WEBVTT 00:00:01.960 --> 00:00:05.379 This is your daily reminder. God has not run 00:00:05.379 --> 00:00:09.179 out of mercy, not for you, not today. Welcome 00:00:09.179 --> 00:00:12.279 to the New Mercies Podcast. Welcome back. Another 00:00:12.279 --> 00:00:15.740 episode of the New Mercies podcast. Today, our 00:00:15.740 --> 00:00:19.600 reading as a church family and for myself personally 00:00:19.600 --> 00:00:23.600 is in Titus 3 again. We've been in Titus 3 a 00:00:23.600 --> 00:00:25.620 couple of times now this week. The way these 00:00:25.620 --> 00:00:27.920 journals that our church family is going through, 00:00:27.940 --> 00:00:30.839 the way they're lined up is they align with what 00:00:30.839 --> 00:00:33.000 the sermon will be on Sunday, this coming Sunday. 00:00:33.140 --> 00:00:36.320 And so the goal is that you're in the text that 00:00:36.320 --> 00:00:39.409 we're going to preach. twice before we get there. 00:00:39.549 --> 00:00:42.090 So this Sunday, we're going to be preaching in 00:00:42.090 --> 00:00:44.630 Titus 3. So we want to give our church family 00:00:44.630 --> 00:00:48.390 and myself as well multiple days in that text 00:00:48.390 --> 00:00:51.109 so that when we show up, not only do we know 00:00:51.109 --> 00:00:53.109 kind of where we're going, but we've allowed 00:00:53.109 --> 00:00:55.710 the scripture to sort of be meditated on and 00:00:55.710 --> 00:00:58.590 kind of work through our lives together as a 00:00:58.590 --> 00:01:02.590 church family. So today is Titus 3 again. Now, 00:01:02.609 --> 00:01:05.489 if you listened on Tuesday or another time this 00:01:05.489 --> 00:01:07.670 week, whenever you maybe picked up the Titus 00:01:07.670 --> 00:01:09.469 3 episode before, I'm not going to talk about 00:01:09.469 --> 00:01:13.430 the same verses today as I did on Tuesday. In 00:01:13.430 --> 00:01:15.829 fact, I want to even kind of shift just the next 00:01:15.829 --> 00:01:18.469 couple of verses. If you were listening to the 00:01:18.469 --> 00:01:21.549 one we did before this week, it was in verses 00:01:21.549 --> 00:01:26.109 3 through 5 or 6, and then it even went into 00:01:26.109 --> 00:01:29.569 verse number 7 about being justified by His grace 00:01:29.569 --> 00:01:32.650 we might become heirs. according to the hope 00:01:32.650 --> 00:01:34.890 of eternal life. And so today I want to read 00:01:34.890 --> 00:01:38.689 just the next verse or two in Titus 3 together, 00:01:38.890 --> 00:01:41.370 and I'm going to read the couple verses before 00:01:41.370 --> 00:01:43.730 so we have a little bit more context. I encourage 00:01:43.730 --> 00:01:46.609 you today, as I am doing, read the entire chapter. 00:01:46.810 --> 00:01:49.310 Read it, take it slow, take it a little bit at 00:01:49.310 --> 00:01:51.849 a time, but I believe we will be greater for 00:01:51.849 --> 00:01:54.549 this. We will be better for it if we read the 00:01:54.549 --> 00:01:57.430 scripture over and over and over again. So I 00:01:57.430 --> 00:02:01.599 want to read just a couple of verses. Let's go 00:02:01.599 --> 00:02:04.959 with verse 3 down through verse number 10 or 00:02:04.959 --> 00:02:06.959 so. We're going to read these verses together, 00:02:07.040 --> 00:02:09.319 and then I want to share a little bit about verses 00:02:09.319 --> 00:02:12.139 8 and 9 specifically. But here's what it says 00:02:12.139 --> 00:02:14.680 in Titus chapter 3, beginning at verse number 00:02:14.680 --> 00:02:18.719 3. For we ourselves once were foolish, disobedient, 00:02:18.719 --> 00:02:21.719 led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, 00:02:21.960 --> 00:02:24.860 passing our days in malice and envy, hated by 00:02:24.860 --> 00:02:28.080 others and hating one another. But when the goodness 00:02:28.080 --> 00:02:30.400 and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, 00:02:30.719 --> 00:02:34.520 He saved us, not because of works done by us 00:02:34.520 --> 00:02:37.099 in righteousness, but according to His own mercy, 00:02:37.240 --> 00:02:39.860 by the washing of regeneration and renewal of 00:02:39.860 --> 00:02:42.979 the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us richly 00:02:42.979 --> 00:02:45.620 through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being 00:02:45.620 --> 00:02:48.479 justified by His grace we might become heirs 00:02:48.479 --> 00:02:51.860 according to the hope of eternal life. In our 00:02:51.860 --> 00:02:55.219 verse today, the saying is trustworthy, and I 00:02:55.219 --> 00:02:58.620 want you to insist on these things so that those 00:02:58.620 --> 00:03:01.659 who have believed in God may be careful to devote 00:03:01.659 --> 00:03:04.740 themselves to good works. These things are excellent 00:03:04.740 --> 00:03:08.400 and profitable for people. I want to stop right 00:03:08.400 --> 00:03:11.039 there before I read any more. So there's some 00:03:11.039 --> 00:03:14.800 text that is really rich right in there in verse 00:03:14.800 --> 00:03:18.939 number eight. He gives an incredible truth, right, 00:03:19.039 --> 00:03:24.259 in those verses. Awful, terrible, just vile, 00:03:24.259 --> 00:03:28.120 terrible, awful, awful, awful people. Jesus showed 00:03:28.120 --> 00:03:31.520 up. He saved us. He gave us hope. He gave us 00:03:31.520 --> 00:03:35.599 life. He redeemed us. He cares for us. He brought 00:03:35.599 --> 00:03:39.039 us. He saved us. He showed up and saved us. And 00:03:39.039 --> 00:03:42.500 that saying, that truth that is out there is 00:03:42.500 --> 00:03:44.879 you can count on it. Verse number eight says, 00:03:45.060 --> 00:03:48.340 again, the saying is trustworthy. You can bank 00:03:48.340 --> 00:03:52.060 on it. You can trust Jesus is enough. He redeemed 00:03:52.060 --> 00:03:54.419 us. He brought us out of the pit. He justified 00:03:54.419 --> 00:03:58.960 us, not only showing us mercy, but also showing 00:03:58.960 --> 00:04:01.780 us grace. We're heirs according to the hope of 00:04:01.780 --> 00:04:04.620 eternal life. Now in verse number eight, he says, 00:04:04.639 --> 00:04:06.379 this saying is trustworthy, and I want you to 00:04:06.379 --> 00:04:10.300 insist on this. I want you to insist on this. 00:04:10.379 --> 00:04:14.479 I looked up that word insist, and it stuck out 00:04:14.479 --> 00:04:16.879 to me when I was reading. It just it jumped out. 00:04:16.920 --> 00:04:20.100 And I need you to know. So all of these. episodes 00:04:20.100 --> 00:04:23.720 of this podcast are really an overflow from my 00:04:23.720 --> 00:04:26.579 sermon prep and what I look for whenever I'm 00:04:26.579 --> 00:04:30.180 teaching on Sunday mornings or in my small group 00:04:30.180 --> 00:04:33.139 or whatever it is that I'm doing. But I need 00:04:33.139 --> 00:04:37.740 you to know this podcast is partly because I 00:04:37.740 --> 00:04:40.120 got to get more out. I can't pack it all into 00:04:40.120 --> 00:04:42.779 one sermon, right? There's so much in this text. 00:04:42.860 --> 00:04:44.600 I want you to know when I'm reading this today, 00:04:44.860 --> 00:04:49.050 I wasn't planning on... preaching this very thing 00:04:49.050 --> 00:04:51.209 that I'm going to share with you on Sunday, because 00:04:51.209 --> 00:04:54.029 this is an add -on, an extra for me today that 00:04:54.029 --> 00:04:56.470 I needed. Maybe it's something you need today 00:04:56.470 --> 00:04:58.970 as well. It says, I want you to insist on this. 00:04:59.189 --> 00:05:04.089 That assist means to affirm constantly. Do not 00:05:04.089 --> 00:05:07.290 let it go. I want you to keep on and keep on 00:05:07.290 --> 00:05:10.269 and keep on with this very truth. I don't want 00:05:10.269 --> 00:05:12.589 you to ever stop talking about it. That's what 00:05:12.589 --> 00:05:15.350 Paul is telling Titus is, I want you to keep 00:05:15.350 --> 00:05:17.230 talking about this. I want you to affirm this 00:05:17.230 --> 00:05:20.730 truth over and over and over and over again until 00:05:20.730 --> 00:05:23.910 you're tired of it and then do it more. I read 00:05:23.910 --> 00:05:27.250 a commentary not too long ago about this on this 00:05:27.250 --> 00:05:30.870 text itself. And the commentator had made a mention 00:05:30.870 --> 00:05:33.410 of, he said, you know, the part of the problem 00:05:33.410 --> 00:05:37.290 is that the scripture is like the stars. You 00:05:37.290 --> 00:05:39.870 go out and the stars are just there. The stars 00:05:39.870 --> 00:05:42.899 are there every night. On a cloudless night, 00:05:43.019 --> 00:05:45.540 you see the stars, but they're there all the 00:05:45.540 --> 00:05:50.259 time. They're always there. Yet they are incredible 00:05:50.259 --> 00:05:55.160 feats of, they're incredible. giant objects out 00:05:55.160 --> 00:05:58.180 in the universe moving at an incredible rate 00:05:58.180 --> 00:06:01.600 of speed, and they are all shining bright. We 00:06:01.600 --> 00:06:05.279 have a star that our Earth revolves around called 00:06:05.279 --> 00:06:08.920 the sun, and we are 90 plus million miles away 00:06:08.920 --> 00:06:11.680 from it, and yet if we're outside too long, we 00:06:11.680 --> 00:06:13.819 get burned, right? It's a powerful, powerful 00:06:13.819 --> 00:06:17.399 thing, and yet that is one of the stars of the 00:06:17.399 --> 00:06:20.259 billions out there. We look at these stars at 00:06:20.259 --> 00:06:22.620 night, and they're just there. If we take a glance 00:06:22.620 --> 00:06:24.399 up and see them, we're like, oh, that's pretty. 00:06:24.480 --> 00:06:27.160 That's nice. And we keep moving on our day like 00:06:27.160 --> 00:06:30.439 they're not incredible. And the commentator had 00:06:30.439 --> 00:06:32.379 made a statement and said, what if the stars 00:06:32.379 --> 00:06:36.620 only appeared one time in your lifetime? It would 00:06:36.620 --> 00:06:41.939 be a global event. Everyone would go out and 00:06:41.939 --> 00:06:45.220 pay attention to the sky. We would not want to 00:06:45.220 --> 00:06:48.209 miss it. We would write down everything we were 00:06:48.209 --> 00:06:50.350 feeling. We would experience this beautiful, 00:06:50.709 --> 00:06:54.910 incredible, awesome, spectacular moment. That's 00:06:54.910 --> 00:06:56.970 what we would do if you could only see the stars 00:06:56.970 --> 00:07:00.009 one time. If you heard about this incredible, 00:07:00.189 --> 00:07:04.350 wild, majestic thing that would happen, the globe 00:07:04.350 --> 00:07:07.050 is going to turn out to see what the sky would 00:07:07.050 --> 00:07:11.550 produce. And yet that's sort of the way we treat 00:07:11.550 --> 00:07:15.649 Scripture. We've got this word. It's just there. 00:07:16.730 --> 00:07:19.930 It's there. If we want it, we'll take a peek 00:07:19.930 --> 00:07:22.930 at it. I began to wonder, as that commentator 00:07:22.930 --> 00:07:26.050 had shared, what if we were only able to get 00:07:26.050 --> 00:07:32.709 the Word inspired by God to us one time every 00:07:32.709 --> 00:07:38.110 lifetime? What if we only got it once, unable 00:07:38.110 --> 00:07:40.310 to make a copy of it? It just showed up one time. 00:07:41.160 --> 00:07:43.579 We would be mesmerized. The God who made everything 00:07:43.579 --> 00:07:46.339 is giving a word to us, and this is our only 00:07:46.339 --> 00:07:48.680 chance to get it. We're going to move all of 00:07:48.680 --> 00:07:50.620 our schedule around. We're going to take all 00:07:50.620 --> 00:07:52.240 this focus and all this attention, and we're 00:07:52.240 --> 00:07:55.100 going to put it in the word, right? Yet, it's 00:07:55.100 --> 00:07:58.120 just there. That's what we're doing. Paul tells 00:07:58.120 --> 00:08:01.480 Titus, he said, I want you to insist on this. 00:08:02.120 --> 00:08:05.000 Do not consistently affirm this. I want you to 00:08:05.000 --> 00:08:08.560 always be confirming this truth because it is 00:08:08.560 --> 00:08:12.459 incredible and powerful and amazing. Don't ever 00:08:12.459 --> 00:08:16.220 let it just be there. Unfortunately, that's what 00:08:16.220 --> 00:08:19.279 we've done in the church. It goes on. I want 00:08:19.279 --> 00:08:20.600 to read the next couple of verses just to give 00:08:20.600 --> 00:08:22.579 us a little more context here. The Bible says 00:08:22.579 --> 00:08:25.000 this in verse number nine, but avoid foolish 00:08:25.000 --> 00:08:28.019 controversies, genealogies, dissensions, and 00:08:28.019 --> 00:08:30.899 quarrels about the law for they are unprofitable. 00:08:31.420 --> 00:08:35.259 and worthless. Now I want to specify a couple 00:08:35.259 --> 00:08:37.960 of things right here. So Paul is writing to Titus. 00:08:37.960 --> 00:08:40.600 Remember, Titus is in a certain context, in a 00:08:40.600 --> 00:08:43.639 certain time, dealing with certain issues. He 00:08:43.639 --> 00:08:46.259 says to avoid foolish controversies. We get what 00:08:46.259 --> 00:08:48.620 that means, right? If it's foolish conversation, 00:08:48.860 --> 00:08:51.419 it doesn't lead anywhere. It's not going to lead 00:08:51.419 --> 00:08:54.399 you closer to Jesus. It's those controversies 00:08:54.399 --> 00:08:56.580 that have no answer. It's the controversies that 00:08:56.580 --> 00:09:00.679 you're just striving for debate, right? I remember 00:09:00.679 --> 00:09:03.080 a long time ago when I was a youth pastor, there 00:09:03.080 --> 00:09:05.220 seemed to be some rise in this question, can 00:09:05.220 --> 00:09:08.039 God make a rock so big he can't? He can't pick 00:09:08.039 --> 00:09:10.600 it up, right? He can't lift it. And I remember 00:09:10.600 --> 00:09:12.259 answering the question with a little tongue -in 00:09:12.259 --> 00:09:14.139 -cheek humor, and I would say, absolutely, he 00:09:14.139 --> 00:09:16.000 can make a rock so big he can't lift it. And 00:09:16.000 --> 00:09:17.500 then he would throw it at you for asking a dumb 00:09:17.500 --> 00:09:20.299 question. Now, it's not necessarily a dumb question. 00:09:20.399 --> 00:09:24.100 It begins to spark some real brain exercise, 00:09:24.440 --> 00:09:27.019 right? How big would that rock have to be? Well, 00:09:27.059 --> 00:09:28.659 bigger than the earth because he moves the earth. 00:09:28.720 --> 00:09:30.080 He can pick everything up. He's got the whole 00:09:30.080 --> 00:09:32.039 world in his hands. We've got the whole thing 00:09:32.039 --> 00:09:35.019 going on. But if a conversation or a controversy 00:09:35.019 --> 00:09:37.500 we have, it may even be something that starts 00:09:37.500 --> 00:09:41.639 out serious that just ends up in a loop, a vicious 00:09:41.639 --> 00:09:45.860 cycle of continual questioning. So how can a 00:09:45.860 --> 00:09:48.879 good God allow evil? That's a question that could 00:09:48.879 --> 00:09:51.019 be a real legitimate question in our hearts. 00:09:51.379 --> 00:09:54.429 But if we don't... if we're not trying to get 00:09:54.429 --> 00:09:56.350 closer to God and understand him at a deeper 00:09:56.350 --> 00:09:59.909 level, it becomes foolish. If we can't just accept 00:09:59.909 --> 00:10:04.750 truth by faith, then we aren't following in the 00:10:04.750 --> 00:10:06.990 ways of truth. We're following in foolish ways. 00:10:07.429 --> 00:10:09.649 And so he's saying, avoid those altogether. If 00:10:09.649 --> 00:10:11.169 you start to realize that this is not going to 00:10:11.169 --> 00:10:12.870 bring me closer to Jesus, if it's not going to 00:10:12.870 --> 00:10:16.549 bring me more into his likeness, I'm going to 00:10:16.549 --> 00:10:18.750 get rid of it. It's foolishness. But then he 00:10:18.750 --> 00:10:20.929 says something strange. He says, and avoid genealogies. 00:10:21.360 --> 00:10:22.980 Why would he say that? There's genealogies in 00:10:22.980 --> 00:10:25.200 the Bible. That's obviously not what Paul was 00:10:25.200 --> 00:10:27.399 talking about. He wasn't saying avoid all those 00:10:27.399 --> 00:10:29.940 genealogies in the Bible. Now, there's some questions 00:10:29.940 --> 00:10:32.259 about some genealogies in the Bible, right? There's 00:10:32.259 --> 00:10:35.039 a genealogy listed in 1 Chronicles that is a 00:10:35.039 --> 00:10:36.860 little different than one listed in 1 Samuel, 00:10:36.919 --> 00:10:38.779 and you're like, wait. What's the difference 00:10:38.779 --> 00:10:40.779 here? There's plenty of reasons for the differences. 00:10:40.919 --> 00:10:43.860 You've got to understand audience, exegeting 00:10:43.860 --> 00:10:46.019 Scripture or using the Scripture, understanding 00:10:46.019 --> 00:10:48.259 it in context, understanding it to the audience, 00:10:48.460 --> 00:10:50.059 understanding who wrote it, when it was written, 00:10:50.139 --> 00:10:52.259 what it was written for, the purpose, all of 00:10:52.259 --> 00:10:55.299 that stuff. But he's not saying avoid the genealogies 00:10:55.299 --> 00:10:58.600 in the Bible. He's saying avoid genealogies in 00:10:58.600 --> 00:11:01.779 the sense of... Trying to make everything match 00:11:01.779 --> 00:11:04.620 in the family line. You know, we can get so tied 00:11:04.620 --> 00:11:09.080 up with our own world that we forget that Jesus 00:11:09.080 --> 00:11:11.600 is just bigger than. He's bigger than my family 00:11:11.600 --> 00:11:14.480 heritage. I love my family heritage. I love the 00:11:14.480 --> 00:11:16.840 legacy that has been given to me and that I am 00:11:16.840 --> 00:11:19.519 hopefully giving to my family. But my legacy 00:11:19.519 --> 00:11:22.100 is not going to bring you closer to Jesus. Now, 00:11:22.100 --> 00:11:24.879 through my legacy, the person of Christ being 00:11:24.879 --> 00:11:28.620 exemplified can bring people closer to Christ, 00:11:28.759 --> 00:11:30.559 right? Because it's Jesus bringing people to 00:11:30.559 --> 00:11:32.960 him. He's saying, avoid the genealogy. It's not 00:11:32.960 --> 00:11:36.159 about your last name. It's not about what family 00:11:36.159 --> 00:11:38.779 line you were in. It's about, have you accepted 00:11:38.779 --> 00:11:42.960 the truth of salvation in Jesus or not? He also 00:11:42.960 --> 00:11:46.379 says to avoid dissensions. We get that, right? 00:11:46.440 --> 00:11:48.580 Anything that's going to divide, we don't want 00:11:48.580 --> 00:11:51.259 that in our life. And avoid quarrels about the 00:11:51.259 --> 00:11:54.259 law. This was a really hot topic issue in the 00:11:54.259 --> 00:11:56.320 first century church. There was a lot of questions 00:11:56.320 --> 00:11:59.360 about the law. The Mosaic law, Jewish people, 00:11:59.460 --> 00:12:03.279 especially rabbis and Pharisees and those Jewish 00:12:03.279 --> 00:12:06.539 leaders, would be very intense about exactly 00:12:06.539 --> 00:12:09.240 what the law meant and exactly how he meant it 00:12:09.240 --> 00:12:11.919 and what he meant by this and how this played 00:12:11.919 --> 00:12:14.659 out in everyday life. Paul says to Titus, keep 00:12:14.659 --> 00:12:17.080 the main thing the main thing. He goes on in 00:12:17.080 --> 00:12:20.100 verse number 10 and says, As for a person who 00:12:20.100 --> 00:12:23.100 stirs up division after warning him once and 00:12:23.100 --> 00:12:25.120 then twice, have nothing more to do with him. 00:12:25.440 --> 00:12:28.320 And then verse 11 says why. Knowing that such 00:12:28.320 --> 00:12:31.320 a person is warped and sinful and he is self 00:12:31.320 --> 00:12:34.919 -condemned. This is when it says a person who 00:12:34.919 --> 00:12:37.299 stirs up division, that word is the Greek word 00:12:37.299 --> 00:12:39.159 for heretic. It's where we get the word heretic. 00:12:39.879 --> 00:12:42.860 And in that term, it means somebody that's going 00:12:42.860 --> 00:12:46.710 to just stir up a problem. instead of healing 00:12:46.710 --> 00:12:49.090 and making peace, right? If you're just trying 00:12:49.090 --> 00:12:51.009 to stir up a problem and you're trying to divide 00:12:51.009 --> 00:12:54.350 everybody up and try to teach something that's 00:12:54.350 --> 00:12:56.669 not the gospel, try to teach something additional 00:12:56.669 --> 00:12:59.710 to the gospel. Paul says, don't even have, go 00:12:59.710 --> 00:13:03.149 try to correct them one time, even twice, go 00:13:03.149 --> 00:13:05.789 to them. But if they are refusing to repent, 00:13:06.049 --> 00:13:09.000 then have nothing to excommunicate them. Get 00:13:09.000 --> 00:13:11.399 rid of them because that's a cancer that you 00:13:11.399 --> 00:13:14.779 don't want in your church. That's a disease that 00:13:14.779 --> 00:13:17.559 is going to bring sickness and brokenness into 00:13:17.559 --> 00:13:19.320 your church. So don't have anything to do with 00:13:19.320 --> 00:13:21.519 them. They're self -condemning. And don't feel 00:13:21.519 --> 00:13:25.000 bad that you have set them apart. They have set 00:13:25.000 --> 00:13:28.340 themselves apart. So be freed from that. This 00:13:28.340 --> 00:13:30.159 text is beautiful. It's incredible. It's awesome. 00:13:30.200 --> 00:13:33.779 Today, I want you to insist on the truth. Imagine 00:13:33.779 --> 00:13:35.639 the stars only came out once in your lifetime. 00:13:35.820 --> 00:13:39.860 How amazing would that night be? We have this 00:13:39.860 --> 00:13:44.120 scripture every single day. The New Mercies podcast 00:13:44.120 --> 00:13:47.600 is here to tell you every day we have new mercies 00:13:47.600 --> 00:13:51.080 from the Lord. Let's not just let them be there.