Science can explain a lot of the workings of the Universe.
a) We can observer and record how things interact with each other.
b) We can see the symmetry and construction of our environment
c) But that does not mean that the Universe made itself.
2. Recognize the existence of the Creator and acknowledge the fact that He is powerful
a) There is nothing too hard for God
(1) When everyone else says it can’t be done, God says it can!
(2) When your confronted with a problem, fall on your knees in prayer
3. We recognize and acknowledge the power of God, by trusting in Him.
In 1958 America’s first commercial Jet aircraft began to be used with the Boeing 707. One day a passenger on an old DC-6 Propeller plane began a conversation with the man seated beside him. The men talked for a while, before eventually the conversation got around to the subject of airplanes. It turns out that the man the passenger was talking to was a Boeing Aircraft Engineer. The passenger asked the engineer about the new jet aircraft. The engineer launched into a long and very technical description about the development and testing of the Boeing 707 airplanes. He told his fellow passenger about all of the time that Boeing had spent making sure that the new jet engines were both effective and safe for air travel. He recounted Boeing’s history with jet engines all the way from the original B17 to the flying fortress the B52. When his fellow passenger heard all of this, he asked the engineer if he had flown in one of the new Boeing 707 Jet commercial aircraft yet. The Boeing engineer replied, “I think I’ll wait until it’s been in service for a while.”
