So we are continuing today with our study in Titus 2. Last week I realized as I was working on this that our date was 2-23-23 and we were studying Titus 2-3. Well this week, as I was preparing, I realized our date was 3-2-2-3, Titus 2-3. So I think after today we will no longer be caught up in the world of twos and threes. But I did think it was interesting. It's kind of an interesting experience. So let's look at our key text, Titus 2, chapter 2, verses 3 through 5. Older women, likewise, are to be reverent in their behavior, not malicious gossips, nor enslave to much wine, teaching what is good, so that they may encourage the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, to be sensible, pure, workers at home, kind, being subject to their own husbands, so that the word of God will not be dishonored. We are having a little background noise. If you have a lot going on in your home and there is some background noise, if you don't mind muting so that we can hear, I appreciate that. If I ask you to read and that's not possible, again, just say, oh, I can't do it today. That's no problem. But I do think it's neat when we can share scripture together like this. So we'll just do what we can. Last week, we looked at an overview for this passage in Titus 2. This week, we're gonna start zeroing in on the phrases and what God wants us to learn from these particular things. So this week specifically, we are looking at what it means to be reverent in behavior, because that is the first thing that's mentioned. Older women likewise are to be reverent in their behavior. And like we talked about last week, this phrase, older women, in the Greek does refer to age, women who are older, in other words. However, that being reverent in behavior is not something that just comes with age. It has to be something that we deliberately cultivate while we are young so that when we are older, it has become a characteristic in our lives. We also have to remember that sometimes older is relative. When I was in my 20s as a college student, I was ministering to other college students who were just a few years younger. So sometimes older just means that you are old enough in order to help someone else. So it's kind of a dual meaning there. We want to be working now on areas that God wants to develop in our lives so that later on in life we are available to help others with those areas and we are even more accurate reflections of who God is and what he can do in a life. So that's what we're talking about today, what it means to be reverent in behavior. So let's look at some definitions first of all. And the notes are up here on the screen. I am going to see OK, if I can make them a little larger for you. OK. That means we'll look at a smaller portion, but hopefully it will be easier for you to see. And we've also sent these out to you. So if you don't have these, and there's also two worksheet pages that we'll talk about later. If you don't have the, if you didn't receive these on your email, let me know and we will make sure to send them out to you too. And We probably won't get to finishing everything today. I did want you to have a copy of this, and the reason why I'm giving you this detail is just for you to have it available to you. I started out as a college student keeping my notes from conferences and different times when I heard a speaker, and it has really been invaluable to have some of those things to refer back to. So I'm giving you this information for your own use, but also because sometimes there's a situation where it's helpful for you to have this available. So feel free to use it any way you want, but know that that's my thinking behind it. Okay? So let's talk about some of these definitions. The Greek word for behavior describes a position or a condition. It's something you are, not just something you do. A lifestyle that becomes holiness itself to the extent that there is no separation in that person between what is her and what is holy. They are one in the same. Because we are talking about specifically reverent behavior. The Greek word for reverent describes someone who is set apart, dedicated in their behavior to manifesting the same holiness that is a part of God's own nature. Now that is pretty mind-boggling to think that God has worked things so that we can actually become this in our relationship with Him and in our relationship to the world. It's not something that comes natural. This is something that God achieves in our lives through the Holy Spirit. And we'll talk more about how He does that in just a minute. So let's look at a verse that talks about this. 1 Timothy 4, verse 12. Lana, can you read that please? Yes. Let no one look down on your usefulness, but rather in speech, conduct, love, faith, and purity, show yourself an example of those who would. So purity is one of the things that God uses in us to influence the world. And this is not just talking about older established women, but also young people, because it says at the beginning, let no one look down on your youthfulness. So becoming reverent in behavior is not just something for the older women. It's something God wants to start producing in us while we're young so that we grow in it as we grow older. This kind of behavior cannot be faked. We can fake piety, but we can't fake holiness. We can be religious, but we can't become holy on our own. Isaiah 29 verse 13 says in part, this people draw near with their words and honor me with their lip service. but they removed their hearts far from me. And their reverence for me consists of tradition learned by rote. So God, speaking through the prophet Isaiah, rebuked Israel for going through the motions of following him, but not giving him their hearts. Their hearts were removed, not captured close to him. Clarice, welcome. We are glad to have you with us today. Thank you all. All good. And ladies, let me mention to you too that I know sometimes there are things beyond our control. There might be a need for you to leave Bible study in order to take care of your children tonight. There might be a problem with the power. Stuff like that just happens, so don't worry about that. We have a storm coming into Houston tonight, which probably won't affect us because it comes in later. But they've already told us that it's possible that some of us will lose power as the storm passes through because of the high winds. So I very much respect those of you who deal with power shortages on a regular basis, because I know that greatly affects your lives. If something happens that's unexpected, don't worry. We will pray for you, but we know that that just happens. Okay. So in this case, Isaiah is talking about people who were going through the motions, but their hearts were not united with the Lord. They were doing things, kind of doing things by tradition and not not really giving God their hearts. And that's not what produces reverence. That may produce a pattern of behavior, but it's not producing true lifestyle reverence, which is what we're talking about. So let's talk about why this is an issue. Jodine, welcome. I see your name. Whoops. I don't know why this is. The internet wants to send me ads and I'm not interested. Okay, let's talk about our holy God, the God we worship. I'm so sorry I'm late. Oh, no, you are welcome. You are welcome. Thank you. That's not a problem. We've just started and you should have received a copy of these notes in your email so you can see what's on the screen and then you can also check that out later if you want to. Okay. So let's talk about our holy God. And I'm gonna ask some of you to read some of this scripture. Sharon, can you read 1 Samuel 2, verse 2? And then Sarah, can you read Isaiah 57, 15? You can either read from your Bible or you can read from the screen, whichever. Ifyoma, can you look up Leviticus 11, 44? And then, let's see, we'll give you a pass so that you can take care of your child. And Chioma, we'll give you a pass because you're not feeling well. I don't mind, I can read. Okay, well, if you're feeling like it, sure. I was gonna allow you to just sit there and listen today. Okay, 1 Peter 1, 15 and 16. Okay, so 1 Samuel 2.2, how does God identify himself with holiness? Okay, there is no one holy like the Lord. There is no one besides you. There is no rock like our God. Okay, so God identifies himself with holiness. No one holy like the Lord. So the Lord God is holy. Isaiah 57, 15. The high and lofty one who lives in eternity, the holy one, says this, I live in the high and holy place with those whose spirits are contrite and humble. I restore the crushed spirit of the humble, and I revive the courage of those with repentant hearts. Okay, so God identifies himself with holiness. He actually describes himself as being holy. And then he calls us to holiness, Leviticus 11, 44. And be holy for I am holy. So God calls us to holiness just as he is holy. It's not something that is unattainable. It is something that He wants us to move towards in our relationship with Him. And the last one, 1 Peter 1, 15 and 16. But like the Holy One who called you, beholding yourselves also in all your behavior, because it is written, We shall be holy for I am holy. Okay, they're quoting the verse we just read in Leviticus. Okay, so God tells us we need to be holy in all our behavior. Now, let's look at one more and then we'll talk about our response to that. Ephesians 1, 4. Clarice, can you read that for us, please? Yes, of course. Ephesians 1, 4. Ephesians 1 Paul, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him in law. Thank you. Isn't that a fantastic verse? God's plan is for us to be holy. It says he chose us in him before the foundation of the world. And one of his purposes is that we should be holy and blameless before him. That's his plan. Okay, so knowing that that's true, then what does our response become? Remember, what we're talking about is how do we become holy and reverent in our behavior? Okay, the first response is a commitment to become women of the word, and this is why. Blessing, can you read Psalm 119.38? Yes, ma'am. Psalm 119, 38. Establish thy word to thy servants, as that which produces reverence for thee. So God's word in our lives, in our hearts, in our minds, actually produces reverence for thee. When we become established in the word, reverence is a result. It's produced by that. And being established means becoming permanently related to someone. When you are established, that means that a word to come out of the same root word is stable, which means something that is not going to change. So it's commitment, but it's also an amount of time where we have committed ourselves and done what we can do in order to learn the word of God, to apply it to our lives, and to make it actually a part of our thinking. God has chosen to reveal himself to us through his word. The more time we spend in it, the more we see of who he is, who we are, and of how he wants us to live, the more we see and the more we are drawn to worship him. You know, we can go through the motions. We can go to church, we can sing the songs, we can participate in worship, And we can sit there, but unless we are focusing in on what the Word teaches us and making a specific application to our lives, we are exposing ourselves to it, but we are not becoming established in it. John 17, 17 says, sanctify them in the truth. Thy word is truth. So his word sanctifies us and makes us holy. But how, how does that happen? It's one thing to say it. How does it become reality? One key way is the word of God enables us to recognize and deal with sin in our lives. Whoops. And I am reading for the screen. And I need to read from my notes. So let me get back to that. Okay. Hebrews 12 verse 1. Sorry, I moved my place and then had to find it again. Hebrews 12 verse 1, about in the middle of the verse says that we should lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us. and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us. So it talks about laying aside encumbrances and sin, which easily entangles us. I can give you a kind of a word picture for this. When I was teaching school, we had some students in our school who were, we called them special needs students. They were either physically challenged or mentally challenged. and they had special classes and sometimes they were able to be in the classes with everyone else, but they had specific teaching that was directed to their ability and to offer them help so that they could learn, just like the other kids. Once a year, we had a sports day and everybody in the school participated in different sports activities. A lot of it was races, sometimes relays, just different activities outside. We had lanes set up and the children who were participating would line up and then when it was their turn to run they would run down and it was a competition so the fastest ones would get prizes for how well they did in this particular race. Now I was also assigned the responsibility of helping with the special needs students. Their races were a little bit different because the emphasis for them was not competition it was finishing the race. That was the goal with these students, that they could participate and that they would be able to finish. And whether they were quick or slow was not an issue. It was to enable them, to allow them to participate and be a part of the same thing that the other students were a part of. And so my job as a sponsor for a particular student was to stand at the end of the lane they were going to run down. The first thing we had to do was check to make sure there were no stones in the grass because all of this was outside. No stones, no sticks, nothing that might trip them because some of them were already challenged in the area of, you know, they had difficulty walking and running. Some used crutches. whatever they needed in order to help them. So we had to check and make sure that the path before them was clear. Then the other thing we did is we stood at the end of the lane and we tried to get them to focus on us, not on what anyone else was doing, not on all the other things that were going on, but to focus on us. And in order to do that, You stood before your child that you were helping, and you called them by name. You cheered them on. You encouraged them. You exclaimed how well they were doing. So I'm at the end of my lane going, James, James, come. You were doing so great. You were doing a wonderful job. You're almost here. Keep running. Make it. Let's come. come here, do a great job. And as those students arrived at the end, we would again be cheering them on, we would be hugging them, we would be telling them what a great job they had done. And they were so proud to be able to participate and proud of themselves. Well, that is the word picture I get when I read this passage in Hebrews 12. lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us. We did that when we cleared the field before them. And let us run with endurance the race that is set before us. That's what they were doing. But here's why in verse two, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, despising the shame and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. See, these students, in order to be successful in this event, needed to fix their eyes on the person standing at the end of their lane. Well, just as we are learning how to be holy and reverent in our behavior, we have to fix our eyes on Jesus and not allow other things going on around us to distract us from that goal. So let's look at 1 Peter 2, 11. Take it apart. and look at some of the words in this passage. Okay, let's see, Salome, nope, Salome, sorry. Can you read 1 Peter 2, verse 11, please? Okay, it says, Beloved, I urge you as aliens and strangers to abstain from fleshly lusts which work against the soul. Okay, so let's look at some words in this passage. The first word is urge. This literally means to call to one side, or I want you to step aside for a moment. In other words, let's concentrate on this and focus on this for a while. As aliens and strangers, or in the Greek, resident aliens, which means foreigners. In other words, we are in the world, but not of it. This is not our home. We are foreigners, just as if you visited another country to abstain from fleshly lusts. I'm getting ahead of myself. Just a second. Excuse me. Let me get a drink. At this time of year in Houston, plants and trees are starting to bloom and there's all sorts of pollen in the air. So it makes you a little stopped up. But what it means though is that things are coming alive after being dormant over the winter. So it's a good thing, but it's not easy on your, um, not easy on your throat. Okay. So let's look at talking about aliens and strangers. Philippians 3.20, for our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. We should not be at home in the world. Our actions and attitudes should be different. We are permanent aliens in a foreign land. This world is not our home. And so you have to ask yourself, do you feel like a foreigner? Do you feel set apart from the world? If we start feeling too comfortable where we are, if we're not aware of a difference in the way we think, in our goals, in our conduct, then we need to reevaluate. What steps can we take in order to be conformed more to God's standards? Because our citizenship is in heaven. Okay, so let's look at the word abstain, literally, It means to hold oneself back or to restrain oneself. In other words, beloved, I urge you as aliens and strangers to abstain from fleshly lusts. In other words, don't do it. Don't even begin the process. Don't even go near. Often sin is a result of a series of choices and we can choose not to start down that road. Let me give you an example. When we were training our children when they were young, there was an issue with one of our children. We would frequently have a relaxed dinner on the weekend, maybe Saturday night or Friday night, and we would eat pizza and then play games together as a family. So in this particular case, this child came into the room and the pizza was already on the table, but we hadn't started yet, but it was on a low table about the height of the couch. So they immediately went up. They knew we had told them, do not touch the pizza. So they immediately went up and touched the pizza. So we disciplined them. Then we put them back down. I'm trying very hard not to identify which child because my children are grown now and I don't want to embarrass them. So we put the child back and they immediately went back to the pizza and this time they leaned down and stuck their nose in the pizza. So we disciplined them because they were still touching the pizza. In other words, they were playing around with what we had told them not to do. And there are reasons that we told them not to touch the pizza. So we disciplined them and then put them back down. Well, immediately they walked over to the pizza and just touched the plate the pizza was on. Now, had they touched the pizza, No, they were touching the plate, but the idea was to disobey. So we disciplined them one more time, this time when we put them down and went running off in the other direction playing. In other words, they knew their boundaries and had decided to obey. But we did not want our child to learn that you get as close as you can to sin without immersing yourself totally in it, because that just doesn't happen. We don't dabble in sin. We need to hold ourselves back, restrain ourselves. That's what this verse is talking about. Abstain from fleshly lusts. Don't even begin the process. Actually, this child went back to live for a year in an African country, teaching the Bible. Um, now is active in their church and, um, has very strong convictions, which God has used both in the raising of their own children and just in their influence in the community. So God really, uh, did a work in that child's life, but it's important with our children and with ourselves that we don't dabble in sin. We don't even go near. We don't start down that road. 2 Timothy 2.22 says, now flee useful lust and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart. In other words, God says, run from sin. Do not stop to consider it, to think about it, just run. Verse 522 says, abstain from every form or literally the word there means appearance of evil. So let me go back up here. How do we become holy and allow his word to make us holy? First of all, we start recognizing and dealing with sin in our lives. And then the very last part of this verse, which wage war against the soul. This picture's the enemy poised for battle to begin, for the battle to begin. It's a planned attack. It may begin at any time. Satan plans to try to derail us in our walk with God. Let's go on to the next page down here. Okay, 1st Peter 5.8. Who can read that for us? Let's see. Am I leaving anybody out? Jodine, can you read 1st Peter 5.8 for us? You can read it off the screen or you can read it from your Bible, either one. Okay. 1st Peter 5.8. Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary the devil, calls above like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devote. We have an enemy who has declared war on our souls. He's on the hunt. We don't have to fear him because the victory belongs to Christ. That's right. Thank you, Jodine. We have to remember that Satan has declared war on our souls. According to 1 John 4.4, greater is he who is in you than he who is in the world. He is not going to have victory because the victory already belongs to Christ. But we do need to face the reality of his tactics. He would delight in drawing us off course in order to make us effective. John 10, 27-30 says, as part of it, no one will snatch them out of my hand. So God is going to protect us in terms of our salvation when we have asked Christ into our lives, but we can allow Satan to derail us in terms of our growth. So we need to just be aware, be of sober spirit, be on the alert. that while we are pursuing holiness and while we are doing everything we can to focus on allowing God to work his work in our lives, we do have an adversary. We don't have to fear him, but we need to be sober and aware. Okay? 1 Corinthians 10, 13, and 14. Ifeoma, can you read that please? No temptation has overtaken you, but such as is common to man. And God is faithful. Who will not allow you to tempt him from what you are able to give him? For with the temptation provideth the way of everything possible, that you may be able to enjoy it. Therefore my beloved, keep from idolatry. God will not let you be tempted from such things. Again, the idea is to flee from temptation. He will provide the way of escape, but we don't need to pause and consider our options. Because he has told us that he will always provide the way of escape. It's our choice to choose that. So in other words, we can We can learn how to deal with sin, recognize sin. I, in my quiet times, I frequently pray Psalm 139 verses 23 and 24. Search me, O God, and know my heart. Try me and know my anxious thoughts, and see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the everlasting way. In other words, sometimes, I don't recognize sin or I've become so accustomed to it that it just doesn't stick out to me. But when we ask God to search our hearts and to know our thoughts and to show us what's hurtful and to lead us into the right way, he will do that. He will do that. So we're talking about going on the path of becoming reverent in our behavior. So this says begin the process. Actually, excuse me, we need to continue the process because we've already begun it. But we need to continue what we are doing and even grow. Immerse yourself in the word of God. Read it, pray it, meditate on it, study it, listen to it. And I don't want to give you an impossible goal. Because what we're talking now is not necessarily time, we're talking about focus. Because if you have a household of small children and responsibilities, if you're working outside the home, you may not be able to spend hours a day reading and studying the Word of God. But you can figure out some way to immerse your mind in the word of God. Memorizing scripture, then you can refresh what it says, review what it says in your mind wherever you are. I can remember times when I was nursing my baby or rocking them to sleep after I had fed them. Could sing scripture to them. I mean it doesn't matter if you're musical or not. You can take a verse Therefore if anyone is in Christ he is a new creation See that I'm not really writing a song but I am singing which calms a child I am singing scripture back to God and And that can really, that has an effect because as you are singing it and thinking about it, you can meditate on it and God can use it in your life. You know, someday you will have more time for yourself and then you can do things like I'm doing, prepare a Bible study and lead other women. Depending on where you are in your life, you may just not have, because of your other responsibilities, hours and hours, but you can still give God your attention and let Him point out areas of need, and you can walk closely with God and allow Him to build into your life through the Word of God. We can be sincere in our relationship with God, not just putting on a facade. Romans 12, one and two, I urge you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect. I think it's amazing how scripture brings everything together, because we are looking at verses from both the Old and New Testament, from the Psalms, from almost one end of the Bible to the other, and yet they are all coming together in terms of what they are trying to communicate to us. One thing to notice, the only verb requiring action on our part in this two-verse passage is present. We present in the literal Greek to place beside our bodies to God. The picture is of us going up to the cross and laying down our bodies as a gift to Jesus. Here I am, Lord. Here is my heart. Here's the center of my being. I want to give it to you, take and use it, transform it by renewing my mind. The rest of the verbs used are passage, not be conformed, but be transformed. And the Greek word for transformed is metamorpho, which means to be completely changed. So we're not talking about something on the surface. We are talking about something internally. It's the same word used to describe Jesus as his transfiguration. Let's see, Thelma, can you read Matthew 17 verse two? Let me move that up a little bit. Yes, Matthew 17 verse 2. It says, and he was transformed before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his garments became as white as light. Now, isn't that amazing that God could use the same, let me go back up to where this verse is. God could use the same word that he uses for the transfiguration of Christ to describe what he wants to do with our minds. to make them holy and completely different in the way he wants it to be. It's the same word used in 2 Corinthians 3.18, but we all with unveiled face, beholding as an Amira, the glory of the Lord are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as the Lord, the spirit. So we're talking about being transformed into the image of God from glory to glory. This is the kind of metamorpho or the kind of transformation that God is wanting to do in our lives. He has set it up. He's planned it like the verse that Clarice read from before the beginning of the world. That's his goal. That's what he wants to do. All we have to do is present our bodies and then be willing to step away from sin, immerse ourselves in the word of God and let him begin the work. He wants to do in us. It's a lifetime. We're talking about a lifetime, not something that is going to happen immediately. But it will begin now and it will continue as we grow closer to Him. God's plan for building holiness and reverence into our lives is for us to first present ourselves to Him. In other words, to make ourselves available to Him. Then He begins to transform us through the renewal of our minds to become more like Him. And that is going to become, as we change our minds, allow Him to change our minds in terms of knowing what the Bible says, how He wants to apply it to our lives, and then be willing to forsake sin and be drawn closer in our relationship to him as we allow him to work in us, the Holy Spirit specifically to work in us. The word of God is key to this. As this process continues, we become more transformed into his image until the day we meet him face to face in heaven. Being in this process is what his will is for our lives. As it says in the end of Romans 12 too, it is good, acceptable, which means pleasing to Him, and perfect. So this habit of holiness, this reverent behavior, is a quality of life which is developed by God in a woman who chooses to reverence Him daily as she spends time with His Word. So that's a goal for us. That is a direction in which we are heading. That is something that God wants to develop in our lives. It's how we, and this is how we become reverent in our behavior as described in Titus 2, 3. We turn back to that passage. Older women likewise are to be reverent in their behavior. And then there's a list of other qualities that we will talk about in the weeks to come. Philippians 1.6 is our encouragement. For I am confident of this very thing that he who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus. So that's this process that we are in. He is perfecting the work he began in our lives when we accepted him in our hearts at the point of salvation. And it will continue until Jesus returns or until we go to meet him in heaven. So I hope that is an encouragement to you, maybe a challenge, maybe give us a sense of perspective. that the things we are doing now are going to result in good things in the future. That as we are faithful day to day, God is building these things into our lives. So let's look. I do have some worksheets to show you. I think this is going to pull them up for us. Okay. And you should have these with your notes. So let's talk a little bit. We have just a few minutes. Let's talk a little bit about this so that you know how, if you want to, you can look at some of these verses and make application to your lives. Okay? Psalm 119, 9, and 11. Let's see. Chioma, can you look that up, please? And then, um, I'm going to, let's do two of these and then I think we will be out of town, out of time. Um, let's see, Thelma, can you look at Hebrews four verse 12? So let's hear first Psalm 119, nine and 11. What's the principle of this verse in terms of holiness and then how, what is an example of how we can do it? No, no. Don't use that one. I want the soap. Okay, so 119, 9 through 11. Alright, that's what I'm gonna have, right? Sure, that'd be great. Okay. Psalms 119 911 how can a young man keep his way pure by guiding it according to your word? With my whole heart. I see you Let me not wonder from your commandment Okay, I have started your words in my heart that I might not sin against you Okay, so how do we develop the holiness habit of holiness according to this verse Clarice? I By storing of God's word in our heart. Okay. And what would be an example of how to do that? Kedi, welcome. I see you. What would be an example, Clarice, of hiding God's word in your heart? Pardon me? Okay. What would be an example? Can someone else offer us an example? What would... Always read it to me. Yes. That's good. And we can memorize it, can't we Clarice? When you memorize God's word, then it is in you. You can meditate on it while you were walking, while you were riding in the car, while you were washing dishes, while you were nursing your baby. God's word is hidden in our hearts and so we can allow it to influence our thinking and think about what the words mean and make practical application of them in our lives. Good Clarice, that's good. Okay, how about Hebrews 4.12? Hebrews 4.12, um, sorry, I'm reading from the Amplified Version. Okay. It says, but the one that God is alive and full of power, making it active operative, energizing, and effective. It is sharper than any double-edged sword, penetrating to the dividing line of the breath of life, soul, and the immortal spirit, and of joints and marrow, of the deepest parts of our nature, exposing and shifting and analyzing and judging the very thoughts and purposes of the heart. Wow, that's good. Okay, so how can God's Word help us to develop holiness in our lives, according to this? I think what I could take from the verse is God's Word is so powerful that it's able to go deep into our confusions, our things that we might not even know that we do not understand. That's good. Or areas that might be troubling to us, areas that we are afraid to speak about with other people, or even go through in our minds, and God's Word is able to bring healing in those areas of our lives and our hearts. Oh, that's good, Thelma. That's good. And what are some of the things that specifically says the Word of God does? It is sharper than any double-edged sword, and it's penetrating. It exposes and shifts and analyzes and judges every thought and purposes of the heart. Wow! That is exciting and a little bit scary, isn't it? that God's word can do all those things for us, but it's exposing and analyzing and helping us to evaluate where we are, what we're doing, and what is different about what God wants us to be like and to doing. So right, so learning how to apply God's word to our lives helps us develop the habit of holiness. God's intention is for the word to have that effect on us. Okay, so like I mentioned a little while ago, I have given you all this sheet with some scripture on it to help you just think through on not just principles, but also practical application. How can we develop the habit of holiness according to the word of God? And then the second sheet, is a little bit different. These are all verses from First Chronicles 16. And one of the things you can do with this is just list ways we can show reverence for God from this. And let me show you one, or go through one. And then you can work on this on your own. And then, like I said, too, you can keep this for your files so that if you need to refer back to it, you can. I want to, I think John and I really have on our hearts to provide resources. for you all, and so that's what this can be. 1 Chronicles 16, 8a says, oh, give thanks to the Lord, call upon his name. So one of the ways we show reference to God is when we are thanking God and we are praying to him by name. Look through and make a list of the names of God. Thank you, God, and we praise you for your holiness. for your mightiness, for your sovereignty, things that are characteristics of His nature. When we express those things in prayer to God, we are showing reverence for Him. We are declaring His holiness. Okay? If we go down to 8B, the second part of verse 8, make known His deeds among the peoples. Encourage others with what He has done for you. That is again expressing reverence for Him and gratitude and declaring Him before other people. So if you go down through these different verses, there's a lot of things in there that list ways we can show reverence for God. And then you can go back and practice these, put these into practice and make reverence in God a part of your life so that we develop reverent behavior. because we are expressing to Him truths about His nature that we want and we desire Him to make us holy in our nature. So I hope that's helpful. So let me, we are at the end of our time. It really goes fast. We are at the end of our time. Let me pray and close. And then if anyone has questions or has a topic you want to, discuss a little bit further. I'm completely available for that, but those of you who need to go on to other things, you are released. I appreciate again the time that you are giving to this study. So let's pray. Father, thank you for all you do to us and for us. Father, thank you for how you have revealed yourself to us in Jesus. for how you've provided your word for us so that we can study it over and over and learn things from it. And every time we go to it, we see something new. Father, help us to remove every sin and every encumbrance that might block us from seeing Jesus standing before us and waiting for us to come to him. Father, help us to just to be sincere in our relationship to you. and not just go through the motions but truly seek to allow your holiness to become a part of our lives and especially in having a reverent attitude towards you and then reflecting that in our attitudes and behavior toward other people and in what we manifest of you before the world. Lord, thank you for the privilege that it is to know you and thank you for the strength and power you give us in order to deal with sin and to resist the evil one who would lead us astray. Father, I just pray as we go back to our particular situations and responsibilities that we would take with us, a renewed sense of gratitude towards you and a renewed sense of commitment to live the life that you desire us to live in order to transform us into being more like you. So we thank you for this time and for your word. And I thank you for each lady here and for what you are doing in her life and for her commitment to walk with you on a daily basis. And we commit this time to you in Jesus name, amen. Okay, I'm gonna turn off the screen sharing so I can see you better. Welcome. Anybody have a question or a comment or anything you want to share with the group? It doesn't have to be on this topic, but it can be. I have something just... Yes, Clarice. I have something. You just mentioned the word sobha. I see it a lot in scripture. I really want to understand what scripture means when it says, be sober. Be sober. It's not referring to alcohol. It is referring towards having a serious mind and a serious intent. Are you specifically referring to 1 Peter 5a, where it talks about being sober? Yes. Let me find that. Be of sober spirit, and oh, I need to apologize. On my notes, for some reason, I didn't type in the one before Peter, but it's first Peter. Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls about like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. So the idea is take this seriously. Don't just blow off the fact that we have an enemy who is planning for ways. You know, we didn't do this as a part of the study, but turn over to Genesis 3, where it's talking about Eve in the garden. It says in Genesis 3 verse 1, Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, indeed, has God said you shall not eat from any tree of the garden? Okay, now the first description it gives of the serpent in here, which we know later is referring to Satan, is that he was crafty. He was deceitful. He's a trickster. And what he was trying to do was get Eve to disobey God. That was his purpose from the very beginning. Now Eve, in verse 2, the woman said to the serpent, from the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat, but from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said you shall not eat from it or touch it or you will die. This was incorrect, an incorrect quote from God. Because if you go up to Genesis 2 verse 16 and 17, It says, the Lord God commanded the man saying, from any tree of the garden you may eat freely, but from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, you shall not eat. For in the day that you eat from it, you will die. So he did say, you will die if you eat from it. He didn't say anything about touching it. But Eve threw that into her response to Satan. And then Satan refuted God. He actually challenged God's character and called him a liar. The serpent said to the woman, you surely will not die for God knows that in the day you eat from it, your eyes will be opened and you will be like God knowing good and evil. So he's maligning God's character to Eve. And then in verse six, we're back in Genesis three now, when the woman saw that the tree was good for food and that it was a delight to the eyes and that the tree was desirable to make one wise. In other words, she believed Satan over God. She took from its fruit. So she touched it and she didn't die. And she ate. And then she gave also to her husband and he ate. Okay? So Eve was deceived by Satan in this instance. First he planned how to trick her. Then he approached her in the garden. She should never have entered a conversation with him. If she had fled when he first approached her, it would have been a totally different outcome, but she didn't. She entered it into a conversation. Then she misquoted what God had told them. She did not quote accurately what God had said. She added touching the fruit. Then she believed the lies that Satan told her over what God had told her. Now, whether that was due to not understanding or remembering what God had said, whatever the reason was, she believed lies about God and accepted things that were lies about Satan as truth. So she totally got her truth and lies messed up. And then she, sure. And then she just, she yielded to the temptation and she did what God had told him not to do. So she disobeyed. Now we, we know that in Romans five, it says that Eve was deceived, whereas Adam deliberately sinned. So, um, Adam is the one through whom all sin is traced back in terms of Jesus' saving work on the cross. But nevertheless, Eve did allow Satan to deceive her. So, we have to be careful. If her response to Satan had been to be a little more alert, to maybe question him a little bit more instead of questioning God could have been a whole different outcome. Now, God and his sovereignty we know was in absolute control and knew it was going to happen this way because his plan from before the beginning of time was to send Jesus. But nevertheless, to me, it is a sobering testimony to see how easy it is to let the enemy influence us and to fail to recognize that he is a trickster and a sneak, and is desiring to do things to draw us away from God. Okay, Lana, did you want to add something? I don't know if this is relevant, but I was thinking about your... I was reading in Genesis this month, because I'm thinking about learning to trust the Lord more, and trust my husband more, and stuff like that, and so I've been going through Genesis thinking like what does God just show me about trust? No, that's good I've been really surprised like John actually had said he will pick a different word or theme and read through all the Bible. Yes Because he wants to learn more about that thing. And so anyway, that's why I did that So I'm using the word trust to see if I can learn more about that and so I started Genesis but so I had recently read that verse and And it reminded me of your pizza story, where I was like, I think sometimes Eve gets a bad rap for saying, don't even touch it, even though she misquoted the Lord, which is a huge argument for Scripture memory. Yes, yes, that's true. Memorizing what God's Word actually is, and not messing with it. At the same time, it's not bad that she would think, don't touch it. on the side, not like a command of God, but it could have helped her had she not been near the tree. Yeah, if she hadn't touched it, she wouldn't have eaten it. If she was more resisting Satan, might have been not walking over there with him. Yeah. It's like, let's get real close to it. So... Yeah, that's good. That's good, Lana. That is really true. Because it's a lot easier to be deceived. Even if you have like something wrong in your mind, like... If you set yourself as close as you can to the temptation, then your wrong thinking will turn to wrong action quicker than if you have wrong thinking but you're far away, then God can correct your course a little faster or if you take more pause. Um, instead of just getting close and then deciding when you're close, it's harder to decide the right things if you're thinking wrongly, but if you're far away from temptation, run away from it or stay away from it. Then when you're tempted or whenever you're tempted to get near it, it's easier to say no than if you're right. Yes, that's good. And that's why I pray for myself. Psalm 139, those verses I read, I think it's 23 and 24. Search me, O God, and know my heart. Because there's so many times I just don't recognize sin for what it is. You know, I either try to find an excuse or I just don't identify it because we live in a fallen world and it's so easy to become relative in our thinking where we think well this isn't really good but it's not as bad as this when God says good is good and bad is bad and there's no gray in there so but I think it's really true that's where we need where we need God's, the scripture, God can really use his scripture in order to point out, using the Holy Spirit, but to point out, yes, this is sin. And then I go, oh, you know, and then the next prayer is God break my heart over this sin, so that I would rather forsake it than cling to it and cling to you instead. So, Keddie, Were you going to say something, or did you just... something made your little face light up on the screen. But it might have just been moving your paper. On my glasses. I did want to ask, you use the word sincere, sincere in your relationship with God, quite a bit, and I thought, I was wondering if you could elaborate on that a little bit, like what would it look like, because, you know, I do find, you know, you do go through the motions, try to get through the Bible in a year and you don't really go to your heart. What does it look like to be more sincere with the Lord in your time that you spend with Him? Well, I think there is a value in obeying in doing what we know God wants us to do, even if our heart isn't exactly with it, because it puts us on the right path. But in terms of a lifestyle, I don't want to just go through the motions without really engaging in my commitment for God to reveal sin, me be willing to deal with it, and then grow closer to him. Because they seem to go hand in hand. It's as I recognize the things that are keeping me apart from God, that I can grow closer to him. You know, it kind of goes hand in hand. We draw closer to God, but we draw away from the things that would prevent that at the same time. So I don't know if that helps. I think sincere has to do with really being, meaning what we're saying or doing, rather than just putting on a facade, or like you were saying, going through the motions, and there are days when that's gonna happen, but as a lifestyle, I don't want that to be my lifestyle. So I don't know if that helps. No, it does, yeah. It does. Thank you. Okay. Any other... I have a question, ma'am. Sure, blessing. Um, in Presbyter 2, Presbyter 2, 11, we talk about, um, us aliens and strangers in this world. Yes. Um, and then, um, So I kind of like, I'm better now, but sometimes I wish I could just wake up the next morning and I won't have those war wages against myself. Oh, I do too, Blessie. Oh, I do too. I do too, because we get tired. We get tired in the fight. Because I struggle with keeping God's words in my heart. I read it, I try to meditate it, but then the next minute, I'm thinking about something else, I'm worrying about something else, I just struggle. It takes time to just, I have to keep doing it and sometimes I get tired. I don't know, is there a better way out? Well, the reason why you're getting tired is that your life is full with lots of things. And in order to add something new, you have to take something out. You know, we only have 24 hours. And so if I say that I'm going to begin doing a scripture memory program, then That means that I need, I'm not just going to be at, I'm just not, let me get my words, my brain is going faster than my mouth. I'm not going to be able to just add 30 minutes and have a 24 and a half hour day. It's going to have to come from something else. Now, when God looks at us, he looks at the totality of our lives. And if you have a little baby or a young child, or you're working outside the home, or your husband has gone to a conference or all of those different things, then he understands that that is not a lifestyle. It is just a temporary situation. But there's a difference between something that is ongoing and something that we just kind of ignore and something where we do the best we can. Because like I mentioned earlier, there were times when I was rocking my baby at night and pretty much my quiet time was singing my scripture verses to my baby and meditating on that as I sang and praying And you know, there are all kinds of things you can do as you're rocking your baby. And that was my quiet time. Very different from what I can do now that my children are grown and out of the home and I can sit in my chair with my cup of coffee and open my Bible and, you know, do all this stuff that is just hard to do when you have family responsibilities. But you can figure out a way to do something. And so like with scripture memory, um, You can set yourself a realistic goal in terms of how much you are going to memorize. As a college student, I learned two verses a week. But now, even the fact that I have more time that I can use for stuff, I'm doing good if I learn one verse a week. and really learn it, where I'm meditating on it, where I don't have to look at it to say it, where I know the reference, where I've thought through on what the verse means. I can handle one a week. Now, some people, you may not be able to do that. You may need to do one or two a month, and that's fine. So in other words, the amount or the number of verses you're learning is not key. It's, are you learning scripture? You know, if it's hard to do, well then just take a little more time to work with that verse. Write it out. If your children are old enough to talk about it, talk about the scripture with them. If your children are readers, get them to help you review your verses. Now that is an exercise in humility, because my children loved to tell me when I was not saying it word perfect. You know, if I was willing to just swallow my pride, it was a real help. Plus, they're seeing their mom memorize scripture, which is a good thing. Plus, they're looking and thinking about a verse of scripture, which is a good thing. So, does that make any sense, Blessing? You know, you figure out what you can do. God is not looking to condemn you, but He also knows what you will gain by immersing your mind into scripture. So he's eager to help make that happen. Just don't be hard on yourself. Just do what you can do in your situation, is what I'm trying to say. And don't compare yourself to your husband. Thank you. I have to tell people sometimes, I am not John, I'm Eleanor. I'm sorry, but that's the way it is. I'm not able to do some of the things that he can do. It's gifting, it's calling, it's all sorts of issues. But you be the very best blessing you can be, and God will be very happy with that. He already is happy with it, but He's also committed to growing you. So I hope that helps. Sometimes I go off on rabbit trails and I hope that that was addressing the question that you asked. Blessing. Thank you. Thank you so much. Good. What you do is you learn a verse, you review that verse, which means thinking about what the words mean, going over and over and over it. If you review a verse once a day for six weeks, then it's in your mind. So what I do is I write my verse down on a little card and I look at the calendar and I write down the day I memorized it and then I look ahead six weeks and write that date down too. So if I review that verse for six weeks then I'm pretty sure that by the end of that six weeks I have it. It's in my brain. You know, God, it's not just me, it's God working through his Holy Spirit. But I can remember verses that I memorized as a college student, and that was 50 years ago. So God really gives us the ability to absorb and intake his word in a special way. I think it's not just like memorizing something for a history test. I think there's a whole spiritual element that's involved. And he will use it in your life and help you bring it to mind so that you can share it with other people when there's a situation where it would be helpful. So it's a huge blessing, but it is a discipline too. Because if you're going to actually memorize it, then that does require work. Okay, any other questions or comments? By the way, my child did survive being disciplined about eating pizza. And they do enjoy pizza now with their family. They haven't been sour towards it. But I'm grateful that God gave us the ability to help them learn the difference between obedience and disobedience. Oh, how I just am seeing your chat message about your sister. Did I not admit her to the meeting today? Are you talking about in the future? Okay, sure. She is very welcome. You can pass on to her the link or if you want to send me her email, we can include her on the list. So maybe text me or not text me, whatever you call chat, write in the chat thing what her email is and we'll add her to the list. Okay, I don't really have an email now, but when I get it, I will send it to you. Okay, well however you, she is welcome to join us, and however you want to invite her and include her is fine. Okay, thank you. And we have people who participate on their phones, so she doesn't have to have a computer. It's just what works best for her. Thank you. You're welcome. Okay, well ladies, I think we will close now. Once again, I appreciate you and appreciate this opportunity to share. It just always blows my mind to think that we are on opposite sides of the world. It is afternoon for me. You can see the sun coming in through the window and it is nighttime for you. That, to me, that is just totally mind-blowing. And I have no idea how it works with all these little waves going through the sky, but I am glad that it does. So, I will see you next week. I pray that you have a great week, that God encourages your heart, and that you feel appreciated by Him, because you are. So, until next week, we will see you. Goodbye. Good night. Thank you. Good night. Thank you for joining us, Kedi. Oh, that's all right. I understand. I try not to say good afternoon, but I do. Okay. Goodbye, y'all. Bye, everybody.